Oragne Flor Especial

This video features two harmonica players from Chile playing "Orange Blossom Special". The man playing the diatonic harmonica is a harpist known as Leo Enry. I tried contacting him for more information but he doesn't speak English. Regardless he is one hell of a harmonica player! The other player is a man who identifies himself as best as I can tell as Jon Jon. Maybe it was Shawn Jon (Puff Daddy style!). He is playing some sort of concert chord harmonica. It is probably something similar to Hohner's 48 Chord Harmonica. Enjoy this excellent bluegrass performance from south of the equator!


The Oragne Blossom Special was a train operated by the Seaboard Airline Railway from 1925 through the early 1960's. It took passangers all the way from New York City to Florida. Ervin T. Rouse and Chubby Wise, two accomplished fiddle players in their 20's rode the train and had such an inspiring experience that they went home and tried to capture the experience of hearing the rhthym and sounds from the train. They composed "Orange Blossom Special" and later recorded it on RCA Records.

"Orange Blossom Special" became widely popular when Bill Monroe recorded it in 1941. Later, Johnny Cash named is 1965 album after the song. Here is an interesting story I discovered told by cash about the song which I found here

*I can't cofirm the credibility of this site but it is still a cool story

"I recorded 'Orange Blossom Special' in the mid '60s, and in those
days everybody that recorded it claimed the "arrangement" because
no one knew who wrote it. But Mother Maybelle Carter was at the
session, and I asked her, "Do you know who really wrote 'Orange
Blossom Special'?" She said, "Sure I do. Ervin Rouse and his brother
Gordon." And I said, "Where are they? " She said, "Last time I heard,
they were in Florida."

It was the only clue I had. I called a disc jockey down there named
Cracker Jim Brooker, and I asked Cracker Jim, "Did you ever hear
of Ervin Rouse?" And he said, "Aw, I know Ervin. He lives with the
Seminoles out in the swamp, and he makes swamp buggies for a living."
I said, "You got any idea how I could talk to him?" And he said, "Sure.
I'll announce it on the air: 'Ervin, call me and I'll give you Johnny Cash's
number."' It wasn't an hour till Ervin Rouse called me from some little
settlement in the swamps. I said, "Ervin, I happen to be coming to
Miami on tour. Would you come to my show and do 'Orange Blossom
Special' with me?" He and Gordon came in the clothes they worked in.
I brought Ervin up to play the fiddle, and he absolutely killed them. At
the end of the song, they were applauding and he literally got down on
his knees. He was such a sweet, humble man. Gordon's still living. I still
see him every time I'm down there." - Johnny Cash