Harmonica Almanac – February 12

Pete Krampert February 12, 2015 Almanac

U.S. President Abraham Lincoln was born on this day in 1809. Carl Sandburg, in his biography of the president noted that Lincoln played the harmonica at one of the Debates with Stephen Douglass.
Dutch harmonica player Max Geldray began playing the harmonica when he was 16 years old. He moved to England to escape persecution during WWII. In 1951 he began appearing on “The Goon Show” doing comedy sketches and occasional Jazz harmonica pieces. Geldray was born on this day in 1916.
Blues singer and harmonica player Big John Wrencher was born on this day in 1923. He taught himself how to play the harmonica while growing up in rural Mississippi. He traveled extensively before settling in Chicago in 1962.
That’s it for today. Have fun and practice!