Whatever happened to harmonica groups?

I came to know the harmonica through my Dad's harmonica trio "The Harmonikings". They were three men who were passionate about the harmonica. The trio was comprised of Hank Graham (Uncle Harry to me as a kid), Gene Broglie (Uncle Gene to me) on chromatic harmonica, and my Dad Bob on the chord. They rehearsed every Friday night fro. as long as I could remember. They would practice the tunes they already knew, learn new ones, try different mics, sounds, etc. They performed many gigs, recorded two albums, appeared on TV, and even got into a commercial.

In those days (late 60s/early 70s) they weren't alone. There were other trios in the metro NY area. "The Domino Trio", "The Melody Men", and "The Budd Lake Four" come to mind. Later on, "The Electra Three" and "The Society Boys" came on the scene. Add to this other groups beyond New York and the list grows exponentially. The Sgro Brothers from Elmira NY (still at it to this day), The Ericksons from Madison, The Harmonica Hi-Hats, The Smith Family, etc etc. And there were national acts like Jerry Murads Harmonicats and The Harmonica Rascals.

All of these groups were busy performing club dates, festivals, and many events.

What happened to them? Aside from the obviouos that quite a few of them passed away, why are the acts gone? The music was unique, has a tremendous acoustic sound, and was very entertaining. When I played with The 'Kings, we did tunes like "Galloping Comedians", "Sabre Dance", and medleys of music from "West Side Story". People would marvel at what we could play on harmonicas.

So why are there so few harmonica groups today that are never heard of? There are a couple like The HarpBeats and The Sgro Brothers, but thats really it. If you attend a SPAH convention (Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica) or one of the other harmonica festivals around the country, you might catch an ad hoc trio or quartet.

I'm not saying the harmonica group is dead. There are plenty in Europe, Japan, and China. Why there and no longer in the US? One reason is that the harmonica is taught in school. There are outstanding harmonica trios made up of high school kids playing some serious classical music. Check out the Fresco harmonica trio!

So, can the harmonica group make a come back in the states? Will contemporary music directors embrace the harmonica as an instrument? Are there enough players that can also teach students how to play the harmonica? Until these questions are answered, I fear the sound of the harmonica group will not be heard by many...

What do you think?