Musician. He was an American musician, who was best remembered for his classically-influenced harmonica playing. Born John Sebastian Pugliese in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to an Italian-American family, he shortened his name to John Sebastian. In the 1920s, he developed an interest in harmonica and his talent for the instrument was recognized by joining a local Philadelphia band. By the time he was 12, he played with the well-known conductor John Philip Sousa. At age 16, he was named harmonica champion of Philadelphia upon placing first in a city competition. After graduating from Haverford College, he met Broadway composers Rodgers & Hart on a ship heading back to America from Italy. They encouraged him to pursue playing the harmonica professionally. He began touring around various U.S. cities, finding success in both hotels and nightclubs. After his professional solo debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1941, he recorded on various record labels like RCA Victor, Cadence Records, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Schirmer Records and more. He successfully convinced composers of the day to compose classical harmonica songs. A substantial amount of the classical music Sebastian performed was 17th-18th century music. Outside of performing, Sebastian worked with Hohner as a consultant. He suffered a heart attack in 1966 in Rome after a tour in Africa and stayed in Italy to recover, performing not as often. His last notable performance was 1976 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Alongside Tommy Reilly and Larry Adler, he has been credited with making the harmonica a serious instrument in the field of classical music. He died at his home in France. He was 66. He is the father of John B. Sebastian, the frontman and songwriter of the influential-popular 1960s American folk rock band, "The Lovin' Spoonful."