Harmonica Fats - RIP

By: Ken Condit

Article Reprint from the February 2000 BluesNotes
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The name Harvey Blackston may not be well known, even in Southern California where he lived for over 50 years, but Blues fans in the Los Angeles area and many other parts of the country will immediately recognize the stage name Harmonica Fats. His harmonica playing, singing and songwriting entertained countless fans for decades and earned him high regards within the music industry. Thus, with the passing of Harmonica Fats on January 3rd this year, we mourn the loss of a tremendous talent who contributed greatly to the continuing Tradition of the Blues.

Originally from McDade, Louisiana, Fats was the eldest son of 13 children and spent much of his childhood working on his grandparents' farm. He would receive a new harmonica each Christmas and began to pick up the Blues from his grandparents' record collection, which included Peatie Wheatstraw, Blind Lemon Jefferson and Sonny Terry. Although his roots were in the rural South, Fats felt the lure of the City and by 1946, he had made his way to L. A. It was 10 years later that he began performing publicly, after he mastered the harmonica during a long rehabilitation period caused by a serious auto accident. He appeared with his own band under the name "Heavy Juice" until 1961 when he made the R&B charts with the original song, "Tore Up" and adopted the moniker Harmonica Fats.

Fats toured and recorded over the years with numerous artists while he developed his songwriting skills. His natural abilities also served him well as a studio musician backing up performers in a variety of musical styles. Colleagues were impressed with his great ear for music and his arranging skills.

To help make ends meet, Fats took a job with the Clorox Bleach Company that lasted until 1988. But, the career move that proved most rewarding was when he hooked up with Blues guitarist Bernie Pearl in the mid-1980s. By 1986, Fats was appearing regularly with the Bernie Pearl Band in the L. A. area and elsewhere. They entertained crowds at Portland's Waterfront Blues Festival in 1989 and 1991.

Fats' first recording with the Bernie Pearl Band was actually a demo tape they made. The 1990 cassette-only release is titled, "Live at the Cafe Lido", and also includes a guest appearance by the late Jazz and Blues violinist, Papa John Creach. It was at Cafe Lido in Newport Beach, California that Fats appeared regularly with Pearl for years. Harmonica Fats' first CD, "I Had To Get Nasty", was released in 1991 by Bee Bump Records and featured mostly electric Blues with the backing of the Bernie Pearl Band.

Despite leaving the rural life behind when he was young, Fats' roots were in Country Blues. "People sometimes overlook the fact that Fats was an authentic rural Blues man," Bernie Pearl told me during a phone conversation. "Even though he played different styles of music, he was as raw as any Bluesman from Mississippi or Louisiana." With the encouragement of his wife, Fats went back to those roots and joined with Pearl to record two acoustic CDs. The first, "Two Heads Are Better" (Bee Bump Records, 1995) received a W. C. Handy nomination for Best Acoustic Blues Recording. The follow-up recording, "Blow, Fat Daddy, Blow!" (Bee Bump Records, 1996) was dedicated to the memory of Fats' wife, a prominent civil rights activist, after her death from a long illness just prior to the CD's release. This recording also garnered a W. C. Handy nomination.

I don't recall the venue where I first saw Fats play and sing in Southern California, but I do recall almost instantly enjoying his performances. There was more there than his musical skills and energy. In our conversation, Pearl emphasized to me that "the overriding thing with Fats is that he was genuine." Honesty and sincerity go a long way in writing and playing the Blues, and listeners certainly felt this genuine nature coming through in his music. Fats combined energy, wit and natural God-given talent to become a true master of the Blues. "He was a great songwriter," Pearl also pointed out, "not just in his lyrics and music, but in the great variety of music that he wrote and arranged."

One cannot help being saddened by the fact that Harmonica Fats will perform and record no more; and, undoubtedly, his family and friends will miss their personal contact with him dearly. But, through his recordings and the people he influenced, he has left behind an enduring legacy that will keep his memory alive. Blow on, Fats.

Harmonica Fats - RIP

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