Happy Hour Harmonica Podcast Paul Oscher retrospective, with Jerry Portnoy, Steve Guyger and Louis Erlanger
Jerry Portnoy, Steve Guyger and Louis Erlanger join me on episode 123, for a retrospective on Paul Oscher.
Paul was born in Brooklyn in 1947 and has a place in history as the first white player in a major black blues band, with Muddy Waters. Joining Muddy’s band gave Paul the best grounding in Chicago blues, he lived in Muddy’s house where he also learnt from the great Otis Spann. After leaving Muddy’s band Paul moved to New York and became a pivotal figure in the blues scene there. Paul put out a number of albums under his own name, with the first being Rough Stuff in 1993, up to Cool Cat in 2018. These included solo and band albums, showcasing his wide range of talents on the harmonica, and also the guitar, piano and vocals.
Links:
Website:
https://www.pauloscher.com/
Interview with Paul, by Margie Goldsmith:
https://www.modernbluesharmonica.com/paul-oscher-interview.html
Louis Erlanger Blues Blast Magazine interview:
https://www.bluesblastmagazine.com/featured-interview-louis-x-erlanger/
Videos:
Paul Oscher documentary by Jordan Haro:
https://vimeo.com/208402633
Story of Jimmy Johnson and harmonica trick:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFFPMYhLTt0
Paul playing piano:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSbAahV30Do
Playing Juke on a rack:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3WJgDEN4aA
Podcast website:
https://www.harmonicahappyhour.com
Donations:
If you want to make a voluntary donation to help support the running costs of the podcast then please use this link (or visit the podcast website link above):
https://paypal.me/harmonicahappyhour?locale.x=en_GB
Spotify Playlist:
Also check out the Spotify Playlist, which contains most of the songs discussed in the podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5QC6RF2VTfs4iPuasJBqwT?si=M-j3IkiISeefhR7ybm9qIQ
Podcast sponsors:
This podcast is sponsored by SEYDEL harmonicas - visit the oldest harmonica factory in the world at www.seydel1847.com or on Facebook or Instagram at SEYDEL HARMONICAS
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Blue Moon Harmonicas: https://bluemoonharmonicas.com