[rwhitney]

Hi Melodica-Me, it does sound to me like more than one melodica. Thanks for the suggestion about the Hohner Pro 36. As for other shows, Curt Massey also wrote the music for The Beverly Hillbillies (1962-1971), which started a year earlier than Petticoat Junction. Melodica isn’t used much there, if at all, at least during the first two seasons. He concentrated on guitar, banjo and fiddle, and there is much less underscore overall in that one. Here he is playing himself (at 21:13), and his fiddle earlier in episode 11 of season 2, “The Garden Party” http://youtu.be/-AGef7mOWh8

[rwhitney]

Hey Daren, here’s a link to a particularly good cue of his from Petticoat Junction, which features his “melodica” at 1:05 http://youtu.be/0_lBZ-F28xI.

I have a good lead that suggests it was actually a Clavietta, but I’ve yet to confirm it. Massey was heard on radio, tv, and recorded extensively in his own home studio, a little unusual for television composers of the 1960s, prior to the advent of the digital synth in the 1980s. A multi-instrumentalist, he played piano, trumpet, violin, and various instruments besides the melodica, and built up his tracks by playing and recording all of the parts himself. Nevertheless, it’s a great idea to see if any of the engineers he recorded with are still living. Thanks!

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