Book Review by Billy Blue Strauss

Blues with a Feeling - The Little Walter Story

by Tony Glover, Scott Dirks, and Ward Gaines 

This is an expanded version of a review that was originally published in Worcester Magazine in November of 2002

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Simply stated, Marion 'Little Walter' Jacobs was the greatest blues harmonica player ever and a Bluesman whose importance can not be overstated.  Yet relatively little has been known or written about his life, and a book about him has been long overdue.  The prayers of Little Walter fans everywhere have finally been answered by Scott Dirks, Tony Glover, and Ward Gaines, who together have collaborated on the first book about one of Blues' most influential and enigmatic figures.  The question of who is 'the greatest' usually sparks heated debate, but within and beyond the realm of The Blues there is a virtual unanimity of opinion in regards to Little Walter's supremacy.  Thirty five years after his death and fifty years after he slammed onto the national R&B charts with his number one hit Juke, Walter's impact on the harmonica, The Blues, and every other kind of music is still being felt.  As the authors state in their introduction to Blues With a Feeling – The Little Walter Story, "Whenever you hear a wailing, bluesy harmonica in a McDonald's commercial, a movie soundtrack, on a concert stage, or at your local blues joint, you're hearing a direct link to Little Walter's legacy."....
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Little Walter was a pivotal figure in the history of American music.  He was to the harmonica and The Blues what Charlie Parker was to the saxophone and Jazz.  Both redefined the instrument they played and changed the direction of their chosen musical idioms.  Little Walter took an instrument that had previously been used by singers to play short solos as vocal accompaniment, or by instrumentalists to play 'train' tunes or folk standards like John Henry, and turned it into a powerful and expressive soloing tool.  Walter, who was very much digging the riffing horn sections of the jump bands of late 40's and early 50's, began using the harmonica to play saxophone lines and to explore jazz oriented concepts of phrasing and time.  The result was a legacy of superbly crafted thematic solos in the classic tradition of jazz improvisation.  Walter single-handedly put the voice of the jazz big band into the small blues band combo, linking two musical genres and becoming one of the most exciting soloists of his day.  And when you consider that it was the harmonica, not the guitar, that was the main soloing voice of Chicago Blues in the 1950's, and that Chicago Blues was the most direct precursor of the rock music of the 1960's, you realize that Walter's influence on future rock and roll players was unmistakable.  Everybody from Jagger and Richards to Clapton and Hendrix and so on down the line was listening to Little Walter's harmonica solos at one time or another.....

The story of Juke, to which the authors devote an entire chapter of Blues With a Feeling, is particularly revealing of the impact that Little Walter had on the R&B world.  The song was recorded on May 12th, 1952, just 11 days after Walter's 22nd birthday, but he was already an experienced session player at Chess Records and was quite ready and eager to have a record of his own.  Leonard and Phil Chess, the musically intuitive proprietors of the company who were also known for their business savvy, ultimately realized Walter's artistic and, more importantly to them, his money-making potential.  After recording Walter as a sideman for almost two years, they finally arranged a Muddy Waters session with the specific intent of recording Little Walter as a frontman.  Walter had become a capable vocalist as well as a harmonica master, and he demonstrated this on Can't Hold Out Much Longer, a plaintive but forceful slow blues also recorded that day.  But when the single was released in July, it was the song Juke, an instrumental in which Walter amplified his harp like an electric guitar, that caught the attention of musicians and the record buying public. Juke showed Walter's understanding of big band horn arrangements and it showed off his technical and improvisational skills, but it was the sound of the record that ensured its place in history.  Walter wasn't the first harp player to plug into an amp or even the first to record with one, and he himself had been amplifying his harp on record for almost a year, but no one had ever recorded a harmonica instrumental that sounded anything like Juke.  With Juke, Walter established a standard for harmonica sound that harp players of all kinds are still trying to measure up to.....

Juke made Little Walter a star, literally an overnight sensation.  He left Muddy Waters as soon as he realized his song was a hit, and in what was surely the swap of the century in The Blues, he traded places with Jr. Wells, an even younger (and impressive in his own right) singer and harp player who had a band of equally young and impressive musicians called The Aces.  The authors' coverage of this piece of blues folklore is satisfyingly thorough, as they reveal just how many versions of one famous story there are likely to be (about as many as there were bluesmen in Chicago who knew Little Walter at the time).  Regardless of how it actually came about, the end result was the same: Junior went with Muddy, and Walter took over a band that was more hip to his faster and more swinging style of playing.  Walter changed the name of the band to The Jukes and quickly took his act on the road.  By the end of October, Juke was a Top-10 hit and Walter was headlining a weeklong engagement at New York's famous Apollo Theater, a billing rewarded to only the hottest R&B acts of the day.  An audience used to big bands and popular singers was truly blown away by the impact of a small, driving Chicago Blues band that didn't even have a bass player – two amplified guitars, drums, and an equally amplified Walter were more powerful than a full band with horns.  The crowds went wild, a reaction that was repeated over and over as Walter toured the country and played extended engagements in Chicago, the city that had become his adopted hometown.  Walter and his band mates could also be seen as some of the earliest pioneers of Rock 'n' Roll music – they were playing small combo R&B dance tunes to integrated audiences as early as the fall of 1952.....

With Juke Little Walter achieved fame and began to acquire all of the perks that went along with being a star.  He was signed with an established booking agency that provided him with prestigious gigs.  The Chess brothers gave him a Cadillac car, as they had done for Muddy Waters.  He was able to buy fancy clothes and had all the women he wanted, which by all accounts was quite a few (Walter was a dapper figure and apparently quite the ladies man).  And he had money, so much of it that he supposedly drove around town with a trunk load of it.  He was also universally respected as a musician and was unquestionably the best harp player anyone had ever heard, often playing tunes at his gigs that other players wouldn't even think of trying (Count Basie's Lester Leaps In and Bill Doggetts's Big Boy are two examples cited in the book).  Walter also continued to release successful singles after Juke, including the number one My Babe in 1955 and 6 singles in-between, 5 of which featured an instrumental side.  Walter firmly established the harmonica as a legitimate instrument and the harmonica instrumental as the standard vehicle of expression for blues harmonica players.  And as quickly as he became a sensation, harp players everywhere were trying to emulate him.  Muddy himself is quoted in Blues With a Feeling as saying, "Well, after Little Walter started, you didn't have to look, because everybody trying to play the harp."....

Blues With a Feeling offers a thorough examination of Little Walter's early life.  The authors make clear that Walter was determined at an early age to be successful, and that he became very single minded in the pursuit of that goal.  He certainly did not have many options, given how his life began.  He was born in Marksville, Louisiana on May 1st, 1930 as Marion, and was soon after taken by his father to Alexandria, 30 miles to the north, to relatives who gave him the name of Walter (the revelation that Little Walter wasn't born as Marion Walter Jacobs, as many previous sources have stated, is just one example of the fruits of the authors' extensive research).  Walter didn't actually meet his mother until he was 11 years old, and would always feel like his family had abandoned him.  He never had a place that he thought of as home and was basically a loner who had to learn right from the start to look out for himself.  He became itinerant at an early age and traveled all over, from New Orleans, through Helena, Memphis, and St. Louis, to Chicago, as well as any destination in-between where there was some kind of music scene.  He was also a restless youth; he never stayed in one place for too long.....

Walter had been playing harmonica (and music of all kinds, not just The Blues) since he was 8 years old – in the streets, outside of clubs, and inside of them when he could sneak or talk his way in.  He was driven to become an accomplished player, in large part because he saw being a successful musician as an achievable and potentially lucrative means of survival.  He tagged along with older, more experienced musicians like guitarist Robert Jr. Lockwood, who would later join his band, and pianist Sunnyland Slim, who would later introduce Muddy Waters to the Chess brothers in Chicago.  He pestered and learned from the two older and already established harmonica masters, Rice Miller (the second Sonny Boy Williamson) and Walter Horton (who came to be known as 'Big' Walter when Little Walter achieved notoriety).  And most importantly, he listened to and learned the style of his favorite singer/harmonica player John Lee Williamson (the original 'Sonny Boy') who was one of the most popular Blues recording artists of the 1940's, and was a big star in Chicago until his death in 1948.  John Lee's music would be Walter's primary inspiration, and his career would be to Walter a model for success.....

Little Walter had spent almost his entire life playing music and clearly had learned his musical lessons well, but on a personal level he was much less prepared to handle the success that he had pursued for so long.  With a professional career came professional responsibilities, and Walter, who was barely out of his teens, was suddenly obliged to act like an adult.  Having grown accustomed to taking care of only himself, he did not adjust well to being a bandleader who had to consider the wants and needs of his band members.  Walter wanted the spotlight for himself and was reluctant to give his sidemen the recognition they deserved, but ultimately more damaging to Walter was his reluctance to share with them the financial rewards of his success.  Walter was apparently not very considerate of his associates, and he was not a patient man.  The authors quote pianist Henry Grey, who said that Walter, "played the harp fast, run fast, talked fast, act fast – I never knowed him to take his time to do nothing."  And guitarist friend and long time road companion Honeyboy Edwards said, "Walter was like a flea – always hopping."  Walter was also prideful and hot-tempered, and did not like to listen to the advice of his more levelheaded companions.  This would prove to be problematic for a band that spent a great deal of time on the road.  It appears that Walter had numerous brushes with the police, and some of his famous scars may have resulted from his refusal to keep his mouth shut when stopped by one of them.  As guitarist and original band member Dave Myers recalled, "Every time Walter driving and they stop us, we had to go to jail."  These and the many other of the books' revealing and often hilarious testimonials from Walter's band members show that Walter was often not the easiest man to work for or be with.  The course of events seems to bear this out, as one by one his players, the best sidemen in Chicago, left him and easily found work elsewhere around town.....

Little Walter's less endearing personality traits have not exactly been kept secret, but Blues With a Feeling lays them out to bear in unflinching detail.  It is generally known that Walter was a womanizer, a gambler, a fighter who toted (and used) knives and guns, and, worst of all, a heavy drinker.  But he was also quite competitive, and never seemed comfortable wearing the harmonica crown.  For someone who was so far ahead of the pack, he was especially guarded about his music (not particularly willing to give tips to other players) and surprisingly insecure (he wouldn't share his stage with any true competition save for his friendly rival Big Walter).  But Little Walter was far from being a one-dimensional character that could be easily understood.  He is recalled in the book by some as a wild man who was often drunk and belligerent, and by others as someone who was often quiet and even aloof, a rather shy man who did not relish interviews or social interaction at his performances.  The authors give us an unprecedented look at Little Walter's personality, and paint a portrait of a complex man, someone who certainly behaved less than admirably in many situations, but also someone who could be charming, funny, and enjoyable to be with.  He was also capable of generosity with his money, and his musical knowledge as well.  He was known to give away some of his trunk stash to friends in need, and he could be very encouraging and helpful to young harp players like his buddies Carey Bell and Billy Boy Arnold, who are quoted in the book extensively and have many fond recollections of him.  And he could even at times be gracious in his praise of other harp players, not just the first Sonny Boy who was his idol, but even the second one, who was in many ways his nemesis and was certainly his most formidable rival. ....

Little Walter triumphed over a great deal of adversity to achieve his success, and for a couple of years he was riding high and enjoying his fame and his infamy.  But the Little Walter story does not have a happy ending, and the authors of Blues With a Feeling do not shy away from documenting the downward spiral and ultimate demise of someone who was at the same time a truly great musician and a very troubled man.  When Walter's popularity began to wane he took it very hard and was quite reluctant to relinquish the spotlight and the accolades that he had grown accustomed to.  As his career slowed down, his drinking (and his despair) accelerated.  Some critics have suggested that Rock 'n' Roll was Walter's undoing, but changes in the taste of the record buying public alone could not account for such a steep decline in one man's fortunes.  It is true that Leonard and Phil Chess began to focus more on recording the new music, particularly that of their two rising stars, Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley, and that the Bluesmen on the Chicago scene experienced some pretty lean years as the 1950's drew to a close, but for the most part they toughed it out and kept their bands and their careers intact. ....

Walter was in many ways a tragic figure.   He had a pretty tough life and had to fight hard (literally as well as figuratively) every step of the way during his determined climb to success, and it took a toll on his body and his soul.  There was also a measure of bad luck thrown into the mix.  One of the most startling revelations in Blues With a Feeling is that Walter was shot in the leg in the winter of 1958, then slipped on some ice soon afterwards and broke the same leg.  A proud man with a very distinguished and imitated walk now had to walk with a limp, and by all accounts he became markedly more depressed after this particular misfortune.  Yet as a testament to his still present influence and stature, other harp players continued to try and walk like him.  Walter did not seem able to feel good about himself, despite all of the respect from musicians and attention from women that he continued to receive.  As if he felt like he didn't deserve happiness or fame, he proceeded to do the things that would insure that he would ultimately have neither.....

Sadly, Little Walter need only have held it together for a little while longer and his luck might have changed.  As white audiences began to discover The Blues in the early 1960's, first in Europe and subsequently in Chicago and other cities across the country, The Blues became more popular than ever.  Muddy, Wolf and many other Bluesmen began playing to new audiences at bigger and better venues, but by this time Walter was barely getting by at local gigs with any band that he (or more often someone helping him like his drummer friend Sam Lay) could throw together.  He was losing more and more gigs as his behavior became more and more erratic.  Increasingly while performing he would hand his microphone to some eager young player, then disappear to pursue his many vices.  Even worse, he would come back at the end of the night (extremely drunk, of course) and demand to be paid.  While Sonny Boy Williamson was very successful in Europe, playing with The Yardbirds, The Animals, and many others before his death in 1965, Walter, who was finally invited to Europe in 1967, was perpetually frustrated there by his backing bands and, not surprisingly, was drunk most of the time.  Back in Chicago, a whole new generation of white players were discovering The Blues, and future stars like Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, and Charlie Musselwhite got a chance to see one of their biggest heroes play.  But they only caught brief glimpses of the light that had once made Little Walter's star shine so brightly.....

Little Walter died on February 15th, 1968, after receiving a blow to the head during a fight that occurred while he was gambling in an alleyway.  His violent end might have been too dramatic to believe if were not so reflective of the hard life that he had lived.  In fact, Walter's injury did not seem any worse to him at the time than the many others that had preceded it, and he simply went home to sleep it off.  He never woke up because he had finally received one blow to the head too many.  Walter was killed just shy of twenty years after John Lee Williamson, and under eerily similar circumstances.  But while Sonny Boy died a successful man, making records and working regularly until the end, Walter died a broken man no longer wanted for gigs or recording sessions.  And he was very much alone.  One by one his friends had abandoned him, frustrated and angered by his worsening condition.  Even Muddy Waters, who had always been a loyal friend to Walter and even hoped he might possibly play again in his band someday, had pretty much given up on him.....

Little Walter's life ended tragically, but his music has lived on triumphantly.  Walter is still considered to be the best that there ever was or will likely ever be, and harmonica players, blues enthusiasts and music aficionados continue to find a joy in his music that often eluded him in his personal life.  Yet Little Walter's life is still something to be celebrated, and Blues With a Feeling – The Little Walter Story is ultimately a tribute to Little Walter's genius, not a lamentation over his human frailty.  This book was written by harp player/blues scholars who have translated their reverence and enthusiasm for Walter's music into a detailed work that will no doubt ensure that Walter's legacy is never forgotten.  Their collective mission to have Little Walter's story told took on a religious importance as they spent five years researching for the book and conducted interviews over an even longer period of time.  Their zeal to uncover information about Walter led them not only to the musicians who knew and played with him, but friends and relatives as well.  Little Walter's four sisters were all interviewed extensively for this book and have all lived to see its publication.  Little Walter was and still is the King – long live the music and the spirit of Little Walter!....

They Call me Muddy Waters (E)

Walter's earliest experimentation with harp switching is notable because of his use of 1st position.  Walter didn't do that much 1st position playing on record - there is no 1st position playing on any of his own recordings for Chess, and he only used 1st position with Muddy a couple of times, on I'm Your Hootchie Cootchie Man (1954), I Want to be Loved (1955), My Eyes Keep me in Trouble (1955 - see below), and I Got to Find my Baby (1955).  He also used it a couple of times with Jimmy Rogers, on Luedella (1950) and Chance to Love (1951).  BTW, that's Big Walter playing 1st position on One Kiss in 1956.  And of course I should mention the John Brim songs Ice Cream Man (1954) and Be Careful (1956).  Walter is switching between 1st and 2nd position on that last one - check it out, if you haven't already.  OK then, back to They Call me Muddy Waters: Walter starts out in 1st position (E harp).  At the end of the second verse (after the 9th bar) he switches to 2nd position to take his solo and stays there for the duration of the song.  When he comes out of the solo he mimics the line he was using in 1st position.  Is he being musical or just fucking with you?  You decide!  Note: Muddy recorded Lonesome Day during the same session, and Walter plays this line again, this time in 3rd Position!

I Just Want to Make Love to You (D)

Now I was pretty brain-dead to this switch for many years, but it is there.  Walter is playing 3rd position (C) diatonic and 3rd position (his standard) C chromatic - can you hear where he is switching?  This song has a very unstructured form - it stays on the one except for the bridge, which goes to the four and then to the five, and Muddy and Walter both start singing and playing at off-beat times.  OK already - here I go: Walter starts with the diatonic.  There is a 3 bar intro, then Muddy jumps a beat and starts singing.  The first verse is 8 bars and the second verse is 12 bars.  After the 10th bar of the second verse, Walter puts down his diatonic and switches to the chromatic, which he starts playing on the 12th bar.  He repeats the line from this 12th bar on the 1st bar of his solo verse, so technically his solo starts on the 2nd bar of this verse and lasts 12 bars.  Then comes the 8 bar bridge and the final 12 bar vocal verse, which fades out on a couple of extra bars.  Walter stays on the chromatic for the rest of the song.  If you doubt this switch compare Walter's playing on the first verse with his playing on the last - you will be able to hear I think that he is playing the same line, but with two different instruments!
 

My Eyes Keep me in Trouble (C)

Walter begins the song in 1st position on the diatonic (C) harp and then switches to a C Chromatic for the solo.  Now this is very interesting.  Many harmonica players have assumed that Walter was trying to take a 1st position chromatic harp solo here, but this is simply not the case.  What he is doing in fact is the same thing that he was doing two years earlier on That's It - he is playing his C chromatic with the button in.  Technically speaking, this means he is playing 6th position harp (he is playing in C using a Db harmonica).  Now I doubt Walter was thinking about playing in a different harmonica 'position', but it is possible that he was trying to cultivate this particular part for his chromatic playing.  I can't help but think though that if this were case he would have done a better job of it - I mean come on man, this is Little Walter!  He does better with it here than he did on That's It, but not by much - he only plays for 8 bars of the break and then aborts, laying out for a couple of bars and then coming back with the C diatonic, with which he finishes out the song.  It must be a mistake, no?  Then again, what are the chances of Walter using the wrong harp in the same way on record twice?  Maybe he was trying to do what he did on That's It.  In the end it's tough to say - we can figure out what Walter is doing on these songs, but we can never really be certain about why he is doing it - it's all part of the great mystery of life!
 

I Live the Life I Love (E)

This switch is so brief and seamless that you should be able to forgive yourself for missing it if you did.  Walter plays 2nd position (A harp) for almost the entire song except for 4 bars where he plays 3rd position (D harp).  Where?  Right at the start of his solo.  Very Cool - check it out!
 

Nineteen Years Old (B)

Another very cool switch here, notable too because it is the only song other than Blue Lights (and the That's It debacle) where Walter switches harps and then switches back again.  OK, here goes: Walter starts off in 3rd position (A harp), switches to 2nd position (E harp) for his solo, and then switches back after his solo.  Details: he stops playing his A harp on the last vocal verse before the solo (at the beginning of the 11th bar), switches harps, and resumes playing with his E harp for the last half of the 12th bar.  You can clearly hear this quick 2-note cross harp pick-up into the solo - he plays the lower bend of the 2-draw followed by the 1-draw.  That's the flat-7 (A), and the 5 (B) for all of the real musicians reading this!  Walter blows his E harp through the entire turnaround after his solo, then switches back to his A harp and resumes his playing on the 2nd bar of Muddy's returning vocal verse.  Bravo!

Walking Through the Park (B)

Walter is using an E harp (2nd position) and an A harp (3rd position) on this song.  Can you hear where he is switching?  This switch took me a long time to notice, because Walter is doing perhaps his best job of using one position to closely imitate the pattern of another.  OK, then, here it is:  Walter starts the song in 2nd position.  He does this for the 12 bar intro verse and for 11 bars of the first vocal verse.  He then switches harps and starts playing in 3rd position at the beginning of the second vocal verse.  He stays in 3rd position for the solo and for the rest of the song.  Now I'm sure that my claim of this switch is the one that will be the most contested by other harp players, so I will make my case as clearly as I can:  Walter's playing on the intro of this song really sounds a lot like 3rd position, and indeed you can play most of what he's playing here in 3rd, but the operative word is most.  You cannot play all of what he is paying in 3rd position.  Here's the first giveaway that he is in 2nd position on the intro - he does a bend that cannot be gotten from an A harp in 3rd position.  Where is it?  It is on the last beat of the 8th bar, right before the band goes to the four.  Hear It?   It's that lower bend on the 2-draw again, the flat-7 (A).  This is pretty cool because he hits the bend first and then goes up to the straight 2-draw.  If you try and play this intro in 3rd position, you can get a similar bend, but not the same bend.  You can bend the 4-draw to get a major-7(Bb), but that's as close as you'll get.  If you listen to the beginning of the intro (the third beat of the 1st bar), you can hear that Walter is doing that same 2-hole bend.  And if you listen carefully to this whole part, the intro and the first vocal verse, you will be able to hear that it just sounds like an E harp and not an A harp!  If you're still not convinced, listen to the very end of the intro.  Walter's last 4 notes are 2-draw, second bend (A), and 3 draws on the 1 (F).  Try getting those notes in 3rd position!  BTW, the one bend you can do exactly the same in 2nd or 3rd position here is the one that Walter does right at the beginning of the 11th bar.  In 2nd position it is on the 4-draw and in 3rd position it is on the 6-draw.  They are both the 5 bent down to the flat-5 (F-sharp to F).  It is a slight bend, and it is subtle, but it is there, and Walter used it quite often to great effect - try it some time! 

Well all right then, that's all for now folks - more to come soon, I hope!!!