Overview

Whenever you hear the prevalent wailing blues harmonica in commercials, film soundtracks or at a blues club, you are experiencing the legacy of the master harmonica player, Little Walter. Immensely popular in his lifetime, Little Walter had fourteen Top 10 hits on the R&B charts, and he was also the first Chicago blues musician to play at the Apollo. Ray Charles and B.B. King, great blues artists in their own right, were honored to sit in with his band. However, at the age of 37, he lay in a pauper's grave in Chicago. This book will tell the story of a man whose music, life and struggles continue to resonate to this day.

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9780415937115

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Reviews

Maybe the best book I've ever read concerning music or any music personality.. <br>-Blues Notes <br> Indispensable.. <br>-The Times (London) <br> Noted blues scholars...paint a picture of Walter as a fiery, independent soul.. <br>---Library Journal <br> Given his standing in the world of blues, it's amazing that it has taken so long for an in-depth book on Marion Walter Jacobs to appear, but be in no doubt that the wait has been well worth it. Reading like a novel, but one which even Walter Mosley might have struggled to plot with credibility, the story of the ultimately deeply-troubled genius progenitor of contemporary blues harmonica is unfolded in an enthralling manner by a triumvirate of authors notably well-qualified for the task. <br>-Bill Moodie, Juke Blues(UK) <br>

Maybe the best book I've ever read concerning music or any music personality. -- Blues Notes Indispensable. -- The Times (London) Noted blues scholars...paint a picture of Walter as a fiery, independent soul. -- --Library Journal The story of this ultimately deeply-troubled genius progenitor of contemporary blues harmonica is unfolded in an enthralling manner by a triumverate of authors notably well-qualified for the task. -- Juke Blues This is undoubtably the book that Walter's status merits and is recommended unreservedly. -- Juke Blues Given his standing in the world of blues, it's amazing that it has taken so long for an in-depth book on Marion Walter Jacobs to appear, but be in no doubt that the wait has been well worth it. Reading like a novel, but one which even Walter Mosley might have struggled to plot with credibility, the story of the ultimately deeply-troubled genius progenitor of contemporary blues harmonica is unfolded in an enthralling manner by a triumvirate of authors notably well-qualified for the task. -- Bill Moodie, Juke Blues (UK)

The impact that Little Walter has had on the musical world is phenomenal. Alongside Muddy Waters and a fluctuating group of musical cronies, he took the 'old' blues from down South and amped it up into the fresh 'Chicago Blues' sound, ultimately creating a sensation that spawned record studios like mushrooms in September and led directly to the appearance of pop music and teen culture. Walter is arguably the most important factor in this equation; before Marion Walter Jacobs picked up a harp (harmonica) and blew it into a pair of microphones run through a guitar amp, the instrument had been a pipsqueak novelty warbling in the background of down-home 'old time' music. In Walter's hands the harmonica became a beast, growling and honking like a trumpet, played with the technical mastery of a jazzman and the guts of a bluesman. 'Blues with a Feeling' tells his story as well as it can be told - there is not a lot of background information to go on, and the text of the book is limited to remembrances of Walter's peers and detailed descriptions of surviving recording sessions, some of which form staples of any well-prescribed blues diet. It paints a fascinating picture of the fluid music scene in 1950s Chicago and creates, through its jumping pattern of hearsay, legend, preciously unearthed fact and imperfectly remembered stories, an image of the greatest harmonica player who ever lived, strutting his rooster walk through the vicissitudes of the musical life, his attendant loves, friendships, outrageous egocentricities and moments of sudden tenderness. The one conclusion clearly drawn is that Little Walter deserves a wider recognition as the musical genius he surely was. This book achieves that recognition with enthusiasm, honesty and intelligence, and, as such, should be required reading for all musicians and any fan of the blues. (Kirkus UK)

Author Information

Tony Glover has been a professional musician/writer since 1962. He is the author of a best-selling guide to playing the blues harmonica, in continuous print for over 4 decades. He has performed in a legendary blues trio with ""Spider"" John Koerner and Dave Ray off and on since the 1960s. He lives in St. Paul, MN. Ward Gaines is a graphic designer, art restorer and professional musician, and is a noted writer and researcher on the blues. He lives in Washington, DC. Scott Dirks has written for blues magazines, hosted blues radio, produced blues recordings, and performed in blues bands over the last 20 years. He lives outside of Chicago, Illinois.

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