Blues harmonica player William Clarke was born on this day in 1951. Clarke began playing the harmonica when he was sixteen and even got some lessons from George “Harmonica” Smith. Clarke favored using the chromatic harmonica for playing the Blues.
Blues harmonica player Jazz Gillum was an integral part of the early Chicago Blues scene of the 1930’s. Gillum worked with Big Bill Broozny, Memphis Slim and others as well as making numerous recordings of his own. Gillum died on this day in 1966.
Blues Traveler’s lead singer and harmonica player John Popper was born on this day in 1967. Popper began playing the harmonica after seeing Dan Aykroyd in the movie “The Blues Brothers” and soon created a very distinctive style of his own.
That’s it for today. Have fun and practice!
