Walker was born in Linden, Texas of African and Cherokee descent. Walker's parents, Movelia Jimerson and Rance Walker, were both musicians. His stepfather, Marco Washington, taught him to play the guitar, ukulele, banjo, violin, mandolin and piano.
Early in the 1920s, the teenage Walker learned his craft among the street-strolling string bands of Dallas. His mother and stepfather (a member of the Dallas String Band) were musicians, and family friend Blind Lemon Jefferson sometimes joined the family for dinner. Walker left school at age 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 a single for Columbia Records, "Wichita Falls Blues"/"Trinity River Blues," billed as Oak Cliff T-Bone. Oak Cliff was the community he lived in at the time and T-Bone a corruption of his middle name. Pianist Douglas Fernell was his musical partner for the record.
Walker married Vida Lee in 1935 and the couple had three children. By the age of 26 Walker was working the clubs in Los Angeles' Central Avenue, sometimes as the featured singer and guitarist with Les Hite's orchestra.
His distinctive sound developed in 1942 when Walker recorded "Mean Old World" for Capitol Records. Much of his output was recorded from 1946–1948 on Black & White Records, including 1947's "Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just As Bad)", with its famous opening line, "They call it stormy Monday, but Tuesday's just as bad". He followed up with his "T-Bone Shuffle" and "Let Your Hair Down, Baby, Let's Have a Natural Ball". Both are considered blues classics.
Throughout his career Walker worked with the top quality musicians, including Teddy Buckner (trumpet), Lloyd Glenn (piano), Billy Hadnott (bass), and Jack McVea (tenor sax).
Following his work with Black & White, he recorded from 1950-54 for Imperial Records (backed by Dave Bartholomew). Walker's only record in the next five years was T-Bone Blues, recorded over three widely separated sessions in 1955, 1956 and 1959, and finally released by Atlantic Records in 1960.
By the early 1960s, Walker's career had slowed down, in spite of a hyped appearance at the American Folk Blues Festival in 1962 with Memphis Slim and Willie Dixon, among others. A few critically acclaimed albums followed, such as I Want a Little Girl. Walker recorded in his last years, 1968 - 1975, for Robin Hemingway's Jitney Jane Songs music publishing company, and he won a Grammy Award in 1971 for Good Feelin' (Polydor), produced by Robin Hemingway. "Fly Walker Airlines", Polydor, also produced by Hemingway, was released in 1973.
T-Bone Walker died in 1975, at the age of 64. He is interred in the Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California.
Walker's influence extended beyond his music. Chuck Berry called Walker and Louis Jordan (as well as Jordan's guitarist, Carl Hogan) his main influences. T-Bone Walker was the childhood hero of Jimi Hendrix, and Hendrix imitated some of Walker's ways throughout his life. Years before Hendrix, Walker was playing guitar with his teeth or in strange positions.
Walker was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980, and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987
Blues Is A Woman
T-Bone Walker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That woman I call my own.
Blues is a woman.
That woman I call my own.
I'm happy when she's near me,
Sad when she leaves me all alone
Blues is feelin,
Blues iis a feelin,
That pains your very heart.
Don't feel it when she's with you,
But how it aches when where apart.
Blues is song,
I sing both night and day.
Blues is song,
I sing both night and day.
When you got a woman
It makes you sing the blues that way.
The song "Blues Is A Woman" by T-Bone Walker is an ode to the emotional depth and complexity of blues music. Throughout the song, the blues is personified as a woman. The singer refers to her as "my own" and describes how he is happy when she's near but sad when she leaves him alone. The first verse sets the tone for the rest of the song, establishing the idea that the blues is a powerful force in the singer's life.
The second verse delves deeper into the concept of the blues as a feeling. The pain of the blues is likened to a physical ache in the heart. The singer notes that the pain is only felt when the woman (the blues) is absent. This suggests that blues music is not just a genre of music, but also an emotional state that only manifests in certain circumstances.
Finally, the last verse describes the relationship between the blues and the singer. He sings the blues both night and day. While it may seem like a burden to constantly be singing about pain and heartache, the presence of a woman (again, the blues) makes it worthwhile. This implies that even though blues music is born from pain and heartache, it can still bring joy and fulfillment to those who create it.
Overall, "Blues Is A Woman" is a poignant exploration of the emotional depth and complexity of blues music. Its personification of the blues as a woman adds a layer of metaphorical richness to the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
Blues is a woman.
Blues is personified as a woman.
That woman I call my own.
The blues that he experiences is his own unique feeling.
Blues is a woman.
Blues is personified as a woman.
That woman I call my own.
The blues that he experiences is his own unique feeling.
I'm happy when she's near me,
When he is experiencing the blues, it makes him feel content.
Sad when she leaves me all alone
He feels sad and empty when he's no longer feeling the blues.
Blues is feelin,
The blues is an emotional feeling that he experiences.
That pains your very heart.
It's such a deep and intense emotion that it's physically painful.
Blues iis a feelin,
The blues is an emotional feeling that he experiences.
That pains your very heart.
It's such a deep and intense emotion that it's physically painful.
Don't feel it when she's with you,
He doesn't feel the pain of the blues when he's experiencing them.
But how it aches when where apart.
However, when he's no longer experiencing the blues, he feels the pain.
Blues is song,
Blues is symbolic of the music.
I sing both night and day.
He is constantly singing the blues.
Blues is song,
Blues is symbolic of the music.
I sing both night and day.
He is constantly singing the blues.
When you got a woman
When he has the blues in his life,
It makes you sing the blues that way.
It inspires him to sing about his blues when he's experiencing them.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: FLORENCE CADREZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
brushcreek42
My favorite T-Bone Walker song! One of his best guitar breaks.
Tony Hodges
The blues are a part of me. I have loved the blues since childhood.
Angelo
Loved it since i was a kid
Marinella Bossert
Heerlijke muziek
Black label
Awesome LOVE T-BONE,
CreepingMetallica91
The reason why T-Bone is the only man that can rival B.B. King is because Wlaker influenced B.B.'s style. When B.B. is playying, he is playing in the T-Bone style. However, both can play the hell out of a guitar. That's for sure.
Schwarzie Long
BB couldn't play chords
J hoskins
T-Bone is the father of electric blues guitar, without T-Bone there would not have been a BB KING.
chabon89
Beauty.
Lenore M.
T-Bone Walker - Blues Is a Woman. Probably the most influential bluesman ever only next to WC Handy.And the only man that can rival BB King at the blues guitar