How wonderful to see & hear this.I know very little about music & don't play any instruments,but I feel his interpretation on this & other music is phenomenal.Something other worldly & you would be hard pressed to find anyone like him these days.❤️
One of my most prized possessions is a letter written to me by Harpo's wife, Susan, in 1983. In the letter, she told me he stood for the hope that, for as long as there is love and laughter in the world, sanity will hold. He was one of the funniest and most wonderful men in the world. Whenever I'm invited to a Hallowe'en party, I can never come. But, I always see to it that Harpo shows up. I've gotten so good at it that people forget it's really me in a wig and a raincoat. One night, I said to my friend: "It's hot in that costume". He said: "How would you know? You're not the one who wears it." Gone almost 60 years and I still miss him.
Harpo was born with the given name Adolph. He changed it of course. He taught himself to play the harp but he doesn’t play it like you are supposed to play it. It did it in his own unique way
At about 0:24, the woman who appears, wearing the prominent hat, is Lillian Randolph, who was well known in radio as "Madam Queen" in the Amos 'n' Andy series. She also played that role during the brief TV run of the show. In addition to her performances, she also taught acting, and was inducted into the Black FIlmmakers' Hall Of Fame. Her sister, Amanda Randolph was, perhaps, even more prolific on radio and screen.
That intense concentration on his face! He was left-handed, and his first harp lesson was a picture of an angel playing right-handed. When he sought professional training, he realized that the teachers were studying his technique rather than the other way around
Wow. That was a brilliant rendition. Creative, clever, sentimental, bold, sweet... I wish there was a lot more of him recorded, as the man was a serious musician and arranger.
What is so remarkable is that Harpo was almost entirely self taught and played in a unique way. He was so talented. The harp is one of the most difficult instrument to master as it is so difficult to see the strings.
I cannot imagine Hollywood today just routinely putting instrumental flourishes into a movie for its stars the way the studios did for the Marx Brothers.
