The Cappy Barra Harmonica Band was an American harmonica ensemble — originally a trio, then a quartet, then two groups — that played big band arrangements. Cappy Barra flourished from 1935 to 1945.

History

1938 to 1942 : Cappy Barra was assembled by promoter Maurice Duke. The name was derived from "

capybara The capybara or greater capybara (''Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris'') is the largest living rodent, native to South America. It is a member of the genus '' Hydrochoerus''. The only other extant member is the lesser capybara (''Hydrochoerus isthmi ...

," the largest extant rodent in the world, native to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. In 1940, Sam Scheckter and Sam Sperling left the group, George Fields replaced Schekter. Shortly after, the act split into two groups. The first unit worked primarily in the Chicago area. A second unit, based in New York, formed around Phil King, who enlisted newcomers George Fields, Charley Leighton, Alan Greene and Pro Robbins ''(né'' Irving Rubenstein). : The Chicago unit, a trio, disbanded in 1942 when Nat Bergman and Cappy LaFell enlisted in the Armed Forces. Don Ripps returned to

Freeport, Texas Freeport is a city in Brazoria County, Texas, United States, located on the Gulf of Mexico, founded in 1912. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city population was 10,696, down from 12,049 in 2010, where Hispanic (U.S. ...

. : The New York unit worked steadily in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

and in nightclubs through the war years. George Fields left in 1941 to move to California, and the group played as a trio, with Charles Leighton handling the lead, Alan Greene playing chord harp and singing, and Pro Robbins on bass harp. Phil King booked the band, played an occasional Polyphonia, did comedy bits, and fronted the group. The group disbanded in 1944. Post World War II : Around 1945, Duke reorganized Cappy Barra as a quartet and moved it to Los Angeles with the aim of getting Hollywood studio work. The performers were Charley Leighton on lead, George Fields on second, Pete Petersen on third, and Pro Robbins on fourth. Performing members * Cappy LaFell ''(né'' Leon S. Lehrfeld; 1913–2002) * Joe Mullendore (aka Raymond Joe Sanns, ''né'' Joseph Milton Mullendore Jr.; 1914–1990) * Nat Bergman (aka Nate Burton, ''né'' Nathaniel Bergman; 1916–1994) * Phil Solomon * Don Ripps (1918–1965) * Samuel Scheckter (1913–1995) * Sam Sperling * George Joseph Fields (1921–2005) * Charley Leighton (1921–2009) * Alan Greene * Pro Robbins ''(né'' Irving Rubenstein) * Pete Petersen * Milton Freeman * Eddie Shu ''(né'' Edward Shulman; 1918–1986) Non-performing members * Maurice Duke (1910–1996). * Phil King, served as spokesman and leader, but not a musician * Harry Morton (1912–2004), comedian *

Henry Nemo Henry Nemo (June 8, 1909 – November 26, 1999) was an American musician, songwriter, and actor in Hollywood films who had a reputation as a hipster. Band leading In 1941, Nemo formed his own 19-piece band. The group featured four Chinese women ...

(1909–1999), composer & arranger

Filmography

* ''Musical Airwaves'' (1936, a 10-minute short), Milton Edward Schwarzwald (1891–1950), director,

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

* ''

Mad About Music ''Mad About Music'' is a 1938 American musical film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Deanna Durbin, Herbert Marshall, and Gail Patrick. Based on a story by Marcella Burke and Frederick Kohner, the film is about a girl at an exclusive boardi ...

'' (1938),

Roy Liebman, ''Musical groups in the movies, 1929–1970'',

McFarland & Company McFarland & Company, Inc., is an American independent book publisher based in Jefferson, North Carolina, that specializes in academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tert ...

(2009) # ''I Love to Whistle'', by

Jimmy McHugh James Francis McHugh (July 10, 1894 – May 23, 1969) was an American composer. One of the most prolific songwriters from the 1920s to the 1950s, he is credited with over 500 songs. His songs were recorded by many artists, including Chet Baker, J ...

Harold Adamson Harold Campbell Adamson (December 10, 1906 – August 17, 1980)Larkin, pp. 41-42 was an American lyricist from the 1930s through the 1960s. Early life Adamson, the son of building contractor Harold Adamson and Marion "Minnie" Campbell Adamson, ...

(lyrics) (1938), sung by

Deanna Durbin Edna May Durbin (December 4, 1921 – April 17, 2013), known professionally as Deanna Durbin, was a Canadian-born American soprano and actress, who moved to the U.S. from Canada with her family in infancy. She appeared in musical films in the 1 ...

with the Cappy Barra Harmonica Band at part
(audio clip)
* '' Pot o' Gold'' (1941)
video clip
Cappy Barra is dubbed) * ''

Rockin' in the Rockies Rocking or Rockin may refer to: Music Albums *Rockin' (The Guess Who album) * Rockin' (Frankie Laine album) 1957 Songs *" Hajej, nynjej" Czech children's carol, recorded as "Rocking" by Julie Andrews on ''Christmas with Julie Andrews'', 1982 *" ...

'' (1945)
video clip
* ''Radio Stars on Parade'' (1945)
video clip
* ''Bowery Boy'' (1945) Musical film shorts The

1942–44 musicians' strike Year 194 ( CXCIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Septimius and Septimius (or, less frequently, year 947 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 194 for thi ...

banned musicians from recording with major labels. A year earlier (1941), the motion picture industry began producing short music films, which were not banned. The films were the early version of music videos — known as "

soundies A soundie is a three-minute American film displaying both the audio and video of a musical performance. Over 1,850 soundies were produced between 1940 and 1946, regarded today as "precursors to music videos". Soundies exhibited a variety of mu ...

. Cappy Barra performed on the following

:
The Smoothies (vocal group) and The Cappy Barra Harmonica Boys
Smoothies personnel: Babs (Blanche Redwine?) and the two brothers, Charlie & Little Ryan ''(né'' Reinhart)

Discography

Cappy Barra Harmonica Swing Ensemble * Recorded April 5, 1937, Variety Recordings (600) : M359 ''Voo Doo'' : M356 ''Stardust'', by

Hoagy Carmichael Hoagland Howard "Hoagy" Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American musician, composer, songwriter, actor, author and lawyer. Carmichael was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930s and 1940s, a ...

78 rpm A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The g ...

, 10-inch (1937) : ''Casa Loma Stomp'', by Gene Gifford : ''

Solitude Solitude, also known as social withdrawal, is a state of seclusion or isolation, meaning lack of socialisation. Effects can be either positive or negative, depending on the situation. Short-term solitude is often valued as a time when one may wo ...

'', by

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

, arranged by Gene Gifford

Sheet music

* ''Nocturne in Blue'', by Al Greene (lyrics) & Raymond Joe Sanns ''(né'' Joseph Milton Mullendore Jr.; 1914–1990) (music), © February 11, 1941; 249699 (Joseph Milton Mullendore Jr., Philadelphia) * ''Voo Doo'', by Raymond Joe Sanns ''(né'' Joseph Milton Mullendore Jr.; 1914–1990), Leon Lafell ''(né'' Leon S. Lehrfeld; 1913–2002), and Maurice Duke (1910–1996), © June 10, 1937; 62625 (Exclusive Publications, Inc., New York) * ''It's Nature All Around Me,'' by Joseph Milton Mullendore Jr. (1914–1990), © January 18, 1934; 81496 (Leon Lafell; ''né'' Leon S. Lehrfeld; 1913–2002)

Other harmonica ensembles

United States * The Harmonica Gentlemen * The Harmonica Rascals * The Harmonica Scamps * The Harmonicuties * The Harmonica Harlequins * The Philharmonicas * The Harlemonicats * The Three Harpers (see Stan Harper) *

The Harptones The Harptones are an American doo-wop group which formed in Manhattan, New York in 1953. The group never had a top forty pop hit, or a record on the US ''Billboard'' R&B chart, yet they are known for both their lead singer Willie Winfield and ...

* The Stagg McMann Trio * The Harmonica Hi-Hats * The Harmonica Lads * The Don Henry Trio * The Harmonica Gang * The Stereomonics * The Big Harp Netherlands * The 5 Hotchas :: Eddie Sernee, Joop Heijman, Geert van Driesten, Cor Belder, Wim Belder Ireland *

The Bachelors The Bachelors were a popular music group from Dublin, Ireland, but based primarily in the United Kingdom. They had several international hits during the 1960s, including eight top-ten singles in the UK between 1963 and 1966. The Bachelors spli ...

History

Filmography

Discography

Sheet music

See also

Other harmonica ensembles

References

Citations

Sources