[78-L] Harmonica question answered...

[Steven C. Barr]

Just received this from a blues e-mail list to which I subscribe...! It 
appears to
answer a question I had for a very long time (since all my early harmonica
recordings were in "first position"...!
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Blues harmonica player Jaybird Coleman was born on this day in 1896 in
Gainsville,AL.
Coleman was one of the first Blues harmonicists to record.While there
were other harmonica players,such as Daddy Stovepipe(Johnny Watson),
Robert Cooksey,Chuck Darling and Blues Birdhead who recorded before
Coleman,they recorded in a vaudeville/ragtime style in 1st position
(straight harp).Jaybird was the first to record in 2nd position
(cross harp),the preferred position for many modern Blues players.
(The 2nd position makes it easier to 'bend' notes and gives
that 'wailing' sound to the harmonica).
Coleman recorded some 20 sides between 1927 and 1930.He was a member
of The Birmingham Jug Band and spent most of his life "busking",that
is,playing for tips on street corners.Coleman died in 1950.
There is one CD of Coleman's recordings,"1927-1930" on Document and
he appears on several 'various artists' compilations.
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FWIW...

Steven C. Barr