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T-Bone Walker
Publicity photograph, 1942 — photographer unrecorded/unknown (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)
Texas

T-Bone Walker

This artist is no longer with us.
Born: May 28, 1910, Linden, Texas · Died: March 16, 1975, Los Angeles, California (bronchial pneumonia following a stroke)• United States
Texas BluesElectric BluesJump Blues
Instruments
Hollow-body electric guitar, Voice
Labels
Capitol, Black & White, Imperial, Atlantic
from
Dallas, Texas
Born
May 28, 1910, Linden, Texas
B.B. King once said that when he first heard T-Bone Walker, he thought "Jesus himself had returned to earth playing electric guitar." That's not a small claim, and it's not really an exaggeration either — Walker essentially invented the electric blues guitar solo as its own art form, and almost everyone who plays lead guitar in blues or rock today is working in a vocabulary he wrote the first draft of. He was born Aaron Thibeaux Walker on May 28, 1910, in Linden, Texas, to two musician parents, Movelia Jimerson and Rance Walker; his stepfather, Marco Washington of the Dallas String Band, taught him guitar, ukulele, banjo, violin, mandolin and piano (Kilde: Wikipedia). Blind Lemon Jefferson was a family friend who sometimes came for dinner, and as a boy Walker guided the blind guitarist around Dallas's Deep Ellum district for his gigs — an informal apprenticeship that put him inside blues performance before he'd even left school, which he did at ten. By fifteen he was already a professional performer on the blues circuit (Kilde: Wikipedia). His first record, released in 1929 as "Oak Cliff T-Bone," paired "Wichita Falls Blues" with "Trinity River Blues" on Columbia — pure acoustic country blues, recorded before he'd touched an electric guitar. That came around 1940, when Walker became the first blues artist to make the electric guitar a genuine solo, lead instrument rather than a rhythm accompaniment, and built an entire live show around it — including showmanship tricks like playing behind his back and with his teeth, decades before Jimi Hendrix borrowed the same moves (Kilde: Wikipedia). He spent the early 1940s fronting Les Hite's orchestra, moved to Chicago and recorded for the Rhumboogie label with Marl Young's band from 1942 to 1945, then signed with Black & White Records, where in 1947 he cut "Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad)" — produced by Ralph Bass, with Teddy Buckner on trumpet — the single that became his defining record and one of the most-covered songs in American popular music. The same year produced "T-Bone Shuffle," cut that November in Los Angeles with Bumps Myers on saxophone, and the R&B hits "Bobby Sox Blues" (No. 3) and, the following year, "West Side Baby" (No. 8) (Kilde: Wikipedia). He recorded for Imperial Records from 1950 to 1954, backed by producer Dave Bartholomew, then for Atlantic between 1955 and 1957, sessions that were eventually released as the album "T-Bone Blues" in 1959. He toured Europe with the American Folk Blues Festival, including a notable 1962 stop where he shared the bill with Memphis Slim and Willie Dixon, and kept recording into the 1970s across a long list of labels — Modern, Duke, Brunswick, Polydor, Reprise, Black & Blue among them (Kilde: Wikipedia). His 1970 album for Polydor won a Grammy for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording. He died in Los Angeles on March 16, 1975, at 64, of bronchial pneumonia following a stroke, and was buried at Inglewood Park Cemetery (Kilde: Wikipedia).

Musical Influence

B.B. King wrote in his 1996 autobiography that hearing Walker was the reason he picked up an electric guitar in the first place. Chuck Berry named Walker, alongside Louis Jordan, as his main influence. Jimi Hendrix directly imitated Walker's trick of playing guitar with his teeth, and Steve Miller has said Walker personally taught him both that trick and the behind-the-back technique in 1952. Lonnie Mack called him his principal blues guitar influence, and the Allman Brothers Band made "Stormy Monday" a staple of their live sets for decades. Rolling Stone ranked him No. 67 on its 2018 list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time (Kilde: Wikipedia).

Influences

Blind Lemon JeffersonLonnie JohnsonCharlie Christian

Family and personal life

Parents
Movelia Jimerson & Rance Walker

Both musicians.

Stepfather
Marco Washington

Member of the Dallas String Band; taught young Walker guitar, ukulele, banjo, violin, mandolin and piano.

Wife
Vida Lee

Married 1935; the couple had three children.

Formative experiences

  • •Left school at age 10 and was a professional performer by 15. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
  • •As a boy, guided family friend Blind Lemon Jefferson around Dallas's Deep Ellum for his gigs. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
  • •1929: First record, "Wichita Falls Blues," released on Columbia as "Oak Cliff T-Bone." (Kilde: Wikipedia)
  • •c. 1940: Became the first blues artist to make the electric guitar a true solo/lead instrument. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
  • •1947: Recorded "Call It Stormy Monday," his defining record, for Black & White Records. (Kilde: Wikipedia)

Instruments & Equipment

Guitar

Electric hollow-body guitar
c. 1940–1975

One of the very first blues musicians to adopt the electric guitar as a lead/solo instrument rather than rhythm accompaniment.

Stories & Anecdotes

"Performed showmanship tricks like playing the guitar with his teeth and behind his back — decades before Jimi Hendrix borrowed the same moves. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"
"Blind Lemon Jefferson was a family friend who sometimes came over for dinner; the young Walker guided him around Deep Ellum for gigs before either had recorded a note. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"
"B.B. King recalled in his autobiography thinking "Jesus himself had returned to earth playing electric guitar" the first time he heard Walker. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"

Collaborators

Blind Lemon Jefferson

Family friend who Walker guided around Deep Ellum, Dallas, as a boy.

Les Hite

Bandleader whose orchestra Walker fronted in the early 1940s.

Dave Bartholomew

Producer for his Imperial Records sessions, 1950–1954.

Willie Dixon

Shared a 1962 American Folk Blues Festival bill with Walker and Memphis Slim.

Watch & Listen

Featured

T-Bone Walker - Call It Stormy Monday {1947}

His defining record, produced by Ralph Bass for Black & White Records — one of the most-covered songs in American music.

Worried Tunes 2

T-Bone Walker - T-Bone Shuffle (1949)

T-Bone Walker - T-Bone Shuffle (1949)

Wichita Falls Blues (Recorded in Dallas, December 5, 1929)

Wichita Falls Blues (Recorded in Dallas, December 5, 1929)

Watch & Listen

Henter videoer fra YouTube…

Discography

YearTitleProducerStudioLabelChartSalesMusiciansYouTubeNotes
1929Columbia debut, DallasColumbia Records—Columbia——Douglas Fernell (Piano)"Wichita Falls Blues" b/w "Trinity River Blues," billed as Oak Cliff T-Bone — acoustic, pre-electric.
1940Varsity sessions with Les Hite's OrchestraVarsity Records—Varsity———Featured as singer/guitarist with Les Hite's big band.
1942Rhumboogie Records era, ChicagoMarl Young—Rhumboogie——Marl Young (Bandleader, arrangement)1942–1945, backed by Marl Young's orchestra.
1946Black & White Records era, Los AngelesRalph Bass—Black & White——Teddy Buckner (Trumpet), Bumps Myers (Saxophone), Lloyd Glenn (Piano), Billy Hadnott (Bass), Jack McVea (Tenor saxophone)1946–1948 — includes "Call It Stormy Monday" (1947) and "T-Bone Shuffle" (Nov 1947), plus R&B hits "Bobby Sox Blues" and "West Side Baby."
1950Imperial Records era, Los AngelesDave Bartholomew—Imperial——Dave Bartholomew (Bandleader, trumpet)1950–1954.
1955T-Bone Blues (recorded, released 1959)Atlantic Records—Atlantic———Sessions recorded 1955–1957, released as the album "T-Bone Blues" in 1959.
1962American Folk Blues Festival tour, Europe——Various——Memphis Slim (Piano), Willie Dixon (Bass)European tour dates, including a bill shared with Memphis Slim and Willie Dixon.
1970Good Feelin'——Polydor———Won the Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording.

Famous songs

01Call It Stormy Monday
02T-Bone Shuffle
03Bobby Sox Blues
04West Side Baby

External links

YouTube Music Wikipedia

Sources

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