Music Pick: Little Walter

Marion Walter Jacobs (1930-1968), better known as Little Walter, is a seminal figure on electric blues harmonica. Arriving in Chicago from Lousiana in 1945 at age 15, he was already a seasoned itinerant sing...er, guitarist and acoustic harmonica player who giged and busked around the south from the age of 12. Growing frustrated by the emerging Chicago electric blues guitar sound that drowned out his harmonica, Little Walter electrified his sound and in so doing, created a whole new harmonica vocabulary which enshrined him as the greatest blues harp player ever. He was a meal ticket for the Chess brothers at Chess records throughout the 1950's, being first choice to accompany most of Muddy Waters' records besides charting a number of Chess hits under his own name. Walter lived a troubled and often violent, alcohol fueled personal life and died after his last street fight during intermission at a South Side gig. His portrayal in the great film about Chess Records, "Cadillac Records" is hard to watch. The feature is the only film available of Water and shows off his casual artistry, playing at a blues festival in West Germany just a few months before his death.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzRgVFVlrXw