“Harmonicas, Harps, and Heavy Breathers” NASHVILLE Event
Promotional Event at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Nashville, Tennessee, July 13, 1995
(To purchase a print or Kindle copy of “Harmonicas, Harps, and Heavy Breathers,” click here.)
After the Boston event, I continued my 1995 promotional tour down south with another "pinch me" experience at the Davis-Kidd Bookstore in Nashville on July 13.
Kirk "Jelly Roll" Johnson, a star studio player in a town full of the finest musicians who has lent his harmonica to countless hits by stars like The Judds and Randy Travis, came with a guitarist and thoroughly entertained the large crowd.
Charlie McCoy had flown into town just hours before on a red-eye from Copenhagen, but the harmonica legend and member of the Country Music Hall of Fame was gracious enough to appear and blew the roof off of the place. Charlie was everywhere in the Nashville studios for decades as a harmonica player, guitarist, bass player, and vibes player. He recorded several albums with Bob Dylan. Somehow he also found the time to record thirty-seven solo albums, tour the U.S. and Europe, serve as the musical director for the television show Hee Haw, and create a totally new sound on the diatonic harmonica.
I couldn't believe I was even in the same room with these two gentlemen. Jelly and Charlie are not only two of the best harmonica players ever to pick up the instrument, they are both beautiful people as well. Charlie finally published his autobiography, “Fifty Cents and a Boxtop” (that’s how he got his first harmonica), which I highly recommend. (You can buy Charlie’s book here.) If you are a harmonica fan, you need to check out Jelly Roll’s original recordings, which show the full range of his great playing. (You can purchase one here.) The great Nashville singer/songwriter/instrumentalist Verlon Th0mpson provided guitar accompaniment.
The Nashville Network sent a film crew to the Davis-Kidd store to film the event and interview me, Charlie, and Jelly Roll. The network later provided me with the unedited footage. I just recently rediscovered this footage and had it digitized. The footage is not continuous—there are skips and jumps. I’ve broken the footage into different segments: the news segment that aired on The Nashville Network; interviews with me, Charlie, and Jelly Roll; individual performances by me, Charlie, and Jelly Roll; the three of us jamming on a blues tune; and me signing books afterwards. I hope you enjoy them.
The Nashville Network news segment on “Harmonicas, Harps, and Heavy Breathers”
Interview with Kim Field
Interview with Jelly Roll Johnson
Interview with Charlie McCoy
Kim Field reads from his book and performs “Ice Water Blues” and “Cool Driver”
Jelly Roll Johnson and Verlon Thompson perform their original song “My Old Harpoon”
Charlie McCoy performs his incendiary version of “Orange Blossom Special”
Kim Field, Charlie McCoy, and Jelly Roll Johnson jam on Bob Wills’ “Brain Cloudy Blues”
Kim Field signing books after the performances
Jelly Roll Johnson, Charlie McCoy, and me at Davis-Kidd (photo by Beth Gwinn)
Charlie McCoy mesmerizing Verlon Thompson, Jelly Roy Johnson, me, and the Davis-Kidd audience with his version of “Orange Blossom Special.” (Photo by Beth Gwinn.)