Jerry Murad's Harmonicats were an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 harmonica

Harmonica

The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...

-based group

Musical ensemble

A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...

. Originally they were named The Harmonica Madcaps and the group consisted of Jerry Murad (chromatic lead harmonica), Bob Hadamik (bass harmonica), Pete Pedersen (chromatic), and Al Fiore, (chord harmonica). They reformed later as a trio with Murad, Fiore, and bass harmonica player Don Les. Pederson and Gail Wallace remained contributors to the group throughout its existence, working on arrangement

Arrangement

The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...

s and occasionally recording

Sound recording and reproduction

Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...

. Their 1947 recording of "Peg O' My Heart

Peg o' My Heart

"Peg o' My Heart" is a popular song written by Alfred Bryan and Fred Fisher. It was published on March 15, 1913 and it featured in the 1913 musical Ziegfeld Follies. The song was first performed publicly by Irving Kaufman in 1912 at The College Inn in New York City after he had stumbled across a...

" (Mercury Records

Mercury Records

Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...

 - originally Vitacoustic Records catalog number 1) brought them to public attention and sold over one million copies by 1950, reaching #1 on the U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

chart

Record chart

A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....

. Other charted hits included "Hair of Gold, Eyes of Blue

Hair of Gold, Eyes of Blue

"Hair of Gold, Eyes of Blue" is a popular song.It was written by Sunny Skylar. The song was published in 1948.Popular versions of the song were recorded by Gordon MacRae, by The Harmonicats, and by Jack Emerson....

," of which their version reached #22, and "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White".

Discography

1. Dolls, Dolls, Dolls (1957)
2. Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White (1961)
3. Peg O' My Heart (1961)
4. Love Theme from "El Cid" and Other Motion Picture Songs and Themes (1962)
5. Sentimental Serenade (1962)
6. The Love Song Of Tom Jones (1964)
7. That New Gang Of Mine! (1965)
8. Great Themes from TV and Motion Pictures (1969)