Horrie’s Harmonicoptysis – Short Snort (Organ) #9

Horrie Dargie is one of Australia’s most famous Harmonica exponents. He had a quintet in the forties and fifties that hold the honour of achieving Australia’s first gold record. The Horrie Dargie Concert (1952) was a wire recording taken from their Sydney Farewell Concert held before they left on a tour of the UK. Sadly the tour was cut short after Horrie collapsed during a performance from the effects of having contracted polio. After a long recovery he went on to be employed by Channel Nine in their talent division compèring their high rating television shows the BP Super Show and The Price is Right. Horrie also managed The Go!! Show and in 1964 he established the popular Go record label.

A well noted achievement of Horrie’s was his musical arrangements on the high rating international movie ‘Crocodile Dundee’ starring Paul Hogan.

Here’s the Dargies with a grab of Theme From Shaft.

Harmonica Player’s Hemoptysis

Prince Alexandra Hospital in Queensland had an unusual case of a 79 year old man who presented in 1989 with a six month history of intermittently spitting between 5 and 10 ml of blood sometimes mixed with saliva. On some some occasions fits of coughing would be associated with this issue and the problem occurred primarily on a weekend night. After exhaustive testing and inconclusive results a subsequent investigation revealed the patient had joined a local club where he played harmonica for up to six hours on a Saturday and Sunday night. Closer examination of his mouth revealed a large number of varices under the tongue. Peterson and Armstrong reported that, “the patient used the ‘Horrie Dargie’ method of playing the harmonica, in which the tongue is used extensively. It would appear that the use of this technique traumatised the varices and resulted in bleeding.”

Letter to the editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, 23 January 1992.

Double Ouch!

“Lung power is one of the first essentials for a successful mouth-organist, but 20-years old Horrie Dargie has found it’s a somewhat costly gift during his tour for the Australian Broadcasting Commission – he blows out two mouth organs a week, and each, one costs him a guinea,” says a Melbourne daily. The former Yea boy does not smoke, and the only strong liquor he touches is the methylated spirits with which he bathes his lips to keep them in good condition. (Kilmore Free Press, 24 February 1938)

Happy new month Riff Raffers. Here comes the Sun and I say it’s alright. 🌞

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