Steve Williams (John Farnham Band) was a regular guest on Harmonica Riff Raff, the 3MDR radio show, helping listeners find their way around the instrument with lessons and helpful hints. It was mostly elementary, but at times we headed into territory that was quite sophisticated. One such occasion was introducing the bends on holes three and two utilising (Back Home Again In) Indiana by Charlie McCoy as the learning inspiration. Here’s the Indiana grab from that lesson.
Recently I queried Steve on how he became hooked on Charlie McCoy?
“I was a Walter Horton and Sonny Boy fan which came about because a guy at school had John Mayall albums, which led me to the real blues. In 1972 Graham Burstin (banjo, bass and piano playing older brother of Jo Jo Zep’s Jeff Burstin) queried whether I had heard Area Code 615? He had the first Area Code album, which has Charlie all over it (it’s got Southern Comfort on it, which I stole and sped up for use in my Chain Reaction intro at one point – the Timor Concert has the best version). Anyway that was it, I went straight out and got that album and Charlie’s first album, The Real McCoy and that was it. I spent that whole year learning the melodies on The Real McCoy.
It was always the harmonica I was interested in, not necessarily the music it was used in. Blues is pretty boring, but the sophistication of ‘the two Walters, Big and Little’ and Sonny Boy and Butterfield was what I liked. I guess I love technique. I’m a smart alec and I’m drawn to people who are technically accomplished, like Mike Brecker on the sax. I never listened to the other soloists. In my serious study years on both instruments I would record just the harp and sax solos off the records onto a cassette and listen over and over. I’d never play the whole albums again. So whether it was country or blues or swing or jazz, I just listened to my instrument and Charlie is that rare combo of impeccable technique and great taste.”
We also revisited the bends on Charlie McCoy’s interpretation of Back Home Again In Indiana.
You need an Eb harp to play along.
“Indiana well this is a real workout. It took me ages to work this out when I was about twenty four I suppose. I played it over and over with the turntable on 16 and 2/3 trying to workout what he was doing, but at the end of it I had control of all the bends on holes two and three. To practice those bends there’s all sorts of exercises, but it’s only playing them in context in a tune (a fast one especially) that locks the technique in. If you spend some time working on this, one lick at a time, as slow as necessary, I guarantee that at the end you’ll have complete mastery of EVERY bend. It’s like a primer on how to do it.
I’d learnt plenty of the country Charlie stuff, the melodies mostly, because of the techniques, but never many solos – just bits and pieces of licks which you jumble up and your own style emerges and the melodies were relatively simple, but this swing tune was the first time I’d heard him play outside the country style and it floored me. The solo is still country but what got me was the accuracy on such a complicated melody and that’s how I still play. I can superimpose the tricky 2 & 3 bends across most styles of music at just about any speed because of learning this Charlie ‘masterpiece’. ‘How’s that for a plug?’ And once you have these bends under control you can attempt Charlie’s versions of The Beatles Something and Stevie Wonder’s You Are The Sunshine Of My Life both masterpieces which use all of these bends.”
And it’s all thanks to Steve that I too have became a Charlie devotee – as you may have witnessed in previous posts or by some of my licks.
Harmonica Riff Raff 
When you analyse to that level and take hours to days (and more) and apply technique learning and dedication to a style? Got to admire that. I can’t do that sort of learning in any way. Playing a song of an artist in the very early teenage years, when first picking up a guitar, was a little loose on my part. I suppose I knew it would be too difficult to pursue. Get the overall feel to a song and go for it. Nowadays you can watch YouTube analysts breaking down, for example, John Lennon’s techniques on rhythm in The Beatles’ songs. It’s interesting. However. It’s the songs on those uploads that get focused on and listened to. Difficult to separate my mind from the overall beauty of an amazing song.
Interesting read Shep. Thanks for the audio inclusions. Listening really nailed down understanding.
I need to chase your posts down. You’re still not on my drop down ‘Reader’ file. A few fave bloggers are disappearing off my following drop down list! So no easy access to see what your current uploads are. I have just unfollowed a fair few bloggers who upload dozens of blogs a day. The result is that people like yourself get lost in amongst the hundreds of uploads. Can’t have that!
All the best and hope you’re keeping well.
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Steve is a fantastic guy (friend) sitting opposite to him on the radio show was a privilege and an education. He certainly took me on a direction from blues to country (pop) harp and that helped with the folk tunes of Benoit. In recent days I’ve revisited the guitar to record a few chord progressions to then blow a bit of harp over (need the callouses to return). I’ve been waking up each morning so that has to be a good thing. Cheers for your peepers and comments. Review Dawg Blawg out tomoz with plenty of audio and links for you Gray. Hope you too (and yours) are waking up each morning? Don’t want to be lost in the cyber world! Look forward to read more on your comeback journey. The Ol’ Harp Hound Hisself
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Your mate sounds like a trooper. His dedication is brilliant. The song at speed though. Need a good set of lungs and breath control. Those notes within a limited blowing/intake space is possibly the equivalent to a guitar string manipulation with a finger tap on a string bend within a fret. Not sure!
It’s good to know you are a string player too. Calloused fingers are a ‘show with pride’ addition to providing visual evidence in commitment. Bass has given me extra hardships on tips of fingers in playing. Just had the Fender Jazz beauty set up properly now. Flat wound strings and no buzz on frets. No wolf harmonic sounds either. I can sing and play the bass riffs at the same time again now too! Muscle memory is grand. Next year we hope to record the XCerts songs in a local studio in a place called Borth. It’s a five minute car journey from my house. On the seafront. I never knew it existed. Met the American guy, Mike, who runs the studio. He is keen to record. The guy who set up my Bass, Stuart, was recommended by Mike. Stuart plays guitar too and I’m going to meet up for coffee. He is keen to jam. He picked up and dropped off my Bass from my wife’s shop, so never got to meet him. Spoke on the phone though. Nice guy. Anyways, what my ramblings are about is that, outside of the XCerts project, I can now access decent recording abilities. Obviously at a cost, so need to save up some cash. 😊 The VeeDub new engine need and Fender bass with combo amp has drained the coffers. Next year should see the ability to kick start this project.
So….Next year I want to get a collective of new songs together with various additional instrument sounds from musicians. Sounds I have never used before in recording or writing. Get writing with purpose and all recorded in Borth. Dave, our guitarist, has a musical platform of about 200 outlets for his own songs. I want to see what that is all about. Be nice to get an eclectic mix of genre on the inspiration side to writing songs. And the inclusion of new instrument choice is so important. So. Maybe a bit of long distance harp playing? I know a few local musicians who are keen to add their own instrumental sound to this future project. Maybe you would consider to put some of your unique style on a track or two.
Strange isn’t it where life leads? One quick decision on the phone to say ‘yes’ to reforming the old band and….Wham! Life has a different meaning. I like the sound of your own ambitions too Shep. And will look forward to your links provisions too. Brilliant. Cheers. All the best.
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Sounds like things are moving and grooving nicely…funny sometimes where life takes you – often not the direction where you think it should be…would love to add harp – if we could make it work. S
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Be fantastic to have you play. Life has some great twists and turns. We, the XCerts, are sending ideas to each other through App recordings. Uploading results in Facebook Messenger. I use the audio Shure MOTIV app. But the guy who told me that this long distance recording in a professional format is actually very do-able, was ‘Borth’ Mike. I was talking to him on the phone a few weeks back about you being a musician at vast distance actually. Whether it was possible to get sound across the world! So will look into it all next year. Brilliant.
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That might beyond me, but I’m sure Dave from Fretwire Studios will be able to record and help with the process. I’ll let your sound man talk to my sound man. 👏🏻
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That’s a great plan. 🙏🏽
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