Josh King interview from Happy Hour Harmonica Podcast

Happy Hour Harmonica Podcast

Neil Warren

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Josh King interview

56 minutes Posted Oct 25, 2025 at 7:00 am.

Josh is from Charlotte, North Carolina

Recently appeared on American Idol

Received first harmonica aged six

Started learning piano age 13, and a little guitar

Advantages of learning a musical instrument as an adult

Josh is 25 years old at the time of speaking

Plays a little chromatic harmonica but isn’t so great on it

Mentorship with James Cotton from age 8 or 9 after his mother took him to one of Cotton’s shows and Josh sneaked into his dressing room

Cotton described Josh as his ‘musical grandson’

Cotton encouraged him to take up singing and piano in addition to harmonica

Spent quite a lot of time with Cotton and the time he locked the band out of an RV

Recollections of Cotton’s passing

Didn’t give Josh harmonica lessons as such, more hints and guidance on performing

Cotton’s showmanship

The time Josh played Hooch Coochie Man with Cotton on stage at age 10

American Idol journey

Humility Josh felt being surrounded by the other great contestants on American Idol

Josh came across as humble a little shy on Idol

Comparing the coaching he received on Idol to what Cotton taught him

Some of the thinking behind the song choices Josh made for Idol

His use of the harmonica on Idol gave him a unique selling point, but he wanted to leave them wanting more

Seydel provided the harmonicas for Josh to use on Idol

Impact of using the harmonica on some of the songs on Idol

Playing harmonica on a rack with the piano, including on the song Hopelessly, as performed on Idol where the wrong rack caused him problems

Uses some different tunings, including Paddy Richter, and custom harmonicas built by Ben Bouman

Josh made the last eight on Idol, so went far in the competition

The physical toll that Idol took on Josh included a visit to hospital

Performed as a teenager with Buddy Guy and Tommy Emmanuel at the BB King’s Club

Sang the national anthem at a NFL game and America The Beautiful at the US Open, both when 13 years old

Why prefers playing the piano over guitar

Lionel Ritchie encouraged Josh to use the piano on Idol

Working on a new album with plenty of harmonica planned for that, with harmonica still his main instrument

Ten minute question

Spreads harmonica practise between other music creation

Has the neurodiversity condition: ADHD, and the impact that has on his music creation

New album will probably be ‘alt pop’ and the difficulty in defining genres

Advantage of vintage equipment over more modern equipment

Is a Seydel endorsee

Uses the Paddy Richter tuning for some pop songs

Didn’t use the harmonica on every song on Idol as wanted to keep it fresh

Mainly tongue blocker

Cotton mainly taught him by giving hints

Amps and mics

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Show notes

Josh King joins me on episode 145. Josh hails from Charlotte, North Carolina, and picked up his first harmonica at just six years old. By the time he was eight, he’d found an incredible mentor in the legendary James Cotton, after boldly sneaking into Cotton’s dressing room at a show. That chance encounter turned into a lasting mentorship, with Josh joining Cotton on stage numerous times during his teens. In 2025, Josh brought his talents to a national audience as a contestant on American Idol...

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