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Big Walter Horton

Photo: David J. Goodwin (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)

Harmonica Blues

Big Walter Horton

Also known as: Shakey Horton

This artist is no longer with us.

Born: 1918-04-06 · Died: 1981-12-08• United States• Active: 1939–1981

Harmonica BluesChicago Blues

Passed away December 8, 1981, at around 60. People still put on "Walking By Myself" to hear that harmonica solo.

Instruments

Harmonica

Labels

Okeh, Vocalion, Sun, Chess Records, Alligator Records

from

Horn Lake, Mississippi

Born

1918-04-06

Big Walter Horton played harmonica the way some guitarists play a Stratocaster — coaxing a tone so vocal, so human, that Willie Dixon, who worked with every great blues musician in Chicago, called him flatly "the best harmonica player I ever heard." He was born Walter Horton in Horn Lake, Mississippi, usually dated to April 6, 1918, though sources disagree and give years anywhere from 1917 to 1921. His father gave him a harmonica at age five, and he was proficient with it fast. His family moved to Memphis while he was still a young teenager, and he spent the 1930s playing on the city's streets for tips, building the tone and technique that would later define him (Kilde: Wikipedia, Mississippi Blues Trail). His documented recording debut came in 1939, backing guitarist Little Buddy Doyle for Okeh and Vocalion. Through the 1940s he stepped back from music professionally due to health problems, working as a cook, an ice man and an undertaker — while also, during this same period, teaching harmonica to two players who would go on to become legends in their own right, James Cotton and Little Walter (Kilde: Wikipedia). He recorded for Sam Phillips at Sun Studio in Memphis in the early 1950s, then moved to Chicago, initially at guitarist Eddie Taylor's invitation to join Jimmy Reed's band. Within weeks he had replaced Junior Wells in Muddy Waters' own band, recording one session with Muddy in January 1953 before being let go by the end of the year — reportedly over drinking and unreliability. He settled permanently in Chicago by the mid-1950s and became one of the city's most in-demand session harmonica players. A 1956 session backing Jimmy Rogers produced "Walking By Myself" for Chess Records, a track whose harmonica solo is widely considered among the greatest ever recorded on the instrument (Kilde: Wikipedia). Music critic Robert Palmer named him alongside Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson II as one of the three great harmonica soloists in blues history. Horton played on into the 1960s and 70s with Johnny Shines, Sunnyland Slim, Willie Dixon and many others, toured Europe, and recorded a well-regarded 1972 collaborative album with Carey Bell. In 1977 he appeared on Muddy Waters' Grammy-winning album I'm Ready, and in 1980 he had an onscreen cameo in The Blues Brothers, though his harmonica part in the film was overdubbed by someone else (Kilde: Wikipedia). Nicknamed "Shakey" for a medical condition affecting his eye movement, Horton died of heart failure in Chicago on December 8, 1981, at around 60 years old; acute alcoholism was noted on his death certificate. He was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1982, and a Mississippi Blues Trail marker was placed in Horn Lake in his honor in 2008 (Kilde: Wikipedia, Mississippi Blues Trail).

Musical Influence

Big Walter Horton taught the instrument to Little Walter and James Cotton before either of them was famous, then spent three more decades proving he never needed to be famous himself to be the standard everyone else was measured against. Robert Palmer's list of the three great blues harmonica soloists — Horton, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson II — is still the reference point critics use, and "Walking By Myself" remains a solo harmonica players study note for note (Kilde: Wikipedia).

Influences

Sonny Boy Williamson II

Formative experiences

•c. 1918 (sources vary, 1917–1921): Born in Horn Lake, Mississippi. (Kilde: Wikipedia, Mississippi Blues Trail)
•Age 5: Receives a harmonica from his father. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
•1930s: Plays on the streets of Memphis for tips. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
•1939: Documented recording debut, backing Little Buddy Doyle for Okeh and Vocalion. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
•1940s: Teaches harmonica to James Cotton and Little Walter while working outside music. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
•1953: Briefly joins Muddy Waters' band in Chicago, replacing Junior Wells. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
•1956: Session backing Jimmy Rogers produces "Walking By Myself" for Chess Records. (Kilde: Wikipedia)

Instruments & Equipment

Stories & Anecdotes

"Taught harmonica to both James Cotton and Little Walter before either became famous. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"

"Willie Dixon called him flatly "the best harmonica player I ever heard." (Kilde: Wikipedia)"

"His solo on "Walking By Myself" (1956) is widely considered among the greatest harmonica solos ever recorded. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"

"Appeared onscreen in The Blues Brothers (1980), though his harmonica part in the film was overdubbed by someone else. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"

"Nicknamed "Shakey" for a medical condition affecting his eye movement. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"

Collaborators

Brief stint in his band in 1953, then a session on the Grammy-winning I'm Ready (1977).

Frequent studio collaborator who called him "the best harmonica player I ever heard."

Taught him harmonica in Memphis in the 1940s, before either was famous.

The 1956 session together produced "Walking By Myself" for Chess Records.

Session and touring connections through the Chicago blues scene.

Watch & Listen

Featured

Easy (Official Audio)

Sun Records

Walking By Myself

Walking By Myself

It's Not Easy (Live)

It's Not Easy (Live)

I Cry for You (Live)

I Cry for You (Live)

Big Walter Horton explains his technique

Big Walter Horton explains his technique

Watch & Listen

Henter videoer fra YouTube…

Discography

Year	Title	Producer	Studio	Label	Chart	Sales	Musicians	YouTube	Notes
1939	Sessions with Little Buddy Doyle	—	—	Okeh / Vocalion	—	—	—		Documented recording debut as an accompanist.
1951	Sun Studio sessions	Sam Phillips	—	Sun / Modern	—	—	—		Recorded in Memphis with pianist Phineas Newborn Jr.
1953	Sessions with Muddy Waters	—	—	Chess	—	—	—		A single session as a member of Muddy Waters' band before being let go.
1956	Walking By Myself (with Jimmy Rogers)	—	—	Chess Records	—	—	—		The harmonica solo is widely considered among the greatest ever recorded.
1972	Big Walter Horton with Carey Bell	—	—	Alligator Records	—	—	—		Well-regarded collaborative album with fellow harmonica player Carey Bell.
1977	I'm Ready (Muddy Waters, featured musician)	Johnny Winter	—	Blue Sky	—	—	—		Contributed harmonica to Muddy Waters' Grammy-winning album.

Famous songs

01Walking By Myself

02Easy

03It's Not Easy

04I Cry for You

Awards & Recognition

1982

Blues Hall of Fame

Posthumous induction

2008

Mississippi Blues Trail Marker

Horn Lake, Mississippi

External links

Wikipedia Mississippi Blues Trail

Sources

Keep SlowBlues independent. Official merch — wear the blues.