![Harmonicats](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Harmonicats.jpg)
Jerry Murad's Harmonicats were an
American harmonica-based
group
A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together.
Groups of people
* Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity
* Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...
.
Background
The band was founded in 1947. Originally they were named The Harmonica Madcaps and the group consisted of Jerry Murad (
chromatic lead harmonica), Bob Hadamik (bass harmonica), Pete Pedersen (chromatic harmonica), and Al Fiore, (
chord harmonica). In 1947, the group consisted of Murad, Fiore, Don Les on bass harmonica, and Cappy Lafell on Polyphonia. They eventually (around 1948) became a trio with Murad, Fiore, Les.
In 1947, during the record ban, the group recorded the hit song "
Peg o' My Heart
"Peg o' My Heart" is a popular song written by Alfred Bryan (words) and Fred Fisher (music). It was published on March 15, 1913 and it featured in the 1913 musical ''Ziegfeld Follies''.
The song was first performed publicly by Irving Kaufman i ...
" for Vitacoustic Records, which spent 21 weeks on the ''
Billboard'' magazine chart (peaking at #1) and sold more than 2 million copies the first year. It was the first record in history to use artificial
reverb
Reverberation (also known as reverb), in acoustics, is a persistence of sound, after a sound is produced. Reverberation is created when a sound or signal is reflected causing numerous reflections to build up and then decay as the sound is abs ...
.
Pedersen and Gail Wallace remained contributors to the group throughout its existence, working on
arrangements and occasionally
recording
A record, recording or records may refer to:
An item or collection of data Computing
* Record (computer science), a data structure
** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity
** Boot sector or boot record, r ...
.
During 1949 when Don Les' father died, the band called upon
Johnny Thompson to fill in for Les on bass harmonica for a couple of weeks. Thompson went on to play with them at their residency gig at the Frontier Hotel in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
in the early 1950s. In the mid-1950s, Les suffered from a
detached retina
Retinal detachment is a disorder of the eye in which the retina peels away from its underlying layer of support tissue. Initial detachment may be localized, but without rapid treatment the entire retina may detach, leading to vision loss and blin ...
, and Thompson once again took his place until Les was able to return full time later in the decade.. In 1958, Al Fiore suffered his first heart attack and Bob Herndon filled in for him for several months.
In the early 1970s, Don Les left the group and was replaced by Dick Gardner, who stayed with the group for more than 20 years. Other members of the group included the following:
Members
Jerry Murad
Jerry Murad (1918-1996) (
chromatic harmonica), was an
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
born in
Istanbul, Turkey
)
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code = 34000 to 34990
, area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side)
, registration_plate = 34
, blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD
, blank_in ...
in 1918, moved to America at the age of 2. He played
diatonic harmonicas at first, and took up chromatic soon after. Murad played
Hohner
Hohner Musikinstrumente GmbH & Co. KG is a German manufacturer of musical instruments, founded in 1857 by Matthias Hohner (1833–1902). The roots of the Hohner firm are in Trossingen, Baden-Württemberg. Since its foundation, and though known ...
270s and 64s, as well as the Musette, a harmonica made especially for him that replicates the sound qualities of a French
accordion. It is featured on their 1960s recording of "Parisienne Fantasy". Murad also played the
Hohner Polyphonia (a type of
orchestral melodic harmonica). He died of a heart attack in 1996
Don Les
Don Les (Dominic Leshinski) (1914–1994) (
bass harmonica
The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...
) was born in Lorain, Ohio, with congenital cataracts. He was able to see again at the age of twelve after a "couple of operations," but even as an adult his vision was only about 30% of normal. At one point, he formed his own version of the Harmonicats. The Don Les Harmonicats, which featured Mildred Mulcay (of the harmonica duo the Mulcays) and Lenny Leavitt. They released a Christmas album entitled ''Christmas with the Don Les Harmonicats''.
Al Fiore
Al Fiore (chord harmonica), was born in Chicago and started experimenting with chord harmonicas at the age of 13. Fiore played the rare old style layout or "reverse layout"
Hohner Chord harmonica. He recorded the band's No. 1 hit, ''Peg o' My Heart'' on this harmonica.
Cappy Laffel
Leon "Cappy" Laffel was the Polyphonia player for the Harmonicats for the 1947 and 1948 years. He left before 1950. He can be heard on songs such as "Ritual Fire Dance" and "Always in my Heart".
John Thompson
John Thompson joined The Harmonicats in 1951 on bass harmonica, but lasted a very short time due to conflicts.
Dick Gardner
Dick Gardner (bass harmonica) took over for Don Les in 1970 and remained with the Cats for over 20 years.
Bob Bauer
Bob Bauer (chord harmonica) took over for George Miklas in 1985 and after Al Fiore left the group He remained many years.
George Miklas
George Miklas was originally a chord player for the group before leaving the group and returning later to play bass with the group.
Al Data
Al Data played chord with the group in its final days, until Jerry's death in 1996.
Joe Mass Jr.
Joe Mass Junior (1953–2018) played chord for the Harmonicats one year, while on tour in California.
J.R. Mass
Brother to Joe Mass Jr., Jerry "J.R." Mass played the bass harmonica for the Harmonicats one year, while on tour in California.
Buddy Boblink
Charles "Buddy" Boblink played chord with the group throughout the 1990s and until Jerry's death in 1996.
Pete Pedersen
Pete Pedersen was the main arranger for the group and remained the 2nd chromatic player for many albums over the bands nearly 50 years of recording.
Frank Warner
Frank Warner filled in at times playing the bass harmonica.
Peg o' My Heart
Their 1947 recording of the song "
Peg o' My Heart
"Peg o' My Heart" is a popular song written by Alfred Bryan (words) and Fred Fisher (music). It was published on March 15, 1913 and it featured in the 1913 musical ''Ziegfeld Follies''.
The song was first performed publicly by Irving Kaufman i ...
" (
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it i ...
, originally Vitacoustic Records, catalog number 1) brought them public attention and sold over one million copies by 1950, reaching No. 1 on the
U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
''
Billboard''
chart.
When recording engineer
Bill Putnam
Milton Tasker "Bill" Putnam (February 20, 1920 – April 13, 1989) was an American audio engineer, songwriter, producer, studio designer and businessman, who has been described as "the father of modern recording". He was the inventor of the mo ...
recorded the song, he utilized the bathroom of
Universal Recording
Universal Recording Corporation was a recording studio in Chicago founded by Bill Putnam, Sr. for the purpose of investigating new recording techniques and the development of specialized recording equipment.
Universal Recording was seminal i ...
as an
echo chamber
Echo chamber of the Dresden University of Technology
Hamilton Mausoleum has a long-lasting unplanned echo
An echo chamber is a hollow enclosure used to produce reverberation, usually for recording purposes. For example, the producers of ...
and became the first person to use artificial reverberation creatively on a pop recording.
Other charted hits for the group included "
Hair of Gold, Eyes of Blue" (No. 15) in 1948, "
Charmaine" (No. 21) in 1952, and "
Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" (No. 56) in 1961. Jerry Murad, accompanied by
Richard Hayman
Richard Hayman (March 27, 1920 – February 5, 2014) was an American musician who was the chief music arranger of the Boston Pops Orchestra for over 50 years, and served as a pops conductor for orchestras including the Detroit Symphony Orchestra ...
's Orchestra, had a solo hit with "The Story of Three Loves" (No. 14) in 1953.
Discography
10" albums
* ''Jerry Murad's Harmonicats'' (
Mercury, 1950)
* ''Harmonica Highlights'' (Mercury, 1952)
* ''Harmonica Hits'' (Mercury, 1952)
* ''Harmonica Classics'' (Mercury, 1952)
* ''Olé: South of the Border with the Harmonicats'' (Mercury, 1954)
12" albums
* ''Harmonicats' Selected Favorites'' (Mercury, 1955)
* ''South American Nights'' (Mercury, 1956)
* ''Command Performance'' (Mercury, 1956)
* ''The Cats Meow'' (Mercury, 1956)
* ''Dolls, Dolls, Dolls'' (Mercury, 1957)
* ''Harmonicha Cha-Cha'' (Mercury, 1958)
* ''In the Land of Hi-Fi'' (Mercury, 1959)
* ''Harmonically Yours'' (Mercury, 1960)
* ''Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White'' (
Columbia, 1960)
* ''Peg o' My Heart'' (Columbia, 1961)
* ''Love Theme from El Cid and Other Motion Picture Songs and Themes'' (Columbia, 1962)
* ''Sentimental Serenade'' (Columbia, 1962)
* ''Fiesta!'' (Columbia, 1962)
* ''Forgotten Dreams'' (Columbia, 1963)
* ''The Soul of Italy'' (Columbia, 1963)
* ''Try a Little Tenderness'' (Columbia, 1963)
* ''The Love Song of Tom Jones'' (Columbia, 1964)
* ''That New Gang of Mine!'' (Columbia, 1965)
* ''Harmonica Rhapsody'' (Columbia, 1965)
* ''What's New Harmonicats?'' (Columbia, 1966)
* ''Great Themes from TV and Motion Pictures'' (Columbia, 1969)
References
External links
Official website (Archived as of Feb.2011)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murad's Harmonicats
American instrumental musical groups
Columbia Records artists
Harmonica
Mercury Records artists
Musical groups established in 1947
Musical groups from Chicago