Tired of the generic electric guitar blues of the mid-1940s, Little Walter introduced to blues a new sound by simply combining the use of a guitar amp, mic, and a harmonica; a technique used among harmonica musicians to this day. He made his first released recordings in 1947 for Bernard Abram's tiny Ora-Nelle label, which operated out of the back room of the Abrams' Maxwell Radio and Records store in the heart of the Maxwell Street market area in Chicago. Little Walter thus became the first musician to use electric distortion on purpose. Little Walter is widely regarded as the best harmonica player ever, and you can hear much of his talent accompanying Muddy Waters's repertoire from the 50's, as well as his own numerous and successful recordings of that time.
Jacobs is generally included among blues music greats: his revolutionary harmonica technique has earned comparisons to Charlie Parker and Jimi Hendrix in its impact: There were great musicians before and after, but Jacobs' virtuosity and musical innovations reached heights of expression never previously imagined, and fundamentally altered many listeners' expectations of what was possible on blues harmonica. His body of work earned Little Walter a spot in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the sideman category on March 10, 2008, making him the only artist so honored specifically for his work as a harmonica player.
Jacobs made his first released recordings in 1947 for Bernard Abrams' tiny Ora-Nelle label, which operated out of the back room of Abrams' Maxwell Radio and Records store in the heart of the Maxwell Street market area in Chicago. These and several other early Little Walter recordings, like many blues harp recordings of the era, owed a strong stylistic debt to pioneering blues harmonica player Sonny Boy Williamson I (John Lee Williamson). Little Walter joined Muddy Waters' band in 1948, and by 1950, he was playing acoustic (unamplified) harmonica on Muddy's recordings for Chess Records. The first appearance on record of amplified harmonica was Little Walter's performance on Muddy's "Country Boy" (Chess 1452), recorded on July 11, 1951. For years after his departure from Muddy's band in 1952, Chess continued to hire Little Walter to play on Waters' recording sessions, and as a result his harmonica is featured on most of Muddy's classic recordings from the 1950s.[8] As a guitarist, Little Walter recorded three songs for the small Parkway label with Muddy Waters and Baby Face Leroy Foster (reissued on CD as "The Blues World of Little Walter" from Delmark Records in 1993), as well as on a session for Chess backing pianist Eddie Ware; his guitar work was also featured occasionally on early Chess sessions with Muddy Waters and Jimmy Rogers.
Jacobs had put his career as a bandleader on hold when he joined Muddy's band, but stepped back out front once and for all when he recorded as a bandleader for Chess's subsidiary label Checker Records on 12 May 1952. The first completed take of the first song attempted at his debut session became his first hit, spending eight weeks in the number-one position on the Billboard R&B chart – the song was "Juke", and it is still the only harmonica instrumental ever to become a number-one hit on the Billboard R&B. (Three other harmonica instrumentals by Little Walter also reached the Billboard R&B top 10: "Off the Wall" reached number eight, "Roller Coaster" achieved number six, and "Sad Hours" reached the number-two position while Juke was still on the charts.) "Juke" was the biggest hit to date for Chess and its affiliated labels, and one of the biggest national R&B hits of 1952, securing Walter's position on the Chess artist roster for the next decade.
Little Walter scored fourteen top-ten hits on the Billboard R&B charts between 1952 and 1958, including two number-one hits (the second being "My Babe" in 1955), a level of commercial success never achieved by his former boss Waters, nor by his fellow Chess blues artists Howlin' Wolf and Sonny Boy Williamson II. Following the pattern of "Juke", most of Little Walter's single releases in the 1950s featured a vocal performance on one side, and a harmonica instrumental on the other. Many of Walter's vocal numbers were originals which he or Chess A&R man Willie Dixon wrote or adapted and updated from earlier blues themes. In general, his sound was more modern and uptempo than the popular Chicago blues of the day, with a jazzier conception and less rhythmically rigid approach than other contemporary blues harmonica players.
Upon his departure from Muddy Waters' band in 1952, he recruited a young band that was already working steadily in Chicago backing Junior Wells, The Aces, as his new backing band. The Aces consisted of brothers David Myers and Louis Myers on guitars, and drummer Fred Below, and were re-christened "The Jukes" on most of the Little Walter records on which they appeared. By 1955 the members of The Aces / Jukes had each left Little Walter to pursue other opportunities, initially replaced by guitarists Robert "Junior" Lockwood and Luther Tucker, and drummer Odie Payne. Jr. Others who worked in Little Walter's recording and touring bands in the '50s included guitarists Jimmie Lee Robinson and Freddie Robinson. Little Walter also occasionally included saxophone players in his touring bands during this period, among them a young Albert Ayler, and even Ray Charles on one early tour. By the late 1950s, Little Walter no longer employed a regular full-time band, instead hiring various players as needed from the large pool of local blues musicians in Chicago.
Jacobs was frequently utilized on records as a harmonica accompanist behind others in the Chess stable of artists, including Jimmy Rogers, John Brim, Rocky Fuller, Memphis Minnie, The Coronets, Johnny Shines, Floyd Jones, Bo Diddley, and Shel Silverstein, and on other record labels backing Otis Rush, Johnny Young, and Robert Nighthawk.
Jacobs suffered from alcoholism and had a notoriously short temper, which in late 1950s led to a series of violent altercations, minor scrapes with the law, and increasingly irresponsible behavior. This led to a decline in his fame and fortunes beginning in the late 1950s, although he did tour Europe twice, in 1964 and 1967. (The long-circulated story that he toured the United Kingdom with The Rolling Stones in 1964 has since been refuted by Keith Richards). The 1967 European tour, as part of the American Folk Blues Festival, resulted in the only film/video footage of Little Walter performing that is known to exist. Footage of Little Walter backing Hound Dog Taylor and Koko Taylor on a television program in Copenhagen, Denmark on 11 October 1967 was released on DVD in 2004. Further video of another recently discovered TV appearance in Germany during this same tour, showing Little Walter performing his songs "My Babe", "Mean Old World", and others were released on DVD in Europe in January 2009, and is the only known footage of Little Walter singing. Other TV appearances in the UK (in 1964) and the Netherlands (in 1967) have been documented, but no footage of these has been uncovered. Jacobs recorded and toured only infrequently in the 1960s, playing mainly in and around Chicago.
In 1967 Chess released a studio album featuring Little Walter with Bo Diddley and Muddy Waters titled Super Blues.
Death
A few months after returning from his second European tour, he was involved in a fight while taking a break from a performance at a nightclub on the South Side of Chicago. The relatively minor injuries sustained in this altercation aggravated and compounded damage he had suffered in previous violent encounters, and he died in his sleep at the apartment of a girlfriend at 209 E. 54th St. in Chicago early the following morning. The official cause of death indicated on his death certificate was "coronary thrombosis" (a blood clot in the heart); evidence of external injuries was so insignificant that police reported that his death was of "unknown or natural causes", and there were no external injuries noted on the death certificate. His body was buried at St. Mary's Cemetery in Evergreen Park, IL on February 22, 1968. His grave remained unmarked until 1991, when fans Scott Dirks and Eomot Rasun had a marker designed and installed.
[Legacy
Music journalist Bill Dahl described Little Walter as "king of all post-war blues harpists", who "took the humble mouth organ in dazzling amplified directions that were unimaginable prior to his ascendancy." His legacy has been enormous: he is widely credited by blues historians as the artist primarily responsible for establishing the standard vocabulary for modern blues and blues rock harmonica players. His influence can be heard in varying degrees in virtually every modern blues harp player who came along in his wake, from blues greats such as Junior Wells, James Cotton, George "Harmonica" Smith, Carey Bell, and Big Walter Horton, through modern-day masters Sugar Blue, Billy Branch, Kim Wilson, Rod Piazza, William Clarke, and Charlie Musselwhite, in addition to blues-rock crossover artists such as Paul Butterfield and John Popper of the band Blues Traveler. Little Walter was portrayed in the 2008 film, Cadillac Records, by Columbus Short.
Little Walter's daughter, Marion Diaz Reacco, has established the Little Walter Foundation in Chicago, to preserve the legacy and genius of Little Walter. The foundation aims to create programs for the creative arts, including music, animation and video.
Stephen King's novel, Under the Dome, also features a character named Little Walter Bushey, based on Little Walter.
Confessin' the Blues
Little Walter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I want you to great it, baby, hopin' that you'll understand
I said, baby, honey please, don't dog me around
Because I'd rather love you woman
Honey, than anyone else I know in town
Because you're so nice and lovely
And you have such pleasant ways
I'll be there the rest of my days
I said, baby, that's the truth
Honey, I declare I wouldn't lie
Because I gotta love you, baby
If I don't, I swear, I hope I die
Oh baby, don't you want a man like me?
Can you hear me woman? Don't you want a man like me?
You gotta think, you gotta think about our future, baby
And you forget about your used to be
Well, my days are long and dreary
And the sun refuse to shine
I will never be blue and lonely
Only if I knew where you are
I got the blues, baby
You can make everything alright
Can I see you today, baby
Or will it have to be tomorrow night?
Yes, this is still my confession, baby
And I'm thrilled by all your charms
It seems that I'm in heaven
When I hold you in my arms
Baby, woman, you can have me for yourself
You know I was meant for you, baby
And I don't want nobody else, no I don't
Hey, you told me that you love me
Woman, you meant it from the start
You said that we would be together
Until death do us part
But you lied to me, baby
Yes, and you called it on the phone
Now how can I be happy woman
With all the wrong you done
When you know just where I stand
I don't wanna lose you woman
Wanna keep you if I can
But baby, baby, you know I never had a friend
You're my one and only woman
You're all I have that stays
Now let me come in here
and love you, woman
'Cause I'm confessin' the blues today
The lyrics to Little Walter's song "Confessin' the Blues" are a plea to a lover to take the singer back after she has "dogged him around." The singer declares his love for her and asserts that he cannot live without her. He describes her as "nice and lovely" with "such pleasant ways," and promises to love her until he dies. He asks her to consider their future together and forget about her past lovers, confessing his own passion for her. He acknowledges the pain that she has caused him and pleads with her to let him back into her life, declaring that she is his "one and only woman."
The song features bluesy instrumentation, including a harmonica solo by Little Walter. The lyrics are typical of many blues songs of the era, which often dealt with themes of love, heartbreak, and betrayal. The song's popularity helped to establish Little Walter as a leading figure in the Chicago blues scene of the 1950s.
Line by Line Meaning
Yeah, here I stand before you with my heart in my hand
I am vulnerable and exposing my emotions to you
I want you to great it, baby, hopin' that you'll understand
I want you to receive my love, hoping you will love me back
I said, baby, honey please, don't dog me around
I am asking you not to mistreat me or play games
Because I'd rather love you woman
I am expressing my desire to be with you
Honey, than anyone else I know in town
I value you more than anyone else in this area
Because you're so nice and lovely
You have admirable traits which I appreciate
And you have such pleasant ways
Your personality is delightful and refreshing
If you take to your heart
If you open your heart to me
I'll be there the rest of my days
I will be committed to you for my entire life
I said, baby, that's the truth
I am asserting that what I have said is honest
Honey, I declare I wouldn't lie
I am emphasizing that I am telling the truth
Because I gotta love you, baby
I am expressing my intense feelings of love for you
If I don't, I swear, I hope I die
I am saying that my love for you is so strong that I cannot imagine living without it
Oh baby, don't you want a man like me?
I am asking if you desire a partner like myself
Can you hear me woman? Don't you want a man like me?
I am reiterating my previous question and asking if you understand what I am saying
You gotta think, you gotta think about our future, baby
I am urging you to contemplate our future together
And you forget about your used to be
I am suggesting that you let go of the past and focus on our present and future together
Well, my days are long and dreary
My days are unfulfilling and lack excitement
And the sun refuse to shine
I am feeling hopeless and depressed
I will never be blue and lonely
I will always have feelings of sadness and loneliness
Only if I knew where you are
My sadness would be alleviated if I knew your whereabouts
I got the blues, baby
I am feeling sad and down
You can make everything alright
You have the power to make me happy and improve my life
Can I see you today, baby
I am asking if I can spend time with you today
Or will it have to be tomorrow night?
I am inquiring if tomorrow night would be a better time to spend together
Yes, this is still my confession, baby
I am admitting my true feelings for you
And I'm thrilled by all your charms
I am excited and enamored by your positive traits
It seems that I'm in heaven
Being with you makes me feel a sense of joy and contentment
When I hold you in my arms
Physical touch with you is comforting and fulfilling
Baby, woman, you can have me for yourself
I am offering myself to you exclusively
You know I was meant for you, baby
I believe that we are destined to be together
And I don't want nobody else, no I don't
I have no desire for anyone else besides you
Hey, you told me that you love me
I am referencing a past conversation where you professed your love for me
Woman, you meant it from the start
I am confident that your love for me was genuine from the beginning
You said that we would be together
You expressed a desire for us to be in a long-term relationship
Until death do us part
Our commitment to each other would last until we die
But you lied to me, baby
I am accusing you of being untruthful
Yes, and you called it on the phone
You admitted to your actions over the phone
Now how can I be happy woman
I am expressing my feelings of unhappiness and disappointment
With all the wrong you done
I am upset with the mistakes you have made in our relationship
When you know just where I stand
You are aware of my feelings and position in this relationship
I don't wanna lose you woman
I do not want to end our relationship
Wanna keep you if I can
I want to maintain our relationship if possible
But baby, baby, you know I never had a friend
I am emphasizing how important you are to me
You're my one and only woman
I only have eyes and love for you
You're all I have that stays
You are the only constant and stable thing in my life
Now let me come in here
I am asking for a chance to improve our relationship and communicate more effectively
Contributed by Mason N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Leen Mulder
Heerlijk, I Like It, greetings from Holland
Marc Lascelles
Sooo good 😬😬
No Me
This is the version The Rolling Stones copied. Does anyone know the release date of this gem?
Cristobal Mendoza
the best!! you follow ohhhh yes!