Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker (May 28, 1910 – March 16, 1975) was an American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

musician, composer, songwriter and bandleader, who was a pioneer and innovator of the jump blues, West Coast blues, and electric blues sounds. In 2018 ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' magazine ranked him number 67 on its list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

Biography

1910–1941: Early years

Aaron Thibeaux Walker was born in Linden, Texas, of

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

and

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, th ...

descent. His parents, Movelia Jimerson and Rance Walker, were both musicians. His stepfather, Marco Washington (a member of the Dallas String Band), taught him to play the guitar,

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

, mandolin, and piano. Walker began his career as a teenager in

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

in the 1920s. His mother and stepfather were musicians, and

Blind Lemon Jefferson Lemon Henry "Blind Lemon" Jefferson (September 24, 1893 – December 19, 1929)Some sources indicate Jefferson was born on October 26, 1894. was an American blues and gospel singer-songwriter and musician. He was one of the most popular blues sin ...

, a family friend, sometimes came over for dinner. Walker left school at the age of 10, and by 15 he was a professional performer on the blues circuit. Initially, he was Jefferson's protégé and would guide him around town for his gigs. In 1929, Walker made his recording debut with

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...

, billed as Oak Cliff T-Bone, releasing the single "Wichita Falls Blues" backed with "Trinity River Blues".

Oak Cliff Oak Cliff is a neighborhood of Dallas, Texas, that was formerly a separate town in Dallas County; Dallas annexed Oak Cliff in 1901. It has since retained a distinct neighborhood identity as one of Dallas' older established neighborhoods. Oak C ...

is the community in which he lived at the time, and T-Bone is a corruption of his middle name. The pianist Douglas Fernell played accompaniment on the record. Walker married Vida Lee in 1935; the couple had three children. By the age of 25, Walker was working in clubs on Central Avenue, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

, sometimes as the featured singer and as guitarist with Les Hite's orchestra. In 1940 he recorded with Hite for the Varsity label, but he was featured only as a singer.

1942–1975: Later years

In 1942, Charlie Glenn, the owner of the Rhumboogie Café, brought T-Bone Walker to Chicago for long-time stints in his club. In 1944 and 1945, Walker recorded for the Rhumboogie label, which was tied to the club, backed up by

Marl Young Marl Young (January 29, 1917 – 29 April 2009) was an American musician and arranger who helped with the merger of the all-black and all-white musicians unions in Los Angeles in the early 1950s. He later became the first black music director of a m ...

's orchestra. T-Bone Walker performed at the second famed Cavalcade of Jazz concert held at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago ...

in Los Angeles produced by Leon Hefflin Sr. on October 12, 1946. Jack McVea, Slim Gaillard, The Honeydrippers, Lionel Hampton and his Orchestra, and

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and Singing, vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and se ...

were all on the same program. He also performed for the third Cavalcade of Jazz concert held in the same location on September 7, 1947 along with Woody Herman as Emcee, The Valdez Orchestra, The Blenders, The Honeydrippers, Slim Gaillard, Johnny Otis and his Orchestra,

Toni Harper Toni Harper (born June 8, 1937 in Los Angeles, California), also known as Toni Dunlap, is an American former child singer who retired from performing at the age of 29. After learning dance under Maceo Anderson, Harper was cast by the choreograp ...

, The 3 Blazers and

Sarah Vaughn Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer. Nicknamed "Sassy" and " The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine Grammy Award ...

. Much of his output was recorded from 1946 to 1948 for Black & White Records, including his most famous song, " Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad)" (1947). Other notable songs he recorded during this period were "Bobby Sox Blues" (a number 3 R&B hit in 1947) and "West Side Baby" (number 8 on the R&B singles chart in 1948). T-Bone Walker 1972

Throughout his career Walker worked with top-notch musicians, including the

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

er Teddy Buckner (e.g. on '' Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad)''), the pianist

Lloyd Glenn Lloyd Colquitt Glenn (November 21, 1909 – May 23, 1985) was an American R&B pianist, bandleader and arranger, who was a pioneer of the "West Coast" blues style. Career Born in San Antonio, Texas, from the late 1920s, Glenn played with various ...

, the bassist Billy Hadnott (on the LPs ''Hot Leftovers'' and ''Good-Bye Blues''), and the

tenor saxophonist The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

Jack McVea (on the songs ''Don't Leave Me Baby'' and ''No Worry Blues''). He recorded from 1950 to 1954 for Imperial Records (backed by Dave Bartholomew). Walker's only record in the next five years was ''T-Bone Blues'', recorded during three widely separated sessions in 1955, 1956 and 1959 and released by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

in 1959. By the early 1960s, Walker's career had slowed down, in spite of an energetic performance at the American Folk Blues Festival in 1962 with the pianist Memphis Slim and the prolific writer and musician Willie Dixon, among others. However, several critically acclaimed albums followed, such as ''I Want a Little Girl'' (recorded for Delmark Records in 1968). Walker recorded in his last years, from 1968 to 1975, for Robin Hemingway's music publishing company, Jitney Jane Songs. He won a

Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording The Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording was awarded from 1960 to 1986. During this time the award had several minor name changes: *From 1960 to 1961 the award was known as Best Performance - Folk *From 1962 to 1967 it was awa ...

in 1971 for ''Good Feelin, while signed with

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

, produced by Hemingway, followed by another album produced by Hemingway, ''Fly Walker Airlines'', released in 1973.

Death

Walker's career began to wind down after he suffered a

stroke A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...

in 1974. He died at his home in

of bronchial pneumonia following another stroke in March 1975, at the age of 64. He influenced a generation of Detroit guitarists.

Legacy

Walker was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980 and the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...

in 1987. Chuck Berry named Walker and Louis Jordan as his main influences. B.B. King cited hearing Walker's recording of "Stormy Monday" as his inspiration for getting an electric guitar. In his 1996 autobiography, King commented when first heard Walker, he thought "Jesus Himself had returned to earth playing electric guitar. T-Bone's blues filled my insides with joy and good feeling. I became his disciple. And remain so today. My biggest musical debt is to T-Bone." Blues-rock soloing pioneer Lonnie Mack named Walker his principal blues guitar influence. Walker was admired by Jimi Hendrix, who imitated Walker's trick of playing the guitar with his teeth. Steve Miller stated that in 1952, when he was eight, Walker taught him how to play his guitar behind his back and also with his teeth. He was a family friend and a frequent visitor to Miller's family home and Miller considers him a major influence on his career.Michael Granberry. "Steve Miller: Dallas set him on his path to stardom", ''Dallas Morning News'', November 28, 2004, Texas Living section, page 2E. "Stormy Monday" was a favorite live number of the Allman Brothers Band. The British rock band Jethro Tull covered Walker's "Stormy Monday" in 1968 for

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

's "Top Gear". Eva Cassidy performed "Stormy Monday" on her 1996 ''

Live at Blues Alley ''Live at Blues Alley'' is an album by American singer Eva Cassidy, originally self-released in May 1996. The album was recorded live album, live at the Blues Alley nightclub in January 1996. It was the last album recorded by Cassidy before her de ...

'' recording. According to Cleveland.com, Walker may have been the best R&B guitarist. He "pioneered electric blues by becoming the first artist to make the electric guitar a solo instrument and a true centerpiece of his stunning live shows".

Discography

As leader

* "Wichita Falls Blues"//"Trinity River Blues" (Columbia, 1929) as 'Oak Cliff T-Bone' * "T-Bone Blues" (Varsity, 1940) with Les Hite And His Orchestra * "Mean Old World"//"I Got a Break, Baby" (1942 945; 1948 * "Evening" (1944) * "Bobby Sox Blues" (1946) * "I'm in an Awful Mood" (1946) * "Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad)" (1947) * "I Want a Little Girl" (1948) * "West Side Baby" (1948) * "T-Bone Shuffle" (1948) * "Hypin' Women Blues" (1949) * "Glamour Girl"//"Strollin' With Bones" (1950) * "The Hustle is On" (1950) * "Cold Cold Feeling" (1952) * ''Classics in Jazz'' ( Capitol 0" 1954) * ''T-Bone Blues'' (

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, 1955/1956/1957 959 * ''Sings the Blues'' (

Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...

, 1960) * ''I Get So Weary'' (Imperial, 1961) * ''The Great Blues Vocals and Guitar of T-Bone Walker (His Original 1945–1950 Performances)'' (Capitol, 1963) * "Hey Hey Baby"//"Should I Let Her Go" (

Modern Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

, 1965) * ''The Truth'' ( Brunswick, 1966

968 Year 968 ( CMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Emperor Nikephoros II receives a Bulgarian embassy led by Prince Boris ( ...

also released as ''The Legendary T-Bone Walker'' * '' Stormy Monday Blues'' ( BluesWay, 1967) * '' Funky Town'' (BluesWay, 1968) * ''I Want a Little Girl'' ( Delmark, 1968 973 also released as ''Feelin' the Blues'' ( Black & Blue) * '' Good Feelin''' (

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United State ...

, 1968 969 * '' Everyday I Have the Blues'' ( BluesTime, 1969) * '' Super Black Blues'' (BluesTime, 1969) with Big Joe Turner, Otis Spann * ''Super Black Blues: Volume II'' ive(BluesTime, 1970) with Leon Thomas, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Big Joe Turner * ''Stormy Monday Blues'' (Wet Soul/ SSS International, 1970

971 Year 971 ( CMLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Battle of Dorostolon: A Byzantine expeditionary army (possibly 30–40,000 men ...

* ''Fly Walker Airlines (Live in Montreux)'' (Polydor, 1972) * ''Well Done'' (Home Cooking, 1973) also released as ''Back on the Scene: Texas 1966'' * ''Very Rare'' ( Reprise, 1973) 2-LP

As sideman

With Norman Granz' Jazz At The Philharmonic * ''J.A.T.P. in London, 1969'' ( Pablo, 1989) 2-LP; Walker does 3 songs: "Woman You Must Be Crazy", Goin' To Chicago", and "Stormy Monday". With Jay McShann * ''Confessin' the Blues'' (Black & Blue, 1970; Classic Jazz, 1978) With

Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (born Edward L. Vinson Jr.; December 18, 1917 – July 2, 1988) was an American jump blues, jazz, bebop and R&B alto saxophonist and blues shouter. He was nicknamed Cleanhead after an incident in which his hair was a ...

* '' Kidney Stew is Fine'' (Delmark, 1969) also released as ''Wee Baby Blues'' (Black & Blue) With Jimmy Witherspoon * '' Evenin' Blues'' ( Prestige, 1963) With various artists * '' The Greatest Jazz Concert in the World'' (Pablo, 1967 975 4-LP box set; Walker does "Woman You Must Be Crazy", and "Stormy Monday".

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, T-Bone 1910 births 1975 deaths People from Linden, Texas African-American guitarists African-American male singer-songwriters American blues singer-songwriters American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues mandolinists American blues pianists American male pianists American street performers American people of Cherokee descent Musicians from Dallas Grammy Award winners Deaths from bronchopneumonia Deaths from pneumonia in California Burials at Inglewood Park Cemetery Singer-songwriters from Texas Electric blues musicians Atlantic Records artists Brunswick Records artists Capitol Records artists Charly Records artists Columbia Records artists Duke Records artists Imperial Records artists Modern Records artists Polydor Records artists Reprise Records artists Texas blues musicians West Coast blues musicians 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Texas People from Oak Cliff, Texas 20th-century American pianists African-American pianists 20th-century African-American male singers