Big Walter Horton

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Big Walter Horton

Big Walter Horton (born April 6, 1918 in Horn Lake , Mississippi , † December 8, 1981 in Chicago , Illinois ) was an American blues musician, a virtuoso on the harmonica , known as a member of the band of Muddy Waters . It was also of particular importance for the development of the electrically amplified harmonica. Although he was as important to blues music as Little Walter , for example , he is not as well known as his contemporaries. It can be traced back to the fact that as a shy, shy person he never felt the need to have his own band, but preferred to be able to contribute to a recording as a fellow player. Willie Dixon once called him "the best harmonica player I have ever heard."

Life

At the age of five, Horton was able to play the harmonica, which he taught himself after receiving a harmonica from his father. Soon he won a local talent contest. As a teenager he lived in Memphis , Tennessee , where he was a member of the Memphis Jug Band , which he may have been involved in recording. Here he also learned new tricks for the harmonica, which he was taught by Will Shade, the harmonica player of the Jug Band. After that he moved through the country and played just enough with his music to survive. During the Great Depression, he played with Robert Johnson, Honeyboy Edwards, and others.

In the early 1940s he went to Chicago and made his first own recordings there, mostly accompanied by a guitarist. According to his own statements, it was around this time that he began to experiment with an amplified harmonica. He is said to have taught Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson some harmonica tricks, but this has not been confirmed.

For health reasons, Horton more or less withdrew from the music scene and took other jobs. Occasionally he returned to Memphis and also made various recordings, including with the young BB King. He later joined the band of Muddy Waters in Chicago in the 1950s . In the 1950s he also played as a studio musician for Chess Records . During this time he recorded some singles for Chess with Willie Dixon as producer.

Horton, nicknamed "Shakey" for moving his head while playing, became an integral part of the Chicago blues scene and enjoyed great popularity during the folk revival. It was not until 1964 that he recorded his first own LP for Chess Records (The Soul of Blues Harmonica). In the 1970s he toured the United States and Europe, often with Willie Dixon and his Chicago Blues All-Stars. He played with blues rock greats like Fleetwood Mac and Johnny Winter . We recommend his album Big Walter Horton with Carey Bell , released on Alligator Records and also available on CD. In addition to Big Walter Horton, Carey Bell and Eddie Taylor are also involved in the recordings . In the film The Blues Brothers he appeared as a companion to John Lee Hooker in the Maxwell Street scene.

Big Walter Horton was a quiet, nondescript man who is considered to be one of the most gifted blues harmonica players in the history of the blues. He died in Chicago in 1981 and was buried in Alsip , Illinois . In 1982 he received a place in the Blues Hall of Fame.

Discography

Albums

  • 1964 The Soul of Blues Harmonica Chess
  • 1969 Southern Comfort Sire Records
  • 1972 Offer You Can't Refuse [1 Side] Red Lightnin '(UK)
  • 1972 With Hot Cottage London / Blueprint / XTRA / Stony Plain
  • 1973 Big Walter Horton with Carey Bell Alligator
  • 1973 NowLive at the El Mocambo Red Lightnin '(UK)
  • 1976 Can't Keep Lovin 'You Blind Pig Records
  • 1979 Fine Cuts Blind Pig Records
  • 1980 Little Boy Blue [live] JSP
  • 1984 The Deep Blues Harmonica JSP
  • 1984 Can't Keep Lovin 'You Blind Pig Records
  • 1986 Walter Horton Black Magic
  • 1988 Mouth Harp Maestro Ace
  • 1990 Horton Blind Pig Records
  • 1996 Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival , Vol. 4 [live] Schoolkids
  • 1996 They Call Me Big Walter Blues Alliance
  • 1997 An Offer You Can't Refuse Walter Horton and Paul Butterfield Castle
  • 1998 Toronto '73 MIL Multimedia
  • 1999 Walter "Shakey" Horton Live Pacific Blues
  • 2001 Live at the Knickerbocker JSP
  • 2001 With Hot Cottage Stony Plain
  • 2005 Memphis Recordings 1951 Megaphone Import Service
  • 2008 Bocce Boogie: Live 1978 Topcat Records

Guest appearances

  • Chicken Shack Complete Blue Horizon Sessions (2006)
  • Fleetwood Mac Blues Jam In Chicago, Vol. 2 (2004)
  • Buddy Guy This Is the Beginning: The Artistic and USA Sessions 1958-1963 (2003)
  • David "Honeyboy" Edwards Don't Mistreat A Fool (1999)
  • Johnny Shines 1915-1992 (1998)
  • Muddy Waters His Best 1956 to 1964 (1997)
  • American Folk Blues Festival: 1962-1965 (1995)
  • Floyd Jones Masters Of Modern Blues (1994)
  • JB Hutto Masters Of Modern Blues (1995)
  • Jimmy Rogers Chicago Bound (1976)
  • Fleetwood MacKiln House (1970)
  • Koko Taylor Koko Taylor (1969)
  • Sunnyland Slim Midnight Jump (1969)
  • Fleetwood Mac Blues Jam In Chicago, Vol. 1 (1969)
  • Chicken Shack OK Ken? (1969)
  • Johnny Shines Johnny Shines With Big Walter Horton (1969)
  • Johnny Winter Johnny Winter (1969)
  • Big Mama Thornton Ball N 'Chain (1968)
  • Johnny Young Chicago Blues ( 1968)
  • Otis Spann Otis Spann's Chicago Blues (1966)
  • Big Mama Thornton Big Mama Thornton In Europe (1965)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ All Music Guide biography of Steve Huey
  2. ↑ Blind Pig Records: Artist page
  3. ^ Biographical note by Glen Weiser
  4. ↑ All Music Guide biography of Steve Huey
  5. ↑ All Music Guide: Biography ; on Horton's recordings in Memphis, see: Escott, Colin / Hawkins, Martin: Good Rockin 'Tonight. Sun Records and the Birth of Rock 'n' Roll . New York City, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1991, pp. 38-40
  6. ↑ AMG
  7. ↑ All Music Guide, Amazon and CD Universe
personal data
SURNAME Horton, Big Walter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American blues musician
DATE OF BIRTH April 6, 1918
PLACE OF BIRTH Horn Lake , Mississippi
DATE OF DEATH December 8, 1981
Place of death Chicago , Illinois