Alice on Harmonica

Alice Cooper co-founder and Hall Of Fame inductee Dennis Dunaway answers your questions!

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VinceRaven
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Alice on Harmonica

Post by VinceRaven » Wed Aug 04, 2021 1:47 pm

Hey Dennis,

I was wondering how much or how little a role Alice's harmonica playing had in the development of the band?

I'm guessing it took more of a back seat as you went from the garage sound to psychadelia and beyond, but was there ever a possibility of it popping up on more tracks?

Were there any tunes we're familiar with that had harmonica tried on them initially before it was decided against using it?

Thanks

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Re: Alice on Harmonica

Post by Dreary » Thu Aug 05, 2021 1:04 am

Dreary wrote:
Wed Aug 04, 2021 5:48 pm
Michael, Neal, Glen, and I always encouraged Alice to play harp. Harmonica is a cool sounding instrument and we loved the variation of texture.
Once in a while one of us would suggest it but Alice usually initiated the idea, and whenever he did, it always seemed to work.

I was with Vince when he bought his first harmonicas (in various keys). He bought Marine Band harmonicas because he said more expensive styles weren't as bluesy. Bob Dylan's parents were at the Mall that day and we got to meet them. We told them that we liked their son's music. Alice said he liked Bob's harmonica playing and showed them the harmonicas he had just bought. I asked Mr. Zimmerman what he thought about his son's harmonica playing. He said, I guess he gets what he wants out of it.

"Love Me Do" might have been the first of our cover songs that Alice blew harp on. Then some of the Stones songs. But he really honed his ability imitating Keith Relf of the Yardbirds and Paul Butterfield. Listen to "Work Song".

Alice has been playing more often these days. On the Detroit Stories album, he plays on "Drunk and in Love", "Sister Anne", and "East Side Story". You can still hear his early influences in his playing.

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Re: Alice on Harmonica

Post by pitkin88 » Thu Aug 26, 2021 3:37 am

It was a big shock finding out that wasn't Alice playing harp/harmonica on Working Up A Sweat.

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Re: Alice on Harmonica

Post by Dreary » Thu Aug 26, 2021 10:01 pm

pitkin88 wrote:
Thu Aug 26, 2021 3:37 am
It was a big shock finding out that wasn't Alice playing harp/harmonica on Working Up A Sweat.
Because of scheduling and deadlines, it didn't shock me. But I also wish that Alice had played it.

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