Please consider registering
Guest
sp_LogInOut Log Insp_Registration Register
Register | Lost password?
Advanced Search
Forum Scope


Match



Forum Options



Minimum search word length is 3 characters - maximum search word length is 84 characters
sp_Feed sp_TopicIcon
Who gave John his first harmonica?
6 October 2012
5.14am
Avatar
mithveaen
Sitarday's room
Rishikesh
Members
Forum Posts: 4621
Member Since:
1 May 2010
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

HI guys

 

Two of my students have a question about how John got his first harmonica. Was it a present from his uncle (Mimi’s husband) or did he steal it??

 

Thanks!!

Here comes the sun….. Scoobie-doobie……

Something in the way she moves…..attracts me like a cauliflower…

Bop. Bop, cat bop. Go, Johnny, Go.

Beware of Darkness… 

6 October 2012
9.31am
Avatar
meanmistermustard
Thankfully not where I am.
Moderator
Members

Reviewers


Moderators
Forum Posts: 24944
Member Since:
1 May 2011
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Wiki.answers comes up with this (it was the first site i came across in a search to give an answer)

John Lennon was given a harmonica by his uncle George when he was a child, and  after his uncle’s death began to teach himself. Having played harmonica through  early Beatles gigs, John developed his technique in 1962 when the Beatles were  on tour with Bruce Channel, and Bruce’s harmonica player Delbert McClinton’s  gave John some tips which influenced John’s playing on the Beatles’ debut single  ‘Love Me Do “.

John stole the harmonica he used on Love Me Do from a shop in Arnhem in 1960 (From Joe’s entry for 16th August 1960).

"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)

6 October 2012
1.43pm
mr. Sun king coming together
Nowhere Land
Apple rooftop
Members
Forum Posts: 6402
Member Since:
19 September 2010
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

The first harmonica was given to John from George Smith (Mimi’s husband). He later nicked one in Germany because he had had the first one for a very long time (at least ten years).

The following people thank mr. Sun king coming together for this post:

C.R.A.

As if it matters how a man falls down.'

'When the fall's all that's left, it matters a great deal.

6 October 2012
5.25pm
goodbyehello
The Jersey Shore-yeah, that one....
The Jacaranda
Members
Forum Posts: 26
Member Since:
30 September 2012
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

I read somewhere that years ago some fans had managed to track the place down that John Lennon had stolen the harmonica from and paid the shop owner for it.

6 October 2012
8.39pm
Avatar
Zig
The Toppermost of the Poppermost
Apple rooftop
Members

Reviewers
Forum Posts: 9832
Member Since:
14 April 2010
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

goodbyehello said
I read somewhere that years ago some fans had managed to track the place down that John Lennon had stolen the harmonica from and paid the shop owner for it.

 

If that is true, it is an epic gesture. Can you recall your source?

To the fountain of perpetual mirth, let it roll for all its worth. And all the children boogie.

6 October 2012
9.01pm
Avatar
Joe
Pepperland
Admin
Forum Posts: 5690
Member Since:
31 March 2008
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

I didn’t know the fans had paid the owner, but they’ve done all right out of the connection. Some links:

The Beatles at Bergmann

Buy a harmonica with an Imagine written on it (for some reason) and get a “stolen one” certificate

And from the comments on this page:

Today, on a Dutch talkshow an old lady who still runs a music instrument shop in Arnhem told that in the 80’s she heard the story of John stealing a mouth organ in Arnhem and realised that this had happened in her shop. She remembered some very strange looking English boys coming to her shop in the 60’s, wanting to look at some instruments, but buying nothing. Later she missed a mouth organ.
She nows sells the same model as ‘The Stolen One’.

Can buy me love! Please consider supporting the Beatles Bible on Amazon
Or buy my paperback/ebook! Riding So High – The Beatles and Drugs

Don't miss The Bowie Bible – now live!

6 October 2012
9.09pm
goodbyehello
The Jersey Shore-yeah, that one....
The Jacaranda
Members
Forum Posts: 26
Member Since:
30 September 2012
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

I saw that too- I was googling to find my source. I want to say I read it in a “twist of Lennon”- but I have read so many books I really am not sure which one it was. It stood out to me though because I thought it was an awesome gesture.

7 October 2012
4.36am
Avatar
mithveaen
Sitarday's room
Rishikesh
Members
Forum Posts: 4621
Member Since:
1 May 2010
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Thanks so much for your answer!! I already posted the info to my 2 young Beatlefriends a-hard-days-night-john-2a-hard-days-night-john-2apple01apple01apple01

Here comes the sun….. Scoobie-doobie……

Something in the way she moves…..attracts me like a cauliflower…

Bop. Bop, cat bop. Go, Johnny, Go.

Beware of Darkness… 

13 April 2014
3.05pm
Avatar
Beatleva
In my life
Hollywood Bowl
Members
Forum Posts: 672
Member Since:
8 April 2014
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

mr. Sun king coming together said
The first harmonica was given to John from George Smith (Mimi’s husband). He later nicked one in Germany because he had had the first one for a very long time (at least ten years).

Just one thing, John Lennon actually stole the harmonica in Arnhem, which is in The Netherlands/Holland. He did it when he was on his way to Germany, I think.

 

The following people thank Beatleva for this post:

C.R.A.
4 September 2015
8.23am
Avatar
Ahhh Girl
sailing on a winedark open sea
Moderator

Moderators

Members

Reviewers
Forum Posts: 22198
Member Since:
20 August 2013
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

meanmistermustard said

Wiki.answers comes up with this (it was the first site i came across in a search to give an answer)

John Lennon was given a harmonica by his uncle George when he was a child, and  after his uncle’s death began to teach himself. Having played harmonica through  early Beatles gigs, John developed his technique in 1962 when the Beatles were  on tour with Bruce Channel, and Bruce’s harmonica player Delbert McClinton’s  gave John some tips which influenced John’s playing on the Beatles’ debut single  ‘Love Me Do “.

(snip)

I came across this article that goes along with the answer mmm provided.

Delbert McClinton explains the myth and legends, including John Lennon’s harmonica lesson

Now, as far as that story about him teaching Lennon how to play the harmonica, McClinton says history doesn’t really support the legend.

It was the early ’60s and McClinton was playing England as part of the backing band for American singer Bruce Channel, who had a huge hit with Hey Baby, on which McClinton played harmonica. The Beatles were opening for Channel.

McClinton says that Lennon already knew how to play and that he just gave him some tips.

“These things are getting romanticized by everyone,” he says. “They [The Beatles] were just another group of guys. They hadn’t yet changed the world. [But] we were all going to change the world, every one of us. And there was no doubt about it.”

6 September 2015
5.35am
castironshore
Royal Command Performance
Members
Forum Posts: 244
Member Since:
12 May 2015
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

I heard that a bus driver who was taking john to scotland when he was a kid had heard him practicing (presumably with the one his uncle gave him) ,and impressed by his efforts gave him a proper hohner model. 

Forum Timezone: Europe/London
Most Users Ever Online: 700
Currently Online:
Guest(s) 1
Currently Browsing this Page:
1 Guest(s)
Top Posters:
Starr Shine?: 16105
Ron Nasty: 12534
Zig: 9832
50yearslate: 8759
Necko: 8043
AppleScruffJunior: 7583
parlance: 7111
mr. Sun king coming together: 6402
Mr. Kite: 6147
trcanberra: 6064
Member Stats:
Guest Posters: 88
Members: 2858
Moderators: 5
Admins: 1
Forum Stats:
Groups: 3
Forums: 44
Topics: 5508
Posts: 380271
Newest Members:
jsullivan2112_1, catadorademusica, Slowhand, mirrortime, Julie
Moderators: Joe: 5690, meanmistermustard: 24944, Ahhh Girl: 22198, Beatlebug: 18181, The Hole Got Fixed: 8410
Administrators: Joe: 5690