The Philharmonica Trio

                                               The Philharmonica Trio - USA (1)                                                                                          The Six Philharmonicas - The Philharmonicas -  Curtis Bay Coast Guard Philharmonicas

 

V-Disc was the US military's own private record label. It ran during the 1940s, sending out morale-raising 78s to overseas troops. It's hard to think what could raise morale more than this, members of the coastguard playing Vittorio Monti's Czardas. Never before had an Italian classical composer's version of a traditional Hungarian folk tune been turned into novelty music for American military purposes¹, and amazingly, neither has it been since². While the whole armed services and music connection is distasteful, you've got to weigh that against the fact that while the USAF managed to get Glen Miller, all this lot could manage was three blokes with harmonicas. That's the kind of naff we like.