Traditions: Ohio Heritage Fellows; 201; Larry Nager interview with Wallace Coleman, part 4 of 10

Q:

LARRY: You know, th—we always wonder who’s... who’s next, right? Who’s going to be the next Little Walter or the next Wallace Coleman? And, it’s—it’s hard to say. There are young players uh, who... who plays harmoni—mm, or plays some harmonica, but it’s, again... (PAUSED) We’re always wondering who’s next. You know, and uh, in Wallace’s case, who’s gonna take his place, you know. And the answer’s is probably nobody. Nobody took Little Walter’s place. There—there were some great harmonica players, but nobody played like Little Walter. And I think uh, no one is going to play like Wallace because of that direct connection. Because of that—he grew up in very rich, musical tradition. It wasn’t just something you heard on the radio that helped. You know, he was a modern person, so he learned from records, he learned from the radio as well as the community and directly from musicians. But nowadays, it’s mostly uh, harmonica players are learning from YouTube, you know. They’re not... they’re not learning from the guy in the juke joint down the street. And there is something lost in that. You know, that direct connection. Uh, that direct connection, especially to a traditional community... a traditional wealth of information and, you know, and heritage that gets passed on.

Q:

LARRY: Well, you know, what’s interesting about Wallace, of course, is—is that if it wasn’t for Ohio he wouldn’t play harmonica. You know, if we didn’t have WCKY, if we didn’t have Wayne Randy and Lonnie Glosson working there and the reason they were working there was King Records they, they, they did sessions and played on... on King Records, played with the great Delmore Brothers and... and they were on the Boone County Jamboree, you know, there was work for them and so they sold their harmonica’s and Wallace bought his harmonica. So in—in that sense, uh, wi—if not for that, maybe there wouldn’t be a Wallace Coleman. And I think, you know, where Cleveland was a good place for him to go is he’s kind of shy and maybe Chicago is too big a city, so... so Cleveland was just the right size. He had his mom there and he got a good job with a— with a good bakery and... and kept... and that kept him in Cleveland—and allowed him to continue playing and uh, and, and get through that into his retirement and, and then have that freedom. And that’s another aspect of... of Wallace, I think, that’s really important, is that, he’d waited to do this for so long that there was a... a joy and a liberation in... in him getting to really explore music. You know, he’d... he’d been the responsible guy. He’d uh, you know, raised his kids and... and had his job and... and then, you know, when he retired he was able to really become Wallace Coleman.

Q:

LARRY:What, I think makes Wallace important is that there will not be another Wallace Coleman. I—which is not to say the music is dying... which is not to say blues harmonica’s dying. The... (PAUSED)