Venerable music instrument manufacturer Hohner, Inc. was back at Toy Fair last week showing the newest addition to its broad range of children's product, particularly its Puppy Slide Whistle--a cute variation, geared for 24 months and up, on the traditional slide flute: You blow into the puppy's mouth and move the tail to change pitch and make melodies.
Children at heart, however, couldn’t help but notice a corner display of harmonicas--Hohner's bread-and-butter adult product. But besides a counter grab jar brimming with colorful translucent harmonicas for kids, there was also a grownup collector's item: The John Lennon Series Imagine premium harmonica, to be available at select retail outlets in April at a suggested $99 pricepoint.
The Lennon harp is the third release in Hohner's Signature Series, which began with a Steven Tyler model five years ago and was followed by a Bob Dylan issue three years ago. The Lennon entry is distinguished by its brilliant white coverplates, a clear acrylic comb, and Lennon's familiar multi-colored self-portrait drawing and signature beneath the Imagine logo--which is in all caps on the top cover; on the bottom, the Hohner logo, also in all caps, is in rainbow colors--the first time it's ever been anything other than black or red.
Additionally, the Imagine harmonica is packaged in a presentation collector's box featuring a fabulous inside photo of Lennon playing a harp.
"It's very upscale looking, for a niche market," says Tim Henry, Hohner's sales and marketing manager for education products. "Some people noticed it at Toy Fair, but it was not our core focus there."
But it was at the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) music product trade show in Anaheim, Calif. in January, where it was introduced.
"It sounds great, and we worked very hard on the packaging," says Hohner's director of marketing and sales Scott Emmerman. The Signature Series, he relates, came about because of Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler's interest.
"He plays harmonica all the time, and came to us," says Emmerman. "One thing he said was, 'I just want to outsell [Aerosmith guitarist] Joe Perry's hot sauce!'--and we sold a lot of harmonicas with Steven Tyler's name on it."
The Tyler model was "a rock 'n' roll harmonica" packaged in a leopard skin box, "so it was out of character for Hohner at the time--because it's kind of an old-fashioned company," notes Emmerman. Its success prompted Emmerman to do another Signature harp--and Bob Dylan was the obvious choice.
"He has to be the best-known harmonica player in pop music history," says Emmerman. "He's been playing harmonicas since he was a kid--always Hohners--but he doesn't endorse anything and protects his signature. But this is a really natural tie-in with his music making, which is one reason I think he agreed to do it--after a year-and-a-half of chasing him around!"
Hohner was founded in Germany in 1857.
"After the Dylan project ended, I staretd going through the archives, looking at all the promotional contracts and pictures of old artists," says Emmerman. "Every so often I'd find crazy stuff: Liberace was an endorser, as Hohner made keyboards for him. So was Sammy Davis, Jr."
So, too, were The Beatles.
"I found a Hohner Beatles harmonica from 1964, which sold for $2.99 and had the heads of the Beatles with their signatures underneath--but reversed Harrison and McCartney!" continues Emmerman. "So they threw out a lot out of boxes and sold the harps at a loss. It was a failed project--but I thought we could reissue it."
Unfortunately, Hohner found no interest from The Beatles' company Apple Records. But when Yoko Ono became aware of the concept, she was all in favor of a separate Lennon harmonica.
Hohner now looks to do more in the Signature Series, though Emmerman notes that it takes a year or two from a new item's conception to delivery.
But "it's really cool to work with the Hohner brand--and all these legends," he says, "and Hohner's one of them!"
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