Little Walter discography
Little Walter discography | |
---|---|
Compilation albums | 8 |
Singles | 36 |
Singles as accompanist | 49 |
Albums as accompanist | 9 |
Little Walter (1930–1968) was an American blues artist who is generally regarded as the most influential blues harmonica player of his era.[1] Most of his earliest recordings were as a sideman, when he contributed harmonica to songs by Chicago blues musicians such as Jimmy Rogers and Muddy Waters.[2] As the featured artist, he recorded the instrumental "Juke" in 1952. The single reached number one on the Billboard Rhythm and Blues chart[a] and launched his career as a solo artist.[2]
A string of popular singles followed, including "
Little Walter recorded at a time when blues musicians were primarily singles artists. His records were released on Checker Records, run by the Chess brothers, Leonard and Phil.[7] The one album released during his lifetime is a compilation issued by Chess Records, titled The Best of Little Walter (1958).[8] Rolling Stone magazine ranked it at number 198 in its list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".[9] Little Walter died in 1968, a time when interest in electric blues shifted the focus from singles to albums. Chess continued to issue compilations of his earlier singles as well as previously unreleased recordings.[2] In 2009, The Complete Chess Masters: 1950–1967 was issued by the Checker/Chess successor, Hip-O Records/Universal. The five compact disc box set contains 126 recordings and is believed to represent all of his solo recordings. In 2010, the set received a Grammy Award for Best Historical Album.[10]
Singles
Most of Little Walter's first recordings from 1947 to 1951 were as a harmonica player backing bluesmen, such as Jimmy Rogers, Sunnyland Slim, and Muddy Waters.[11] However, a few songs recorded during this period were issued on singles, which were credited to Little Walter. These include releases on Chance Records (as "Little Walter J."),[12] and Parkway and Regal (as "Little Walter Trio").[11] After Leonard and Phil Chess began promoting him as a featured artist on their Checker label in 1952, his singles were variously credited as "Little Walter and His Night Cats",[13] "Little Walter and His Nightcaps",[14] "Little Walter and His Jukes",[15] or simply "Little Walter".[16] These singles were issued on 78 rpm and 45 rpm records, when they were the standard formats.
Title A-side / B-side | Year | Label (Cat. no) | Chart peak U.S. R&B[b] [17] | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
"Ora Nelle Blues" / "I Just Keep Loving Her" (A-side by Othum Brown) | 1947 | Chance (1116) | — | [18] |
"Just Keep Lovin' Her" / "Moonshine Blues" | 1950 | Parkway (502) | — | [18] |
"Muskadine Blues" / "Bad Acting Woman" | 1950 | Regal (3296) | — | [18] |
" Juke " / "Can't Hold Out Much Longer"
|
1952 | Checker (758) | 1 | [19] |
"Sad Hours" / | Checker (764) | 2 | [19] | |
"Mean Old World" | 1953 | 6 | [19] | |
"Don't Have to Hunt No More" / "Tonight with a Fool" | Checker (767) | — | [19] | |
"Tell Me Mama" / | Checker (770) | 10 | [19] | |
"Off the Wall" | 8 | [19] | ||
"Blues with a Feeling" / "Quarter to Twelve" | Checker (780) | 2 | [20] | |
"You're So Fine" / "Lights Out" | 1954 | Checker (786) | 2 | [20] |
"Oh Baby" / "Rocker" | Checker (793) | 8 | [20] | |
"You Better Watch Yourself" / "Blue Light" | Checker (799) | 8 | [21] | |
"Last Night" / "Mellow Down Easy" | Checker (805) | 6 | [21] | |
"My Babe" / "Thunder Bird" | 1955 | Checker (811) | 1 | [21] |
"Roller Coaster" / "I Got to Go" | Checker (817) | 6 | [21] | |
"Too Late" / "I Hate to See You Go (Come Back Baby)" | Checker (825) | — | [22] | |
"Who" / "It Ain't Right" | 1956 | Checker (833) | 7 | [23] |
"One More Chance with You" / "Flying Saucer" | Checker (838) | — | [23] | |
"Just a Feeling" / "Teenage Beat" | Checker (845) | — | [23] | |
"It's Too Late Brother" / "Take Me Back" | Checker (852) | — | [23] | |
"Nobody But You" / "Everybody Needs Somebody" | 1957 | Checker (859) | — | [23] |
"Boom, Boom Out Goes the Lights" / "Temperature" | Checker (859) | — | [24] | |
"The Toddle" / "Confessin' the Blues" | 1958 | Checker (890) | — | [24] |
"Key to the Highway" / "Rock Bottom" | Checker (904) | 6 | [24] | |
"My Baby Is Sweeter" / "Crazy Mixed-Up World" | 1959 | Checker (919) | — | [25] |
"Everything Gonna Be Alright" / "Back Track" | Checker (930) | 25 | [25] | |
"Me and Piney Brown" / "Break It Up" | Checker (938) | — | [25] | |
"Ah'w Baby" / "I Had My Fun" | 1960 | Checker (945) | — | [24] |
"My Babe" / "Blue Midnight" (remix) | Checker (955) | [c] | [27] | |
"I Don't Play" / "As Long as I Have You" | 1961 | Checker (968) | — | [28] |
"Crazy For My Baby" / "Crazy Legs" | Checker (986) | — | [29] | |
"Just Your Fool" / "I Got to Find My Baby" | 1962 | Checker (1013) | — | [30] |
"Up the Line" / "Southern Feeling" | 1963 | Checker (1043) | — | [28] |
"Shake Dancer" / "Diggin' My Potatoes" (B-side by Washboard Sam) | 1964 | Checker (1071) | — | [24] |
"I'm a Business Man" / "Dead Presidents" | Checker (1081) | — | [28] | |
"Mean Ole Frisco" / "Blue and Lonesome" | 1965 | Checker (1117) | — | [25] |
A dash (—) denotes a release that did not reach the charts. |
Selected compilation albums
As with most blues musicians before the mid-1960s, Little Walter was a singles artist. The one album released during his lifetime, the compilation
Title | Album details | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|
The Best of Little Walter | [34] | |
Hate to See You Go |
|
[34] |
Boss Blues Harmonica |
|
[35] |
Confessin' the Blues |
|
[36] |
The Essential Little Walter | [34] | |
Blues with a Feeling | [34] | |
His Best: The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection |
|
[37] |
The Complete Chess Masters (1950–1967) |
|
[38] |
As accompanist
Singles
Title A-side / B-side | Year | Listed artist(s) | Label (Cat. no) | Chart peak U.S. R&B[d] [6] | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
"Ora Nelle Blues" / "I Just Keep Loving Her" (A-side by "Little Walter J.") | 1947 | Othum Brown | Chance (1116) | — | [18] |
"Blue Baby" / "I Want My Baby" | 1948 | Sunnyland Slim and Muddy Water [sic] | Tempo-Tone (TT-1002) | — | [18] |
"Boll Weevil" / "Red Headed Woman" | 1950 | Baby Face Leroy Trio | Parkway (104) | — | [18] |
"Rollin' and Tumblin'" Part 1 / Part 2 | Baby Face Leroy Trio | Parkway (501) | — | [18] | |
"You're Gonna Need My Help I Said (Gonna Need My Help)" / "Sad Letter Blues" | Muddy Waters | Chess (1434) | — | [31] | |
"That's All Right" / "Ludella" | Jimmy Rogers | Chess (1435) | — | [31] | |
"Louisiana Blues" / "Evans Shuffle" | Muddy Waters | Chess (1441) | 10 | [31] | |
"Going Away Baby" / "Today Today Blues" | Jimmy Rogers | Chess (1442) | — | [31] | |
"Joliet Blues" / "So Glad I Found You" | Johnny Shines | Chess (1443) | — | [31] | |
"Long Distance Call" / "Too Young to Know" | Muddy Waters | Chess (1452) | 8 | [31] | |
"Wandering Lover" / "Lima Beans" | 1951 | Eddie Ware | Chess (1461) | — | [31] |
"Honey Bee" / "Appealing Blues" | Muddy Waters | Chess (1468) | — | [31] | |
"Money Marbles & Chalk" / "Chance to Love" | Jimmy Rogers | Chess (1476) | — | [31] | |
"Still a Fool" / "My Fault" (not on A-side) | Muddy Waters | Chess (1480) | 9 | [31] | |
"She Moves Me" / "Early Morning Blues (Before Daybreak)" (not on B-side) | Muddy Waters | Chess (1490) | 10 | [31] | |
"Dark Road" / "Big World" | Floyd Jones | Chess (1498) | — | [19] | |
"Jealous Woman" / "Give Love Another Chance" (not on B-side) | 1952 | Eddie Ware | Chess (1507) | — | [31] |
"All Night Long" / "Country Boy" | Muddy Waters | Chess (1509) | — | [31] | |
"Please Have Mercy" / "I Can't Be Satisfied" (not on B-side) | Muddy Waters | Chess (1514) | — | [19] | |
"Rattlesnake" / "It Was a Dream" | John Brim | Checker (769) | — | [19] | |
" Me and My Chauffeur " / "Broken Heart" (not on B-side)
|
Memphis Minnie | Checker (771) | — | [19] | |
"Turn the Lamp Down Low ( Baby Please Don't Go )" / "Who's Gonna Be Your Sweet Man" (not on B-side)
|
1953 | Muddy Waters | Chess (1542) | — | [20] |
"Left Me with a Broken Heart" / "Act Like You Love Me" | Jimmy Rogers | Chess (1543) | — | [20] | |
"Mad Love (I Want You to Love Me)" / "Blow Wind Blow" | Muddy Waters | Chess (1550) | 6 | [20] | |
" I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man " / "She's So Pretty"
|
1954 | Muddy Waters | Chess (1560) | 3 | [20] |
"Just Make Love to Me (I Just Want to Make Love to You)" / "Oh Yeah" | Muddy Waters | Chess (1571) | 4 | [20] | |
"Chicago Bound" / "Sloppy Drunk" | Jimmy Rogers | Chess (1574) | — | [20] | |
"I'm Ready" / "I Don't Know Why" | Muddy Waters | Chess (1579) | 4 | [21] | |
"I'm a Natural Born Lover" / "Loving Man" (not on A-side) | Muddy Waters | Chess (1585) | — | [20] | |
"I Want to Be Loved" / "My Eyes (Keep Me in Trouble)" | 1955 | Muddy Waters | Chess (1596) | — | [21] |
"Manish Boy (Mannish Boy)" / "Young Fashioned Ways (Old Fashioned Ways)" (not on A-side) | Muddy Waters | Chess (1602) | — | [21] | |
"Diddley Daddy" / "She's Fine, She's Mine" (not on B-side) | Bo Diddley | Checker (819) | — | [23] | |
"Sugar Sweet (I Can't Call Her Sugar)" / | Muddy Waters | Chess (1612) | 11 | [23] | |
"Trouble No More" | 7 | [23] | |||
"Blues All Day Long" / "You're the One" | 1956 | Jimmy Rogers | Chess (1616) | — | [40] |
"Forty Days and Forty Nights" / "All Aboard" | Muddy Waters | Chess (1620) | 7 | [23] | |
"Be Careful" / "You Got Me Where You Want Me" | John Brim | Chess (1624) | — | [23] | |
"Don't Go No Farther" / "Diamonds at Your Feet" | Muddy Waters | Chess (1630) | 9 | [23] | |
"Just to Be with You" / "I Got to Find My Baby" | Muddy Waters | Chess (1644) | — | [23] | |
"Got My Mojo Working" / "Rock Me" | Muddy Waters | Chess (1652) | — | [23] | |
"I Live the Life I Love (I Love the Life I Live)" / "Evil" | 1957 | Muddy Waters | Chess (1680) | — | [23] |
"Groaning the Blues" / "If You Were Mine" | Otis Rush | Cobra (5010) | — | [24] | |
"Love That Woman" / "Jump Sister Bessie" | Otis Rush | Cobra (5015) | — | [24] | |
"What Have I Done" / "Trace of You" | Jimmy Rogers | Chess (1687) | — | [24] | |
"Close to You" / "She's Nineteen Years Old" | 1958 | Muddy Waters | Chess (1704) | 9 | [24] |
"Walking Thru the Park (Walking in the Park)" / "Mean Mistreater" | Muddy Waters | Chess (1718) | — | [24] | |
"Clouds in My Heart" / "Ooh Wee" | Muddy Waters | Chess (1724) | — | [22] | |
"Read Way Back" / "I'm Your Doctor" | 1960 | Muddy Waters | Chess (1752) | — | [25] |
"Look What You've Done" / "Love Affair" (not on B-side) | Muddy Waters | Chess (1758) | — | [23] | |
"Got My Mojo Working Part 1 (live)" / "Woman Wanted" (not on A-side) | Muddy Waters | Chess (1774) | — | [25] | |
A dash (—) denotes a release that did not reach the charts. |
Albums
Songs recorded with Little Walter as a sideman are included on many compilations by Muddy Waters and Jimmy Rogers.[8] Albums with four songs recorded live in the late 1960s have been released by several issuers of bootleg recordings.[41] These often appear along with songs by Otis Rush on albums with titles such as Live in the Windy City and At the Chicago Blues Festival.[28] Additional live recordings from the 1967 American Folk Blues Festival have circulated on unofficial sources.[42]
Title | Listed artist(s) | Album details | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|
Ramblin' on My Mind: A Collection of Classic Train and Travel Blues | Various artists |
|
[28] |
Super Blues | Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, and Little Walter | [42][43] | |
Masters of Modern Blues, Volume 4 | Robert Nighthawk, Houston Stackhouse |
|
[28] |
They Call Me Muddy Waters | Muddy Waters |
|
[42] |
Johnny Young and His Friends | Johnny Young |
|
[28] |
The Blues World of Little Walter | Little Walter and Baby Face Leroy |
|
[2] |
Mandolin Blues | Johnny Young, Yank Rachell, Carl Martin, Willie Hatcher |
|
[28] |
Down Home Slide | Various artists |
|
[28] |
Down Home Harp | Various artists |
|
[28] |
Notes
Footnotes
- ^ "Juke" reached No. 1 on two of Billboard's Rhythm & Blues charts, the Juke Box and Best Selling Retail charts.[3]
- ^ For singles up to "Who", chart peaks are taken from Billboard's Rhythm & Blues Juke Box charts. For those after "Who", the later consolidated "Hot R&B Sides" charts are used.[3]
- Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.[26]
- ^ Except for "Close to You", singles with Muddy Waters reflect the highest position on one the three Billboard Rhythm & Blues charts ("Juke Box", "Best Sellers", or "Jockeys") in use at the time. For "Close to You", the later consolidated "Hot R&B Sides" is used.[39]
- ^ Koda places the Super Blues release date as November 1968,[43] but Billboard included it in an announcement of "New Album Releases" on June 17, 1967.[44]
Citations
- ^ Glover 2002, p. ix.
- ^ a b c d e Dahl 1996, p. 170.
- ^ a b Whitburn 1988, pp. 14, 261.
- ^ Whitburn 1988, p. 599.
- ^ Glover 2002, pp. 289–291.
- ^ a b Whitburn 1988, p. 435.
- ^ Glover 2002, pp. 58, 78.
- ^ a b Glover 2002, p. 285.
- ^ "#198 The Best of Little Walter". Rolling Stone. 2003. Archived from the original on June 12, 2010. Retrieved September 20, 2010.
- ^ "The Grammy Awards: The Winners". Variety. January 31, 2010. Archived from the original on December 5, 2021. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
- ^ a b Glover 2002, pp. 286–288.
- ^ "That's Alright" / "Just Keep Loving Her" (Single notes). Little Walter. Chance Records. 1947. Record labels. CH-1116.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Juke" / "Can't Hold On Much Longer" (Single notes). Little Walter. Checker Records. 1952. Record labels. 758.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Mean Old World" / "Sad Hours" (Single notes). Little Walter. Checker Records. 1953. Record labels. 764.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Tell Me Mama" / "Off the Wall" (Single notes). Little Walter. Checker Records. 1953. Record labels. 770.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Just a Feeling" / "Teenage Beat" (Single notes). Little Walter. Checker Records. 1953. Record labels. 845.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Whitburn 1988, p. 261.
- ^ a b c d e f g Glover 2002, p. 286.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glover 2002, p. 288.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glover 2002, p. 289.
- ^ a b c d e f g Glover 2002, p. 290.
- ^ a b Glover 2002, pp. 290, 291.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Glover 2002, p. 291.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glover 2002, p. 292.
- ^ a b c d e f Glover 2002, p. 293.
- ^ Billboard 1960, p. 35.
- ^ "My Babe" / "Blue Midnight" (Single notes). Little Walter. Checker Records. 1960. Record labels. CK-955.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glover 2002, p. 294.
- ^ "Crazy For My Baby" / "Crazy Legs" (Single notes). Little Walter. Checker Records. 1961. Record labels. CK-986.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Glover 2002, pp. 290, 294.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Glover 2002, p. 287.
- ^
Holland, Bill (October 18, 1997). "MCA Is Victor in Supreme Ct. Refusal to Hear Charly Case". ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ Unterberger 1996, p. 171.
- ^ a b c d Koda 1996, p. 170.
- ^ Unterberger 1996, p. 170.
- ^ Eder, Bruce. "Little Walter: Confessin' the Blues – Review". AllMusic. Archived from the original on November 5, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
- ^ Koda, Cub. "Little Walter: His Best – Review". AllMusic. Archived from the original on December 10, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Little Walter: The Complete Chess Masters – Review". AllMusic. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
- ^ Whitburn 1988, pp. 14, 435.
- ^ Glover 2002, pp. 289, 291.
- ^ Dahl 1996, p. 171.
- ^ a b c Glover 2002, p. 295.
- ^ a b Koda 1996, p. 270.
- ^ Billboard 1967, p. 34.
References
- "Bubbling Under the Hot 100". ISSN 0006-2510.
- "New Album Releases". ISSN 0006-2510.
- Dahl, Bill (1996). "Little Walter". In ISBN 0-87930-424-3.
- ISBN 978-0415937108.
- ISBN 0-87930-424-3.
- ISBN 0-87930-424-3.
- ISBN 0-89820-068-7.