No not Harry Patch
The third of out three is the least well known by name, without even a Wikipedia page, but his music continues to endure long after his passing, and in terms of British popular culture his contribution was outstanding. His name was Harry Pitch.
In his obituary it stated “Harry was one of the handful of players who have turned harmonica playing into an art form. A player of enormous fluency and invention, his career has spanned six decades and innumerable gigs and sessions. He was one of Larry Adler´s favourite players.”
Born In Hull in 1925, he grew up in North London. His family was not musical, but he learnt the harmonica at an early age. He was evacuated to Peterborough, but soon began to play in dance bands initially with the trumpet.
By the fifties he was already a successful musician, having formed his own band, and brought the harmonica more and more into his playing. He was also a very successful session musician, notably heard in adverts for such as Nestle’s Milky Bar, and the infamous Strand commercials.
He loved jazz the most, but it was pop music that brought his music to prominence. He can be heard in Frank Ifield’s “I remember you”, the Springfields “Island of Dreams”, Val Doonican’s “Walk Tall” and even as late as 1970 when he had a surprise hit with “ Groovin´ with Mr Bloe”.
His versatility with the instrument made him the “go to” man in the sixties. He told the story how in 1962 just sitting in the canteen sipping tea at Abbey Road Studios, John Lennon and Paul McCartney approached him. Lennon asked him for advice on how he got a particular effect on the Ifield record. Harry told him, and “Lennon was able to use his memorable harmonica intro and feature on the group’s single, ‘Love Me Do.’”
His harmonica was to be heard everywhere, from the film “Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines, to the theme tune for “Shoestring”, but it was “Last of the Summer Wine” that meant that Harry Pitch continues to be heard down the ages. With the endless repeats of this iconic programme, we can hear Harry’s brilliance over and over again. Ian Pitch said that “The music director Ronnie Hazlehurst wanted a reliable harmonica player who could sight-read many tricky cues in a single, time-critical recording session. Harry was more than capable of the task”
In later years there wasn’t much call for the harmonica but Harry continued to have a good time, recording albums, playing jazz. He formed a group called Rhythm and Reeds.
In 2001 he was asked to emulate Max Geldray in a 50th anniversary recreation of the Goon Show called Goon Again, notably with Andrew Secombe, and appropriately enough was also asked to play “Summertime” at Larry Adler’s memorial concert. So was the circle completed.
With his passing in 2015 ended an era.
There had been three Jewish geniuses who had brought the harmonica instrument to mainstream popularity in Britain - Adler, Geldray, and Pitch. It is unlikely that we shall see their like again.
These books are available from Amazon:
Kosher Foxtrot
Jews and the Sea
The Definitive Guide to Jewish Miscellany and Trivia
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