Here is one of my favorite pictures of one of my favorite people. Dan Penn is seen here holding a Harmony Sovereign H-55 acoustic/electric guitar. I would put this photo in the late '50's/early '60's. Dan is 80 years old now and these guitars were made between 1958 and 1971. You do a little math and it lands the photo in this era. He looks like a fresh faced 20 year old and his future and significance in the world of music was all to come. To think that at this time he probably had no idea he would be part of one of the greatest era's and one of the greatest studios in music history is a trip.
Dan Penn is songwriting royalty(at least to me). He co-wrote many classics, including the soul standard "Dark End Of The Street", "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man", "Cry Like Baby" for the Box Tops and my favorite. "I'm Your Puppet"(which he wrote on a 12 string Stella acoustic. His connection with this blog continues to grow). He also produced The Box Tops biggest hit, "The Letter". Here is a video of him performing "I'm Your Puppet" with the great Spooner Oldham who co-wrote the song with Dan. Dan Penn & Spooner Oldham - I'm Your Puppet (HQ) - Bing video
Dan and Spooner just kill it on this version. It's so beautiful. What a wonderful career. Dan was able to create hits and stay in the background without being inundated with attention. Seems like the best of both worlds to me. Can you imagine having to teach Aretha Franklin how to sing one of your songs down in Muscle Shoals. I bet he could tell a few stories.
This guitar is much like the Harmony h-1203 except it has the added addition of a built in pickup placed in the last fret just before the soundhole. I believe each of those poles can be adjusted and you were provided with a volume and tone knob. As with many of these Harmony's the tops were spruce and the back and sides were mahogony, all solid woods. I have heard that the pickup placement disallowed for proper bracing to be fitted across that section of the guitar. This may have caused a little sinkage around the soundhole. I am sure a competant luthier could remedy that situation and for my money it would be worth it. These are very cool guitars. I think this iteration of the pickup has a p-13 type of sound to it.
Search around and spend a little time with Dan as well as his friend Spooner. Humble Alabamans(or Alabamians depending on who you ask) who deserve continued listening.
