Since the early-1900s roots of the blues, only the guitar can rival the harmonica, or "mouth harp's" importance as a solo instrument. Portable, inexpensive, and easy to learn yet capable of producing a wide range of notes, tones, and textures, in the hands of a skilled player, the instrument will take the listener on a flight of fancy unparalleled in the world of music. These six blues musicians are masters of the craft: talented, influential, and innovative harp players whose efforts have provided the harmonica with lofty status.
1. Charlie Musselwhite
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Blues harpist Charlie Musselwhite rose out of the Chicago blues scene of the 1960s and, along with Paul Butterfield, helped bring blues music to a young white audience. His move to Northern California late in the decade brought the blues to the children of flower-power and, in the decades since, the artist has been an effective ambassador for blues music. More than anything, however, Musselwhite has helped expand the stylistic barriers of the blues, bringing elements of jazz, Tex-Mex, and even world music into his traditional mix of Delta and Chicago blues styles.
2. James Cotton
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Known to blues fans as "Superharp," James Cotton stands tall as one of the Chicago blues scene's most dynamic performers. Trained in the art of harp playing by the legendary Sonny Boy Williamson, Cotton apprenticed with Williamson and, later, Howlin' Wolf before being asked to join Muddy Waters' band. As a solo performer and bandleader, Cotton's hard-charging harp style appealed to late-1960s blues-rock fans and through the years, his numerous albums and constant touring have earned Cotton a reputation as an uncompromising and electric performer.
3. John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson
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Whether you call it a harmonica, a mouth harp, or even by the antique term "mouth organ," one thing is for certain – few bluesmen could blow that thing like John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson. It was Williamson who revolutionized the way that harmonica was used in the blues, elevating the humble instrument to lead status and opening the door for a raft of followers and fellow innovators, including Sonny Boy Williamson II, Little Walter, and Junior Wells, among many others.
4. Junior Wells
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Known as the "Godfather of the Blues," Junior Wells was able to grab an audience by the ears and take them on a musical roller-coaster ride with his own unique spin on the classic Chicago blues sound. Often performing alongside guitarist Buddy Guy, Wells enjoyed a lengthy career that spanned 50 years, his staggering harp solos and vocal interplay defining the Chicago blues harp sound at a time when the music was still shedding its country roots, taking the music to new heights of critical acclaim and commercial acceptance.
5. "Little Walter" Jacobs
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More than any other harp-slinger, "Little Walter" Jacobs owned the Chicago blues scene from the moment of his arrival in 1946, and through the end of the 1950s. A dynamic soloist, Little Walter created new tones and bright new textures with the instrument. An underrated vocalist with a gritty, soulful voice, Walter was also a skilled songwriter and natural-born bandleader. [i]The[/i] dominant blues harp player of the post-war years, Walter's influence can still be heard in the music of harpists like Charlie Musselwhite, Rod Piazza, and Kim Wilson.
6. Sonny Boy Williamson II
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Aleck "Rice" Miller may have appropriated another bluesman's name – that of John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson – but his subsequent career and influence on the course of blues music is important, and certainly did the name proud. This second "Sonny Boy Williamson," with II usually added behind the name, earned his legacy by expanding the vocabulary of the harmonica in blues music, and the list of harp players that followed his lead is exhaustive.
