Our Blues Roots: Little Walter as guitarist

[Don D.]

Thanks for checking this out. You’ve probably noticed I’ve scaled back on Our Blues Roots for a little while, but I will continue posting things I find interesting. Best I can describe why, I just haven’t had a feeling for writing.

I’m going to be going to a couple concerts pretty soon; Robert Kimbrough is playing a few places, including Terra Blues next Thursday, April 4, where he’ll be joined by Memphis Gold. Then on Friday, Jontavious Willis will be playing at the 3-day Brooklyn Folk Festival at St. Ann’s Church, same day his second full-length recording, Spectacular Class, will be available. The rest of his concerts in the coming months are also listed here.

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Little Walter was probably best-known as a harmonica player extraordinaire, first with Muddy Waters, then with The Aces, then on his own. Diverse jazz musicians came to hear him, spoke highly of him. He was friends with Gene Ammons among many others. If you want to get a good idea who he was, what he sounded like, these Complete Chess Masters are the thing—all you really need.

People are still trying to figure out what he was listening to, to come up with his various songs, some mention Illinois Jacquet, Johnny Hodges and Louis Jordan. I don’t really have a good idea. “Juke” is one of his signature tunes, one that people have tried to analyze in that way, there are so many ’40s swing tunes that used this riff.

There follow a few of my favorites.

Little Walter plays on this Muddy Waters song…

…and Muddy Waters plays on this Little Walter song

Stones covered this on 12X5

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Little Walter also played a mean, sophisticated guitar, which is featured in the next dozen songs. These songs were all recorded in short span of time, between January 1950 and July 1951. He was photographed much later than this holding a guitar. I think the photo with the Airline (below) is from the late ’50s or early ’60s.

There’s a picture of him playing at the Club Zanzibar in 1958, sitting in with Earring George Mayweather and Luther Tucker. He’s playing a Gibson that looks like an L5. Picture seen in Blues with a Feeling: The Little Walter Story.

These 5 titles were recorded as the Little Walter Trio. Little Walter (vocal, guitar), Muddy Waters (guitar), Leroy Foster (drums), Chicago, January 1950
“Bad Acting Woman”

“Muskadine Blues” (also called “Take a Walk with Me”)

“Moonshine Blues” “Moonshine Blues” was also released under Baby Face Leroy Foster’s name. His guitar is great on here. Key of A.

“I Just Keep Loving Her” was also recorded at this session’ Jimmy Rogers probably plays the second guitar. Little Walter sang and played harmonica.

Unissued alt. take

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“Honey Bee,” Muddy Waters (vocal, slide guitar), Little Walter (guitar), Big Crawford (bass), Chicago, January 23, 1951

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Jimmy Rogers (vocals, guitar) with Ernest Cotton (tenor), Little Walter (guitar), Eddie Ware (piano), Big Crawford (bass), Elga Edmonds (drums), Chicago, July 11, 1951
“Money, Marbles and Chalk”

“Hard Working Man”

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Eddie Ware and His Band (vocal, piano), with Eddie Chamblee (vocal on “Lima Beans,” tenor sax), Little Walter (guitar), Ernest “Big” Crawford (bass), Elga Edmonds (drums), Chicago, January 23, 1951
“Jealous Women”

“Wandering Lover”

“I Found Out”

“Lima Beans”

“Rumba Dust” (It might be that chance saved the best for last.)

There are also 4 unissued tracks from February 11, 1951, with slightly different personnel that Walter may have played on.

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Here are a few greatest hits albums and a live album with 4 songs by Otis Rush.

Blues with a Feeling (mid–late 1950s)

Hate to See You Go (late 1950s–early1960s)

Little Walter and Otis Rush—Live at the Chicago Blues Festival, probably recorded at the University of Chicago, May 20, 1966 (Otis Rush and band play on first 4 tracks).

My Little Walter playlist (check description for some album playlists).

Little Walter Foundation (not such a great site, but I felt compelled to include it)

Blues with a Feeling: The Little Walter Story by Tony Glover, Scott Dirks, Ward Gaines. I have this at home and often flip through it. It’s where I saw the photo of him backing up Earring George. I can’t wait to get to reading it. It’s been “at the top of my stack” for a couple years, but I keep sneaking books in in front of it because I know I’m going to relish reading it, and I want to get this other stuff “out of the way.”

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“The Stuff I Like,” Eddie Ware (vocal, piano), J.T. Brown (tenor), Big Crawford (bass), Fred Below (drums), Chicago, March 19, 1953

“Jammin’,” Herb Hardesty and His Band, recorded between 1958 and 1961. Herb Hardesty was a prolific New Orleans saxophonist

The Legendary Henry Stone Presents: Blues from the 50s—this is ☆☆☆☆☆ from start to finish. It includes Earl Hooker’s first recordings on Little Sammy Davis’ 2 records, and 6 of his first solo recordings.

The guitarist on this 1961 album by singer Al Smith, Midnight Special, is none other than Jimmie Lee Robinson (billed as Jimmy Lee here). King Curtis plays the tenor, Robert Banks (organ), Leonard Gaskin (bass), Bobby Donaldson (drums).

Jimmie Lee Robinson, All My Life, 2001

This playlist is dedicated to Jimmie Lee Robinson (April 30, 1931–July 6, 2002), also known as Lonesome Lee. There’s one more complete album in the playlist Description.

Check out the guitarist on these. Luther Tucker was a student and musical partner of Robert Lockwood, the only person the older man shared his musical secrets with.

Hastings Street Grease: Detroit Blues Is Alive! Volume 2

Don D.

[GnLguy]

Don

As always, another great post for Our Blues Roots

I wasn’t aware that Little Walter played guitar as well as harmonica but I recently heard Robben Ford talking about what a good guitar player that he was. At the time, Little Walter would show the guitar players what he wanted them to play – and it was to the point that it was known as The School of Little Walter

Little Walter had much more influence on Chicago blues than people realize. Tragic that his life was cut short was it was

[Don D.]

Hey Keith, I was surprised when I first found out too, and had a kind of a sinking feeling, “Oh no, it’s his second instrument and he plays it better than I do.” Thank you for commenting, you shook something loose with your mention of “The School of Little Walter.”

I’ve also heard that his band was playing things the way he wanted to hear them, but with his favored guitarists, usually the team of Robert Lockwood and Luther Tucker, he probably didn’t have to explain too much. Other guitarists who backed him were brothers Louis Myers and Dave Myers who along with drummer Fred Below were The Aces, Walter’s regular band in the early 1950s.

Othum Brown, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers and Freddy Robinson also played with him, I can’t begin to tell you anything about Othum Brown but the other three were all excellent guitarists (Freddy Robinson played with Ray Charles, Howlin’ Wolf and John Mayall, and made several solo records that sounded as lot more like jazz than straight blues; he changed his name to Abu Talib in 1975).

Little Walter (vocal, harmonica), Luther Tucker, Freddy Robinson (guitars), George Hunter (drums), Chicago, August 12, 1959

Little Walter (vocal, harmonica), Luther Tucker, Freddy Robinson (guitars), Otis Spann (piano), Willie Dixon (bass) Billy Stepney (drums), Chicago, July 21, 1959

Drummer Leroy Foster also played guitar on the one below, along with Muddy Waters. Sunny Land Slim and Muddy Water are credited as leaders here (both names spelled as written on the label), but Little Walter wrote this and sings; elsewhere he’s credited as leader. When I read that book I’ll find out what’s going on.

Don D.

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