Music
Harmonica Shah
born 1946 · blues harmonica player, singer
Oakland-born harmonica player who moved to Detroit in 1967, worked at Ford and drove a cab, and became a leading voice of later Detroit blues.
- Born
Oakland, California
age 80- Birth name
- Thaddeus Louis Hall
- Also known as
- Seward Shah
- Detroit years
- 1967–
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Born in Oakland and partly raised in Somerville, Texas, by a grandfather who played blues harmonica and guitar, Shah heard Lowell Fulson and Big Mama Thornton in Oakland clubs as a boy. He moved to Detroit in 1967 and spent fifteen years working for Ford, then drove a taxi. He bought his first harmonica only in 1976, and his cab rounds led him to the city's blues jam sessions, which he later said settled his course for good. Influenced by Junior Wells, Jimmy Reed, Little Walter and Detroit's own Little Sonny, he developed a tough, old-school style and began recording late: his debut, Motor City Mojo, came out in 2000, followed by a series of albums for the Canadian label Electro-Fi, including Deep Detroit, through 2020. He still turns up to play for free at John's Carpet House, the Sunday outdoor blues gathering on Detroit's east side.
Highlights
- Moved to Detroit in 1967; worked fifteen years at Ford
- Debut album Motor City Mojo (2000)
- Albums on Electro-Fi Records from 2003 to 2020, including Deep Detroit
- Regular guest at the east-side jam John's Carpet House
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Performed here · 2000s–
John's Carpet House
Free Sunday-afternoon blues gathering on vacant lots on the east side, started on drummer John Estes's porch; Shah still plays there.