Harmonica guru Al Marlo, 94, of Rossville keeps the beat

photo From left are guitarist Wayne Hightower, of Lookout Mountain, harmonica player Al Marlo, of Rossville, and guitarist David Prestridge, of East Ridge. The trio played together as the Caravan band for 30 years. Now they are all solo acts.

Throughout Germany, U.S. Army troops took in the sounds of expert harmonica player Al Marlo in the downtime during the days of World War II. At age 94, the Rossville resident still remembers starting his harmonica-playing career as a way to cheer up the troops, though he first picked up the harmonica at age 15.

"You have to have a lot of breath control to play the harmonica," said Marlo. "Playing a chord harmonica, you inhale and exhale a lot while you play.

"I traveled all over Germany to play for the troops," said Marlo, who was in special services in the Army playing music with other musicians. "We wanted to keep the morale of the troops up. I played the music of the time, like Glenn Miller songs. The music was good for them. We played for them in the mess hall after they came in from the fields."

He served in the Army from 1941-1954. While in Germany, he was selected as the No. 1 musician in the Army and sent to appear on "The Ed Sullivan Show," after which he returned to Germany. Marlo had another TV run-in during his time in the Army; he served with Frank Gorshin, who later played the Riddler on the original "Batman" TV series.

Upon retiring from the military, Marlo joined up with the famous Harmonicats in 1954. The traveling harmonica band played standard music as well as songs like "Hungarian Rhapsody" in nightclubs throughout the United States. After a few years of traveling with the group, Marlo opted to go out on his own as a solo act. He set up 20 harmonicas on a stand on the stage.

"I had a lot of beautiful experiences in music," said Marlo.

Over the years, he played with musician George Goble, actress Arlene Francis and singer Patti Page. He appeared in a movie with actor Kay Kyser. He traveled to Jamaica to play with Bill Hayley and the Comets. He also went to Puerto Rico and Panama to travel with celebrities.

"Marlo was a harmonic virtuoso," said Marlo's friend and former bandmate David Prestridge, of East Ridge. "He was one of the five top harmonica musicians in the world. Bob Newhart played the harmonica on 'The Bob Newhart TV Show' and someone on the show said, 'Who do you think you are? Al Marlo?'"

Marlo met Prestridge and fellow guitarist/singer Wayne Hightower, of Lookout Mountain, in 1975. The three decided to form the Caravan band and played together as a trio for 30 years. They also played with country musicians Charlie Louvin and Faron Young. Caravan focused on playing country and classical.

In recent years, Marlo was inducted into the North Georgia Wall of Fame at Park Place Restaurant in Fort Oglethorpe. He and the rest of the Caravan trio still hang out at karaoke night sometimes at VFW Post 95 in East Ridge on Fridays and Saturdays where Hightower serves as the karaoke host.

"I've had some good times," said Marlo. "I'm thankful for every day. The doctor said I have a strong heart. I'm lucky."

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