Humble Harry, and How He Came To Discover Johnny Cash, the Man in Black
As told to the Easy Reader prior to his performance this Friday at the Hermosa Saloon
At a young age I discovered that I could imitate sounds and voices. Before high school (Carson High) I decided that I wanted to be a DJ on the radio, and by the time I finished high school I wanted to be The Best In All The Land.
I spent a lot of time hanging out at 94.7 KMET with music director Jack Snyder, learning every production roll (for vinyl and reel-to-reel back then). I was raised on classic rock; Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, and ZZ Top are my favorites, but when I got to The Crossroads I took the safe route in life because I was afraid of Failure and Rejection.
Years went by, and I learned Yer Gunna Fail and Be Rejected in life, but it doesn’t matter. Then one night in 2005 I stopped in a bar to see an old friend, and some Young Lady came up and told Me that I was the only person in the bar not singing. I told her that we were talking about some friends that had died, and I’m not getting up there and making an ass of Myself.
She kept bugging Me until I got up and sang. I sang “King Of The Road” by Roger Miller, and I tried to sound as much like him as I could. I told the host, “Just play the music; I don’t need the lyrics; lemme get this over with.”
When I started a lotta people hit the dance floor, and when I finished they all cheered. It felt really good (but) I thought they were all Drunk and just being nice.
The host told me “Great Job,” but that’s what he said to a guy that really sucked, so I didn’t believe him. But I told him, if he had Johnny Cash’s “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” I’d sing it.
Ya see, that song is My Heart… I raised my daughter Amorina without a mom since she was just one-year-old, and in the park I pushed her on a swing and I stood outside of her Sunday school and listened to her and her friends sing.
By that time, I had a few Tequila drinks in me, and so I didn’t try to sound like Johnny Cash; I just sang it with all of my emotion. This time, though, nobody hit the dance floor; nobody even said a word: everybody was just focused on me. I was thinking to myself, I shouldn’t have done this song that I love so much, I’m ruining it.
I saw a guy get up from the bar and go to the jukebox, and thought “I suck so bad he’s gonna play the jukebox,” so I looked away. When I finished, the whole bar erupted with applause and cheers, and that guy came up and handed me a drink. He said, “I’m probably the biggest Johnny Cash fan you’re ever gonna meet, and when you were singing I had to check to make sure that you weren’t lipsynching.”
Even though it felt really good, I didn’t believe anybody that I was any good. But I got the fever that night, and three months of going out to karaoke bars and everybody telling me the same thing, I still didn’t believe them.
One night I sang “Ring of Fire,” and five songs later the host played “Ring of Fire” and this cute bartender named Boo-Boo told me, “He’s playin’ your song,” and I thought “Yeah,” and kept talking to her. But she said, “No, he’s playing your CD.” I said, “I don’t have any CD.” She told me, “He records you…”
When I looked, he was fading back and forth from Johnny’s studio recording to mine, and then I heard it: I do sound a lot like Johnny Cash. So I started hosting karaoke for about a year and a half, and then some guy offered me better money to come and sing in his biker bar. From there it just got better and better, with Live Music, and now here we are.
If I only had a nickel for every time that I’ve heard the word “amazing” about my singing! Now I dream of singing on the Grammy stage.
All my life I’ve written as Therapy, but I didn’t know that I was writing songs until my Carla Jean died from a brain aneurysm back in 2011. I wrote her a letter, because there was so much I never got the chance to tell her; I thought we had a future ahead of us.
Six weeks later I was sitting in my old ‘58 Chevy pickup after singing at a dive bar in a bowling alley. It was past 3:30 a.m. and I was reading what I wrote in my phone and crying, talking to The BIG GUY, and that’s when it dawned on me: It’s not a letter, it’s a song. I call it “The Dance Floor.” It’s coming, but there’s still so much to learn, and I wanna learn it all. Even some Famous People have come to hear me sing, even True South Bay Legends.
And I’m honored to be part of a cancer benefit CD called “Songs That Save.” I did Johnny Cash’s “One Piece at a Time,” and my quote inside the CD says, “I’m old, I’m arrogant and I’m chauvinistic… but GOD knows, that I know… What it is to be Humble.”
Bless Yer Hearts and Thanx a million & Ya ain’t seen nuthin’ yet! Please like my page on facebook: Humble Harry Johnny Cash sound a Like Singer Extraordinaire.
I forgot to say that… “I really LOVE Doin’ that thing I Do.” There’s nothing like getting people poppin’ on the dance floor.”
After that fine introduction, there’s little to add except this: “The Best Damn Johnny Cash Birthday Tribute” takes place tomorrow, Friday, from 9:30p.m. to 1:30 a.m. in the Hermosa Saloon, 211 Pacific Coast Hwy, Hermosa Beach. The group features Humble Harry on vocals, Barclay Roach on guitar, Graham Chapman on bass, Debo on drums, with special guests Alyssa Barron and Bill Higgins. No cover. (310) 374-9060 or go to thehermosasaloon.com. ER
