# -*- fill-column: 61 -*-

* Little Walter
  
** bio
     
  - May 1, 1930 - February 15, 1968
  - American blues musician, singer and songwriter
  - Inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008

** notes

  - Born as Marion Walter Jacobs.  Quit school by the age of
    12, working and busking in New Orleans, Memphis and
    St. Louis
  - Performed with Sonny Boy Williamson II, Sunnyland Slim,
    Honeyboy Edwards, and others on guitar and harmonica
  - Joined Muddy Waters' band in 1948
  - 14 top-ten hits on the Billboard R&B charts between 1952
    and 1958
  - His song "Juke" is the only harmonica instrumental ever
    to be a number one hit on the Billboard R&B chart
  - He was the "king of all post-war blues harpists", who
    "took the humble mouth organ in dazzling amplified
    directions that were unimaginable prior to his
    ascendancy." (Bill Dahl)

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Walter

** songs
   
  - Juke
  - You're So Fine
  - My Babe
  - Blues With a Feeling

* Sonny Boy Williamson II
  
** bio
     
  - December 5, 1912 - May 24, 1965
  - Born as Aleck Rice Miller
  - American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter

** notes
   
  - Played the 'King Biscuit Time' show
  - Toured Europe several times in the early 1960s
  - Married Howlin' Wolf's half-sister Mae
  - Showed Wolf how to play harmonica

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonny_Boy_Williamson_II

** songs
   
  - Don't Start Me Talkin'
  - Help Me
  - Checkin' Up on My Baby
  - Bring It On Home

* Annie Raines
  
** bio
     
  - July 3, 1969 -
  - American blues harmonica player
  - Started as a professional musician at the age of 17

** notes
   
  - Forms a world class blues-duo with Paul Rishell
  - Sings and plays mandoline and piano too
  - Worked with the Tarbox Ramblers and the Susan Tedeschi
    Band

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Raines

** songs
   
  - Looking Good
  - Orange Dude Blues
  - Nothin' but the devil
  - Little Dog

* Big Mama Thornton
  
** bio
     
  - December 11, 1926 - July 25, 1984
  - Born as Willie Mae Thornton
  - American singer and songwriter of the blues and R&B
  - Inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1982

** notes
   
  - Her father was a minister in a Baptist church, her mother
    a singer
  - Toured with the American Folk Blues Festival in Europe in
    1965
  - She was given her nickname, "Big Mama," because of her
    strong voice, size, and personality.
  - Thornton has been praised for subverting traditional
    roles of African-American women.

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Mama_Thornton

** songs
   
  - First to record Leiber and Stoller's "Hound Dog", in 1952
  - Wrote "Ball and Chain"

* "Big" Walter Horton
  
** bio
     
  - April 6, 1921 - December 8, 1981
  - American blues harmonica player

** notes
   
  - Robert Palmer named him as "one of the three great
    harmonica soloists of modern blues" with the two others
    being cited as Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson II.
  - Known for his unique tongue-blocking techniques and tone
  - Toured extensively in places such as Germany, Finland,
    and England
  - Accompanied John Lee Hooker in the 1980 film The Blues
    Brothers

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Walter_Horton

** songs
   
  - Easy
  - Everybody's Fishing
  - Walking By Myself
  - Walter's Boogie

* Charlie McCoy
  
** bio
     
  - March 28, 1941 -
  - American session musician, harmonica player and
    multi-instrumentalist
  - Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2009

** notes
   
  - His playing is heard on recordings by Elvis Presley, Bob
    Dylan,
  - Johnny Cash, Chet Atkins, Waylon Jennings, Roy Orbison,
  - Leon Russell, and Loretta Lynn

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_McCoy

** songs
   
  - Orange Blossom Special
  - You were always on my Mind

* Charlie Musselwhite
  
** bio
     
  - January 31, 1944 -
  - American blues harmonica player and bandleader
  - Inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2010
  - 14 Grammy nominations, 33 Blues Music Awards

** notes
   
  - Journey through the blues from his birth in Mississippi
    to Memphis, Chicago and California
  - Fifty years of nonstop touring, released over 20 albums
  - Reportedly the inspiration for Elwood Blues from the film
    "The Blues Brothers"

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Musselwhite

** songs
   
  - Baby Will You Please Help Me
  - If I Should Have Bad Luck
  - My Kinda Gal
  - Cha Cha The Blues
  - Christo Redemptor

* Gary Primich
  
** bio
     
  - April 20, 1958 - September 23, 2007
  - American blues harmonica player, singer, guitarist and
    songwriter

** notes
   
  - His Album Mr. Freeze was named as on of the 20 best blues
    albums of the 1990s
  - Recorded with Steve James, Nick Curran, Jimmie Vaughan
    and many others
  - Released an instructional double CD, Blues Harmonica:
    The Blues And Beyond
  - Conducted workshops with Howard Levy, Magic Dick, Gary
    Smith, Lee Oskar, Jerry Portnoy

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Primich

** songs
   
  - Bad Poker Hand
  - Goodbye Little Girl
  - Hoo Doo Ball

* George "Harmonica" Smith
  
** bio
     
  - April 22, 1924 - October 2, 1983
  - American electric blues harmonica player

** notes
   
  - Backing both Muddy Waters and Big Mama Thornton
  - Influenced William Clarke and Rod Piazza
  - His mother tought him harmonica at the age of 4
  - Traveled the south during 1930s and 40s

** sources
  
  -
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_%22Harmonica%22_Smith

** songs

  - Telephone Blues
  - Last Night
  - Teardrops Falling

* Howard Levy
  
** bio
     
  - July 31, 1951 -
  - American multi-instrumentalist, keyboardist and virtuoso
    harmonica player
  - Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental and Best
    Instrumental Composition

** notes
   
  - Plays in many genres: jazz, classical, rock, folk, Latin,
    blues, country, and world music
  - Discovered the overblow and overdraw techniques for
    chromatic playing in 1970
  - Has been realistically presented as one of the most
    important and radical harmonica innovators of the
    twentieth century (quote from https://www.allmusic.com)

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Levy

** songs
   
  - Harmonia Mundi Suite for Harmonica and Chamber Ensemble
  - The Tristate Boogie

* Howlin' Wolf
  
** bio
     
  - June 10, 1910 - January 10, 1976
  - Born as Chester Arthur Burnett
  - American blues singer and guitarist
  - Inducted in the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Rock
    and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991

** notes
   
  - Learned from Charley Patton and Sonny Boy Williamson II
  - Known for his booming voice and physical presence at 6
    ft, 6 in
  - One of the most influential blues musicians of all time
  - Had a pioneering electric blues Band in Memphis
  - Played with Son House, had a show on KWEM radio station

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howlin%27_Wolf

** songs
   
  - Smokestack Lightning
  - Spoonfull
  - The Red Rooster
  - Killing Floor

* James Cotton
  
** bio
     
  - July 1, 1935 - March 16, 2017
  - American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter
  - Inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2006

** notes
   
  - Muddy Waters bandleader until 1965
  - Played the harp in Howlin' Wolfs band
  - Toured with Janis Joplin

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Cotton

** songs
   
  - Cotton Mouth Man
  - When the Levee Breaks
  - Play With Your Poodle
  - Superharp

* James Harman
  
** bio
     
  - June 8, 1946 - May 23, 2021
  - American blues harmonica player, singer, and songwriter

** notes
   
  - Began taking piano lessons at the age of four
  - Has been compared with Raymond Chandler (for the story in
    his songs)
  - "Harman had one of the tightest bands anywhere" (Mary
    Katherine Aldin)

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Harman

** songs
   
  - Bonetime
  - Big Boned Girl
  - Blue Stretchmark Tattoo
  - Ain't it crazy

* Jason Ricci
  
** bio
     
  - February 3, 1974 -
  - American harmonica player and singer
  - Started performing in punk bands at the age of 14

** notes
   
  - Was named "Best Harmonica Player" at the 2010 Blues Music
    Awards

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Ricci

** songs
   
  - I'm a New Man
  - Can't believe it's this Good
  - Nobody's Fault but Mine
  - Black Limousine

* Jimmy Reed
  
** bio
     
  - September 6, 1925 - August 29, 1976
  - American blues musician and songwriter
  - Inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Rock
    and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991

** notes
   
  - Reed influenced other musicians, such as Elvis Presley,
    Hank Williams Jr., and the Rolling Stones, who recorded
    his songs
  - Toured Europe with the American Folk Blues Festival in
    1968
  - "Perhaps the most influential bluesman of all," due to
    his easily accessible style (quote Cub Koda)

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Reed

** songs
   
  - Big Boss Man
  - Baby What You Want Me to Do
  - Bright Lights, Big City

* Junior Wells
  
** bio
     
  - December 9, 1934 – January 15, 1998
  - American singer, harmonica player, and recording artist

** notes
   
  - Played in Muddy Waters Band
  - Toured with the Rolling Stones
  - Was tought by Sonny Boy Williamson II

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junior_Wells

** songs
   
  - Messin' with the kid
  - In My Younger Days
  - Hoodoo Man Blues

* Kim Wilson
  
** bio
     
  - January 6, 1951 -
  - American blues singer and harmonica player

** notes
   
  - Performs up to 300 concert dates per year
  - In 2016 he won a Blues Music Award in the category
    Instrumentalist - Harmonica
  - Founder of the "The Fabulous Thunderbirds"

** sources
  
  - https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Wilson

** songs
   
  - Tiger Man
  - You Upset my Mind
  - Searched All Over
  - Mean Old Frisco

* Lee Oskar
  
** bio
     
  - March 24, 1948 -
  - Danish harmonica player, vocalist and harmonica
    manufacturer

** notes
   
  - Moved to New York at the age of 18 with little more than
    a harmonica in his pocket
  - Together with Eric Burdon formed the crossover band 'War'
    where he formed a horn section together with the
    saxophone
  - "...among the best rock-blues-soul harmonica players"
    (quote Bill Snyder)
  - His company sells harmonicas in many different tunings

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Oskar

** songs
   
  - Before the Rain
  - Up All Night

* Mark Hummel
  
** bio
     
  - December 15, 1955 -
  - American blues harmonica player, vocalist and songwriter
  - Won two Blues Music Awards in 2014

** notes
   
  - Was introduced by his babysitters to black music
  - Long-time bandleader of "the Blues Survivors"
  - Has produced the Blues Harmonica Blowout tour
  - Produces Mark Hummel's Harmonica Party

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Hummel

** songs
   
  - Play with Your Poodle
  - You Got Me Wrong
  - 7 Nights to Rock

* Paul Butterfield
  
** bio
     
  - December 17, 1942 – May 4, 1987
  - American blues harmonica player, singer and bandleader
  - Inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2006

** notes
   
  - Born in Chicago, met Muddy Waters and other blues greats
  - Combined electric Chicago blues with a rock urgency and
    jazz fusion
  - Formed one of the first racially integrated blues groups
  - Played at Fillmore, Monterey and Woodstock

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Butterfield

** songs
   
  - Born in Chicago
  - Shake your Money-Maker

* Paul Delay
  
** bio
     
  - January 31, 1952 - March 7, 2007
  - American blues vocalist and harmonicist

** notes
   
  - "If the world were a hipper place, Paul deLay would have
    been a superstar." (quote Rick Estrin)
  - His work on the chromatic harp is considered by many to
    be unrivaled

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_deLay

** songs
   
  - Love on a Roll
  - I'm Gonna Miss Talkin to You
  - I Know You Got Another Man
  - Wealthy Man

* Phil Wiggins
  
** bio
     
  - May 8, 1954 -
  - American harmonica player, Piedmont blues

** notes
   
  - Formed the duo Cephas & Wiggins with John Cephas
  - They toured the USA, as well as Africa, Asia, South and
    Central America, and the Soviet Union
  - Known for his "blistering harmonica solos"
  - National Heritage Fellow

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cephas_%26_Wiggins

** songs
   
  - Goin' Down the Road Feelin' Bad
  - Broke and Hungry

* Rick Estrin
  
** bio
     
  - October 5, 1949 -
  - Lead singer, songwriter and harmonica player

** notes
   
  - Won the 1994 Blues Music Award for Song of the Year for
    his composition "My Next Ex-Wife"
  - Won the 2013 Blues Music Award for Best Instrumentalist -
    Harmonica
  - Played around the world with his band "Rick Estrin & The
    Nightcats"
  - Muddy Waters tried to hire Estrin as a sideman but Estrin
    did not receive the phone call

** sources
  
  -
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Estrin_%26_The_Nightcats

** songs
   
  - The Blues Ain't Going Nowhere
  - My Next Ex-Wife
  - Nothing but love

* Rod Piazza
  
** bio
     
  - December 18, 1947 -
  - American blues harmonica player and singer

** notes
   
  - Born in California, started with guitar at age of 6 or 7
  - Has toured US, Canada and Europe
  - With his wife Honey, forms The Mighty Flyers; their
    boogie sound combines the styles of jump blues,
  - West Coast blues and Chicago blues

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_Piazza

** songs
   
  - Southern Lady
  - The Upsetter
  - Ghostin

* Son of Dave
  
** bio
     
  - January 4, 1967 -
  - Born as Benjamin Darvill
  - Canadian musician and singer-songwriter

** notes
   
  - Was a member of the Crash Test Dummies
  - Moved to London in 1998
  - Combines Beat-Boxing with harmonica
  - "A one-man party, a true Maverick Bluesman"

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_of_Dave

** songs
   
  - Shake A Bone
  - Voodoo Doll
  - Devil Take My Soul
  - Squat That Rabbit
  - Whole Lotta Rosie

* Sonny Boy Williamson
  
** bio
     
  - March 30, 1914 – June 1, 1948
  - American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter
  - Born as John Lee Curtis Williamson

** notes
   
  - One of the most recorded blues musicians of the 1930s and
    1940s
  - Was a mentor to blue musicians in the chicago area,
    including Muddy Waters
  - Has been called "the father of modern blues harp"

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonny_Boy_Williamson_I

** songs
   
  - Good Morning School Girl
  - Sugar Mama
  - Early in the Morning
  - Stop Breaking down

* Sonny Terry
  
** bio
     
  - October 24, 1911 - March 11, 1986
  - American Piedmont blues and folk musician
  - Inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1986

** notes
   
  - Known for his energetic blues harmonica style, which
    frequently included vocal whoops and hollers and
    occasionally imitations of trains and fox hunts
  - Recorded numerous songs with Brownie McGhee
  - Went blind at the age of 16

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonny_Terry

** songs
   
  - Old Jabo
  - Lost John
  - Diggin' My Potatoes
  - Changed the Lock On My Door

* William Clarke
  
** bio
     
  - March 29, 1951 - November 2, 1996
  - American blues harmonica player and singer

** notes
   
  - Clarke was a master of both cross and chromatic harmonica
    styles and many consider him among the blues harmonica
    greats
  - Played regularly with George "Harmonica" Smith

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Clarke_(musician)

** songs
   
  - Must Be Jelly
  - Lonesome Bedroom Blues
  - That Ain't the Way to Do it

* John Popper
  
** bio
     
  - March 29, 1967 -
  - American musician and songwriter
  - Grammy award for his song "Run-Around"

** notes
   
  - Co-founder, lead vocalist, and frontman of the rock band
    Blues Traveler
  - Known for switching keys several times within a song
  - On stage uses a special Microphone with switches for the
    audio effects
  - Hat with band of flattened Harmonica cover plates

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Popper

** songs
   
  - Hook
  - But Anyway
  - Harmonica Musings
  - No Woman No Cry

* Carlos del Junco
  
** bio
     
  - May 17, 1958 -
  - Cuban-Canadian harmonica player
  - Best Blues Album nomination, Juno Awards, 1999
  - 2 Gold Medals at Hohner World Harmonica Championship

** notes
   
  - Uses overblows regularly, learned from Howard Levy
  - Formed the blues/jazz fusion band the Delcomos in 1990
  - Worked with Kevin Breit, Bruce Cockburn, Holly Cole and
    Kim Mitchell

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_del_Junco

** songs
   
  - Blue Drag
  - Diddle It
  - Blues del Junco

* Sugar Blue
  
** bio
     
  - December 16, 1949 -
  - Born as James Joshua Whiting
  - American blues harmonica player

** notes
   
  - Best known for playing on the 1978 Rolling Stones album
    Some Girls
  - Partnered with the blues guitarist Louisiana Red
  - Appeared with Brownie McGhee in the film Angel Heart
  - "At times, it sounds as if two harps were working at
    once..."  (quote Chicago Tribune)

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_Blue

** songs
   
  - Another Man Done Gone
  - Pontiac Blues

* Carey Bell
  
** bio
     
  - November 14, 1936 – May 6, 2007
  - Born as Carey Bell Harrington
  - American blues musician

** notes
   
  - Also played bass guitar
  - Inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2023
  - Taught himself how to play; proficient by the age of
    eight

** sources

  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carey_Bell

** songs
   
  - It's so easy to love you
  - What my mama told me

* Joe Filisko
  
** bio
     
  - Born 1967 in Giessen, Germany
  - American blues harmonica player, teacher and maker of
    customized harmonicas

** notes
   
  - Forms a duo with Eric Noden
  - Arguably the worlds foremost authority on nearly all
    aspects of the diatonic harmonica

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Filisko

** songs
   
  - Sonic Breakdown
  - On the Move
  - I like a woman
  - Amazing Grace

* Magic Dick
  
** bio
     
  - May 13, 1965 -
  - Born as Richard Salwitz

** notes
   
  - Plays trumpet and saxophone too
  - Founding member of the J. Geils Band
  - Has toured as part of the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Dick

** songs
   
  - Whammer Jammer
  - Nine Below Zero
  
* Alan Wilson
  
** bio
     
  - July 4, 1943 – September 3, 1970
  - Co-founder, leader, singer, and primary composer of
    Canned Heat

** notes
   
  - "Al Wilson taught Son House how to play Son House."
  - Sang "Going Up the Country."

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Wilson_(musician)

** songs
   
  - Going Up the Country
  - On the Road Again

* Jean-Jacques Milteau
  
** bio
     
  - April 17, 1950 -
  - French harmonica player and composer

** notes
   
  - Played with Yves Montand, Eddy Mitchell, Charles Aznavour
    and others
  - Received the award Victoires de la musique (best blues
    album) in 2001 and the Sacem Grand Prix du Jazz in 2003
  - Plays in the genres of Blues, Bluegrass and Jazz
  - Plays with Mighty Mo Rodgers as well as with Greg Zlap
  - Toured more than 60 countries together with Manu Galvin

** sources
  
  - https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Jacques_Milteau

** songs
   
  - Beaumont Lafayette
  - Junior Parker
  - Midnight Special

* Dennis Gruenling
  
** bio
     
  - July 22, Year unknown (but was underage 1990) -
  - American electric blues harmonicist, songwriter, record
    producer and radio DJ

** notes
   
  - Has been awarded the title of 'Best Modern Blues
    Harmonica Player' three years in a row by Real Blues
    magazine
  - Inspired by Little Walter, Lester Young and Illinois
    Jacquet
  - Jammed with Snooky Pryor, Homesick James, Pinetop
    Perkins, A.C. Reed
  - Customizes bullet mikes; plays chromatic and diatonic
  - Featuring in the Nick Moss Band
  - Won a Blues Music Award for "Instrumentalist - Harmonica"
    in 2019

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Gruenling
  - https://www.dennisgruenling.com/bio

** songs
   
  - Stockyard Blues
  - Missing Person
  - True Love

* R J Mischo
  
** bio
     
  - March 18, 1960 -
  - Born in Chilton, Wisconsin
  - American electric blues harmonicist, singer, songwriter
    and record producer

** notes
   
  - Was the youngest of four brothers, all of whom were
    proficient in a musical instrument
  - Began playing the harmonica aged nine and ten
  - Played with Percy Strother, Milwaukee Slim, Sonny Rogers,
    George "Mojo" Buford, and Lazy Bill Lucas.
  - "AllMusic noted: He resurrects the glory days of '50s
    Chicago harp-playing..."

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R.J._Mischo

** songs
   
  - Telephone Blues
  - Got My Passport
  - She's My Baby

* Steve Baker
  
** bio
     
  - May 1, 1953 -
  - Born in London
  - British blues harmonica player

** notes
   
  - Came to germany in 1976, worked with Tony Sheridan and
    Franz Josef Degenhardt
  - Worked as a studio musicion with Dieter Bohlen, Truck
    Stop, Hannes Wader and others
  - As a hohner endorser and consultant helped to develop
    many new harmonica-models
  - He created several books with playalongs and step-by-step
    instructions
  - Together with Abi Wallenstein und Martin Röttger formed
    the band "BluesCulture".
  - Published his first Solo-Album "Perfect Getaway" in 2018

** sources
  
  - https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Baker_(Musiker)

** songs
   
  - Brand New Day
  - One Word
  - Don't turn Your Back on Love
  - Apeman

* Greg Zlap
  
** bio
     
  - 1971 -
  - Civil name Greg Szlapczynski, born in Warsaw
  - Polish-French harmonica player and singer

** notes
   
  - Arrived in France in the late 80 with his harmonica
  - Studied computer science and discovered clubs in paris
  - Worked with musicians such as Jean-Jacques, Milteau
    Jean-Marie Ecay or Olivier Ker Ourio
  - Beeing on tour he worked with Bill Deraime or Paul
    Personne

** sources
  
  - https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Szlapczynski

** songs
   
  - Run Me Down
  - Blues Bend Boogie
  - The Blues will never leave you
  - Pour le Meilleur
  - Mississippi Strut

* Buddy Greene
  
** bio
     
  - October 30, 1953 -
  - American singer, songwriter, guitar player and harmonica
    player

** notes
   
  - Mostly plays gospel, influenced by country and bluegrass

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_Greene

** songs
   
  - Co-wrote the christmas song "Mary, Did You Know?"
  - Orange Blossom Special

* Roly Platt
  
** bio
     
  - July 5, 1958 -
  - Studio harmonica player and teacher
  - Canadian blues artist
  - Pete Pedersen Lifetime Achievement Award
  - Two Double Platinum & Juno Award album credits

** sources
  
  - https://rolyplatt.com/roly-platt-bio-harmonica

** notes
   
  - Invented and popularized the "Harp Wah"
  - 45 year caeer as a live and studio harmonica player
  - Has been recorded on over 1,700 individual album cuts,
    movie scores and national jingles
  - Plays Swing, Country Rock, R&B & Traditional Jazz
  - Wrote the Book: "No, Seriously, I Play Harmonica"
    
** songs
   
  - Shuffle the deck
  - Somewhere over the rainbow

* Stevie Wonder
  
** bio
     
  - May 13, 1950 -
  - American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician,
    keyboard and chromatic harmonica, and record producer
  - Blind since shortly after his birth, he was a child
    prodigy who signed with Motown's Tamla label at the age
    of 11

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Wonder

** notes
   
  - Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the
    20th century
  - He has won 25 Grammy Awards (the most by a male solo
    artist)
  - Also played the Hohner Clavinet (e.g. for Superstitous)
  - One of the best-selling music artists of all time, with
    sales of over 100 million records worldwide

** songs
   
  - Isn't She Lovely (with harmonica)
  - There must be an Angel (Eurythmics, harmonica by Stevie
    Wonder)
  - Isn't She Lovely
  - Superstition
  - Happy Birthday

* Toots Thielemans
  
** bio
     
  - 29 April, 1922 - 22 August, 2016
  - Belgian jazz musician and chromatic harmonica-player
  - Emigrated to the US in 1951

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toots_Thielemans

** notes
   
  - Made the Harmonica a "legitimate voice in jazz"
  - Started to make music at the age of three
  - Was influenced by Django Reinhardt
  - Played with Benny Goodman, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy
    Gillespie,
  - Quincy Jones, Natalie Cole, Billy Joel, Paul Simon and
    others
  - Was awarded "Jazz Master" by The National Endowment for
    the Arts
  - A metro station in Brussels is named after him

** songs
   
  - Sunny Day (Sesame Street closing-theme)
  - Bluesette (composition)
  - One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)

* Larry Adler
  
** bio
     
  - February 10, 1914 - August 6, 2001
  - American harmonica player and film composer
  - Played professionally at the age of 14
  - During the McCarthy era he was accused of being a
    communist
  - Moved to the United Kingdom in 1951 and settled in London

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Adler

** notes
   
  - Was one of the first harmonica players to perform major
    works written for the instrument, often written for him
  - Played the Rhapsody in Blue for Gershwin who exclaimed
    "the Goddam thing sounds as if I wrote it for you!"
  - During the 1940s, Adler and the dancer Paul Draper formed
    an act and toured nationally and internationally
  - During his later career, he collaborated with Sting,
    Elton John and Kate Bush

** songs
   
  - Summertime
  - Rififi
  - I Got Rhythm
  - Begin the Beguine

* DeFord Bailey
  
** bio
     
  - December 14, 1899 - July 2, 1982
  - American old-time musician and songwriter
  - Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2005

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeFord_Bailey

** notes
   
  - Considered to be the first African American country music
    star
  - Born in Tennessee where at least one of his grandfathers
    had been enslaved
  - All of his family was involved in music
  - Learned how to play the harmonica and mandolin at the age
    of 3
  - In 1918 the family moved to Nashville
  - Toured and performed with Roy Acuff and many well-known
    country artists during the 1930s
  - Was fired 1941 due to conflicts in the music industrie
    and made his living with a shoe shining company
  - Continued to play the harmonica, but he rarely performed
    publicly

** songs
   
  - Pan-American Blues
  - John Henry
  - Fox Chase

* Adam Gussow
  
** bio
   
  - April 3, 1958 -
  - American blues harmonica player and author
  - Best known as a member of Satan and Adam

** sources
  
  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Gussow

** notes
   
  - Son of a Jewish father and Protestant mother,[3] and was
    educated at Princeton University and Columbia University
  - Credits his music career to the mentorship of two older
    African-American performers: Nat Riddles, a New York
    harmonica player, and guitarist Sterling Magee
  - One of the first amplified blues harp players to make
    overblows a key element of his stylistic approach
  - Author of ModernBluesHarmonica.com
  - Gussow's YouTube channel features more than 500 videos
    and tutorials teaching on playing blues harmonica
  - His first solo album, Kick and Stomp, (2010) features him
    as a one-man band, playing harmonica and percussion.
  - Professor of English and Southern Studies at the
    University of Mississippi

** songs
   
  - Big Boss Man
  - Tequila
  - Weep & Moan


