Larry Adler

We remember the world best known player of the mouth organ, Larry Adler. He died recently at the age of 87. He got started on vaudeville, and went on to perform with Fred Astaire, George Gershwin, Jack Benny and many others. When George Gershwin first heard Adler play Rhapsody in Blue on the mouth-organ he said, "It sounds as if the goddamned thing was written for you." Adler also played classical music and performed with a number of symphony orchestras. Adler moved to England after being blacklisted during the McCarthy hearings.

Larry Adler grew up in Baltimore and started playing the Vaudeville circuit as a teenager. He later pursued classical music, even though no repertoire existed for his instrument. Blacklisted during the McCarthy era, Adler moved to England, but still returns to the States to perform.