Stan Fisher- Hi-Fi Harmonica Over Broadway

DSCN5065 (1005x1024)This was a 25 cent record augmented by an additional 20% off, bringing the final cost to 20 cents.  I should have posted this last month when I was pushing out the show tunes.  Well, better late than never.s-l225

Not much is known about Stan Fisher other than what I learned on the back cover.  I am not sure where in the US he is from but as a child he found a rusty harmonica which the liner notes states he soon mastered. His parents in turn bought him a new one and young Stan worked from amatuer contests up to paying gigs.  He was discovered by Garry Moore, who was working on Broadway with Jimmy Durante,  Moore got Fisher a gig on radio in Baltimore.  From there, Fisher eventually played across the US and Canada. s-l1600

WWII put the brakes on Fisher’s career as with many people.  Funny how that does not happen anymore. Then again, playing harmonica ain’t the same as crooning.  Anyway, Fisher joined the Aviation Cadets , earned his wings, and was commissioned First Lieutenant.  He flew 35 combat missions over Germany, crashing four times.  He also was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the E.T.O ribbon with two battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation.

Other than that, I have no idea.  He has several albums floating around the Ebay ranks. He performed with David Rose, writer and performer of “The Stripper”.  He was an accomplished tennis player, winning the Florida Racquet Club doubles championship even though I am sure his partner Bobby Riggs had something to do with it.  Finally, according to TV host Jack Carter, he may have worn a toupee.  DSCN5066 (1021x1024)

As far the album, it is straight harp playing Broadway tunes.  This album was released on Design Records, a subsidiary of Pickwick.  I am guessing this came out in 1958.  Shows tunes used on this album come from Flower Drum Song, My Fair Lady, South Pacific, and Oklahoma.   It is an okay album.  Very R & H heavy and you know I like that.  Harpfinder_engl_1_Blues_aktiv

For a sample, I went with “Oklahoma” which takes advantage of the harmonica’s sound. 20141001MWHharmonicaMag06-5

I hate saying this as the album is what it says it is, but this is really meh.  I mean it delivers what the cover promised but it just does not have enough bite for my tastes. However, it was only 20 cents.  Well, I already wrote meh so meh it is.

6 thoughts on “Stan Fisher- Hi-Fi Harmonica Over Broadway”

  1. At the age of 21 I finally met my birth father Stan Fisher in Baltimore Where he and his mother lived . He was a very nice man and I took every opportunity to stop in and see him and my Grandmother Berniece. I was the product of a overnight fling he and my mother had. As far as I know and as far as he told me I had no other siblings. He died around 1986 of stomach cancer. He also worked with Milton Berle, Dan Rowan and Dick Martin.

    1. Sorry for the delay in response . This was in my junk box. Thank you so much for your feedback

    2. Stan was a regular on the Royal Caribbean cruise ships Sun Viking and Nordic Prince where I served as ships doctor. Stan was amazing, and so I bought a harmonic on one of the islands and traded lessons with him. We became friends over those months and years, and I once wrote paper about the macro-biotic diet that he was very fond of. I may still have a few cassette tapes of his performances on the ships, but that goes back to the late 1970s or perhaps early 1980s. He sent me a harmonica box that I still have as a treasure. Hohner put out a calendar with his photo in it. I was very sad when he passed, as he was one who gave me so very much of himself that I still enjoy as I try to play the Romanian Rhapsody that he did better than just about anyone in the world. Feel free to contact me at michaelsewer@yahoo.

    3. I grew up next-door to Bernie’s your father and Bernice‘s husband before he died. I knew the family very well I even remember Bernice‘s mother and her sisters and her brother.

      1. Thank you for your reply. I have lost touch with Stan’s family and I do not know of any relatives other than an Uncle Al that I met in Baltimore. I would love to hear more about my father’s side of the Family. If you have any connections with surviving members please contact me.
        Colcomet@gmail.com
        Thank you

  2. At the age of 21 I finally met my birth father Stan Fisher in Baltimore Where he and his mother lived . He was a very nice man and I took every opportunity to stop in and see him and my Grandmother Berniece. I was the product of a overnight fling he and my mother had. As far as I know and as far as he told me I had no other siblings. He died around 1986 of stomach cancer. He also worked with Milton Berle, Dan Rowan and Dick Martin.

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