Jerry Murad's Harmonicats
Jerry Murad's Harmonicats were an American harmonica-based group.
Background
The earliest iteration of The Harmonicats was known as the Harmonica Madcaps, later renamed The Quintones by Jimmy Mulcay, who promoted and produced the group until 1942. They frequently performed at the Bijou Vaudeville Lounge, featuring Pete Pedersen and Jerry Murad on chromatic harmonica, Al Fiore on chord harmonica, and Bob Hadamik on bass harmonica.In 1941, Jerry Murad and Al Fiore left the renowned Borrah Minevitch Rascals to form their own ensemble. Soon after, they recruited Don Les, officially becoming The Harmonicats in 1946 with a lineup of Murad, Hadamik, Pedersen, and Fiore.
By 1947, the lineup changed to Murad, Fiore, Don Les on bass, and Cappy Lafell on Polyphonia. Around 1948, The Harmonicats transitioned into a trio with Murad, Fiore, and Les, solidifying their classic formation.
In 1947, during the record ban, the group recorded the hit song "Peg o' My Heart" for Vitacoustic Records, which spent 21 weeks on the Billboard magazine chart and sold more than two million copies the first year. It was the first record in history to use artificial reverb.
Pedersen and Gail Wallace remained contributors to the group throughout its existence, working on arrangements and occasionally recording.
In 1949, following the passing of Don Les' father, The Harmonicats invited Johnny Thompson to temporarily fill in on bass harmonica for a few weeks. Thompson continued performing with the group during their residency at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas in the early 1950s.
In the mid-1950s, Les suffered a detached retina, prompting Thompson to step in once again until Les was able to resume performing full-time later in the decade. However, during this period, a near-fatal accident involving Jerry Murad and Johnny Thompson—in which their vehicle was struck by a train and subsequently caught fire—resulted in Thompson never returning to the group.
In 1958, Al Fiore suffered his first heart attack, leading Bob Herndon to temporarily replace him for several months. Bob's time with The Harmonicats can be seen on Two for the Record, hosted by Patsy Cline.
In the early 1970s, Don Les left the group and was replaced by Richard "Dick" Gardner, who stayed with the group for more than 20 years. As of 2024, Dick Gardner is the last "long term" member of the Harmonicats alive. Other members of the group included the following:
Members
Jerry Murad
Jerry Murad was an Armenian born in Istanbul, Turkey in 1918, and moved to America at the age of 2. He played diatonic harmonicas at first, and took up chromatic soon after. Murad played Hohner 270s and 64s, as well as the Musette, a harmonica made especially for him that replicates the sound qualities of a French accordion. It is featured on their 1960s recording of "Parisienne Fantasy". Murad also played the Hohner Polyphonia. He died of a heart attack in 1996.Don Les
Don Les was born in Lorain, Ohio, with congenital cataracts. He was able to see again at the age of twelve after a series of operations, though his vision remained significantly impaired throughout his life.Les later formed his own ensemble, The Don Les Harmonicats. The group recorded and released a Christmas album titled Christmas With The Don Les Harmonicats, featuring performances by Les alongside Mildred Mulcay and Lenny Leavitt.
Al Fiore
Al Fiore was born in Chicago and started experimenting with chord harmonicas at the age of 13. Fiore played the rare old-style layout or "reverse layout" Hohner Chord harmonica. He recorded the band's No. 1 hit, "Peg O' My Heart", on this harmonica. Al was a longtime member of the Windy City Harmonica Club and was widely known among harmonica players as "Mr. Harmonica".Fiore also led a harmonica ensemble known as The Windy City Harmonica Gentlemen, a 15-member group featuring players from the Chicago area and surrounding states. The ensemble remained active into the early 1990s, with Fiore frequently performing selections associated with his earlier work with the Harmonicats.
Sid Fisher
Sid Fisher was briefly a member of the Harmonicats and appeared on several of the group's early recordings through the late 1940s and early 1950s. He was the only member of the group who did not play harmonica, instead performing on guitar. His earliest recorded work with the group can be heard on the 1947 recording of "Peg O' My Heart".In 1948, Fisher filed a lawsuit against Jerry Murad over unpaid royalties, alleging that he had been promised a percentage of recording revenues for his work accompanying the group. He is believed to have left the group in the early 1950s.
Bob Hadamik
Bob Hadamik played the bass harmonica prior to 1946. Hank would also be the bass player for Pete Blasburg's Harmonitones of Chicago in the 1940s and 1950s. Bob's playing, alongside his brother Hank, can be heard here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBXUWc2oQ0kCappy LaFell
Leon "Cappy" LaFell was the Polyphonia player for the Harmonicats during 1947 and 1948. His work appears on several of the group's 1948 recordings on Universal Records, and he was frequently featured in the group's publicity photographs during the late 1940s.Bob Herndon
In the late 1950s, Bob Herndon substituted for Al Fiore on chord harmonica while Al recovered from a heart attack. He can be seen with the Harmonicats playing "Peg O' My Heart" and "12th Street Rag", in 1958.Bob also played in other groups outside of the Harmonicats worth noting:
- The New Don Les Harmonicats.
- The New Tennessee Philharmonicas.
- The Harmonica Jaxx.
- The Harmonica Jazz Trio and John Thompson ).
- The Jim Lohmann Harmonikings.
Stagg McMann
Hugh "Stagg" or "Pud" McMann briefly toured with the Harmonicats 1967 to 1969. Stagg, being an expert harmonicist, played both Harmonetta and 2nd chromatic for the quartet during this time. Stagg played the Harmonetta solo on "Parisienne Fantaisie" during the group's tour in Canada. As a side note, Pud was also in a harmonica duet during World War II, known also simply as, "The Harmonicats".John Thompson
joined The Harmonicats in 1951 on bass harmonica, but left in 1957 to start his own group, The Harmonica Jazz Quartet, also following a near fatal accident involving himself, Murad, and a car collision that lead to the car catching fire.Greg Lewis
While Don Les was recovering from eye surgery, Greg Lewis very briefly filled in for Don in January and February 1952, while the Harmonicats were on tour in Canada.Dick Gardner
Dick Gardner took over for Don Les in 1970 and remained with the Cats for over 20 years. Gardner was the last member of the group that was with the group over a decade.Bob Bauer
Bob Bauer took over for George Miklas in 1985 and after Al Fiore left the group. Bob started out as a chord player for his own group, the Harmonikings and later Paul Baron's Harmonica Rascals.George Miklas
George Miklas was originally a chord player for the group before leaving the group and returning later to play bass with the group.Al Data
Al Data played chord with the group in its final days, until Murad's death in 1996.Joe Mass Jr.
Joe Mass Junior played chord for the Harmonicats one year, while on tour in California. He was a short-time member, but recorded audio tracks with Murad, and was featured on the Harmonicats' first DVD video performance and the re-release of "Collector's Item", with his brother, J.R. Mass. Joe Mass was also a member of the Big Harp, and the chord player for The Generation Gap harmonica trio throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, alongside his brother. Joe would later go on to be a tutor, an engineer for both Atari and Intel, and a counsler. A recent video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ5fLPL4RVk discovery, shows that Jerry briefly had both Joe Jr. and his brother JR, for at least one more show date, in 1995.J.R. Mass
Brother to Joe Mass Jr., Jerry "J.R." Mass played the bass harmonica for the Harmonicats one year, while on tour in California.Danny Wilson
Danny Wilson left his job at General Motors to work with Murad around 1971. A bass harmonica player and longtime member of the SPAH organization, Wilson toured with the Harmonicats. However, he left shortly after joining. He, according to his archived website, was also with the Harmonicats for a stint in 1978.Buddy Boblink
Charles "Buddy" Boblink played chord with the group throughout the 1990s and until Murad's death in 1996. Buddy Boblink died in 2023, just months before the annual SPAH Convention - of which he was a member.Pete Pedersen
Pete Pedersen served as the main arranger for the group and remained the second chromatic player for many albums over the band's nearly 50 years of recording. Pete was one of the most respected harmonica arrangers, contributing to many 50s and 60s recordings. Later in life, Pete became a harmonica teacher, writer, and ambassador for the instrument. Pete passed on in 2002.Frank Warner
Frank Warner allegedly was to replace George in 1996 as a possible bass player. He signed a contract with Murad in early 1996, but never got any stage time due to Murad passing from a fatal heart attack the same year.Honorable mention: Chris Bauer
Despite never being an official member of the Jerry Murad Harmonicats, Chris Bauer performed on stage with the Harmonicats with his father, Bob, and Dick Gardner on bass. He also appeared on the Jerry Murad's Harmonicats Magic album, as the second chromatic player. On the 50th anniversary of "Peg O' My Heart", Dick Gardner, Bob Bauer, and Chris Bauer recorded a small six-song album."Peg o' My Heart"
Their 1947 recording of the song "Peg o' My Heart" brought them public attention and sold over one million copies by 1950, reaching No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard chart. When recording engineer Bill Putnam recorded the song, he utilized the bathroom of Universal Recording as an echo chamber and became the first person to use artificial reverberation creatively on a pop recording.Other charted hits for the group included "Hair of Gold, Eyes of Blue" in 1948, "Charmaine" in 1952, and "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" in 1961. Jerry Murad, accompanied by Richard Hayman's Orchestra, had a solo hit with "The Story of Three Loves" in 1953.