Who played whammer jammer j giles band movie#
Who played whammer jammer j giles band full#

And it also has that technical musical quality that, you know, it's just so innovative and forward- looking. I mean, it was one of the smartest things I did, when we got into post-production on this film, to leave the Little Walter section until later because it just brings in all of the emotion that this instrument has. M: As I was getting deeper and deeper into the world of the harmonica and really studying some of the players that were really setting off, the players that would come after people like Little Walter, I was being warned by players that Little Walter could actually take over my life. Little Walter had the sonic conception of playing it through an amplifier and thereby altering the tone and the sound into a thing that - boy, it's hard to put words to it because it's different in different contexts but.ĬORNISH: And we actually have a clip, though, of his iconic song 'Juke' I'd like to play. It was a precision of technique, a vast array of various sounds that he could play, and a really original approach to expanding what the harmonica could do - just like the way Frank Sinatra changed what popular singing was like.īefore Little Walter, blues harp was more of a folk instrument. Magic Dick, what made him so magnificent?ĭICK: The same aspects that made Jerry Murad great as a player, I would apply to Little Walter in the genre of blues. And it seems like the film is built around blues harmonica before Little Walter and after Little Walter. you know, I got familiar with, with your film, who played the chromatic as well as the diatonic harp. And it just got to a point of digging as deep as we could to find out where it started, where it's come from, where it's going - and of course, blues being at the core of it all.ĬORNISH: And it seems like we can't really talk about blues harmonica without talking about Little Walter Jacobs, which.ĬORNISH. You can step back and really just kind of throw a dart at a style of music and at some point, you're going to find harmonica in it.

Who played whammer jammer j giles band movie#

I want you to tell me a little bit about what you think of - the heart of the movie is, the 10-hole diatonic harp and its relationship - say, to blues music. And it has probably continued to enjoy that kind of popularity.ĬORNISH: In the film, there are so many different harmonicas that you guys sort of make us familiar with - chord, chromatic and bass - and then lots of different styles of harmonica music - classical, jazz and novelty.

I mean, I know that many, many years ago, 'Peg o' My Heart' was tallied at more than 25 million copies sold worldwide. When it came to playing a written score on the harmonica, Jerry Murad's group, the Harmonicats, and Jerry Murad, in particular, as a lead chromatic harp player, was the best at it because he could really put technical command and emotion together to have such a huge appeal around the world. And I want to play just a little bit of that tune, which was really instrumental in kind of - pop music for the instrument.ĬORNISH: Magic Dick, I think you're going to surprise a lot of people watching this movie because your pick for the greatest harp player of all time - it's not Little Walter, not Sonny Boy Williamson, not James Cotton, not Paul Butterfield - but it is actually Jerry Murad of the Harmonicats. And one of the interesting moments about the film is where you talk about a group called the Harmonicats and their big hit, 'Peg o' My Heart,' back in 1947. Geils Band that you could buy my instrument at Woolworths.ĬORNISH: And this actually was an instrument originally made to play German folk songs back in the 1800s and, I think, considered early on as a toy in this country. I used to get kidded by the guys in the J.

And once I got into it, I realized that all these players, as good as they all were, were all kind of facing this upward battle to try to get respect for what they were doing.ĭICK: That is really, really true. And Marc, is this one of the reasons why you made the movie, to give it some respect? Welcome to you.ĬORNISH: Throughout the film, we are reminded that the harmonica is a kind of - I guess - Rodney Dangerfield of instruments, always looking for respect in that somehow, people don't consider it a real instrument. Marc, welcome.ĬORNISH: Also joining us, from member station WGBH in Boston, is the man we just heard play his signature tune, 'Whammer Jammer,' Magic Dick. The film is directed by Marc Lempert, and he joins us from NPR West.

Who played whammer jammer j giles band full#

It's called 'Pocket Full of Soul' and it features a who's who of the harp, living and long gone. Geils Band, opening up a new documentary that explores everything you ever wanted to know - and then some - about the harmonica. But if you're good, you can make some amazing sounds.ĬORNISH: That's Magic Dick of the J.