Harp Guitar Player of the Month

Vardon, Perry and...Wilbers?


The Book

Press Release, April 3, 2020

In 2016, I wrote a Harp Guitar Player of the Month article on the fascinating vaudeville team Vardon, Perry & Wilber. That was to be the "final" version after chasing my tail with endless blog rewrites for 10 years.

Well, I finally had to throw it all out and just start over...

...and write the book! 

Available now from Harp Guitar Music.

-    Gregg (Sir Gregory) Miner  

From the Author's Foreword:

"...Searching the Internet for Vardon, Perry & Wilber at that time (the early 2000s) revealed little more than a photo of the group. Then things got interesting.

"Before long, a new VP&W image appeared…and Wilber was clearly not the same guy. That seemed odd. I started to do articles and blogs about the mysterious trio. And soon…another Wilber?!

"All this finally got the attention of a descendant of Harry Perry, who explained that Wilber was actually “a fictional character.” And I was off!  How fascinating; two “real” entertainers as themselves and a partner who was made up? Why?

(later…) "For nearly all of the Wilbers, there is evidence that they were a part of long, successful and popular tours. Not only were they professional and undoubtedly talented young men playing what had become a popular “character,” but at least three of the men permanently adopted the surname of “Wilber” as their professional stage name – not just for the gig, but forever afterwards. Dedication, indeed!

"Besides the original Jess Wilber, you’re going to meet another six “stage Wilbers” – some enigmatic, some with their own stories. You’ll also learn about the team’s many harp guitars, which each new Wilber was expected to play – and did!"


Extra Bonus

The 9th Appendix in the book directs readers back to the page you are on now: The index to a unique Audio-Visual Appendix created to coincide with the book release. 

Our hope is that this combination of a generously-illustrated, scholarly-yet-entertaining book with representative audio recordings and supporting video documentaries will prove to be a long overdue celebration that will bring this musical period and forgotten stars back to life.

-      Gregg Miner and Matt Redman

The Audio Recreations

Click image to Play or Download “When the Moon Plays Peek-a-Boo”

Click image to Play or Download “At the Chicken Chasers Ball”


The Videos

Click image to watch Matt's process of recreating Vardon, Perry & Wilber performing "When the Moon Plays Peek-a-Boo"

Click image to watch Matt's process of recreating Vardon & Perry, the duo, performing “At the Chicken Chasers Ball”  

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