AN INTRODUCTION TO BIG WALTER HORTON BIG WALTER'S LIFE POST-WAR BIG WALTER WALTER'S RE-DISCOVERY MUSICAL STYLINGS WALTER HORTON AS SIDEMAN THE MUSIC - A DISCOGRAPHY ABOUT WALTER HORTON

A MAN & HIS HORN

AN INTRODUCTION TO BIG WALTER HORTON


There were two "Walters" of the modern blues harmonica, namely Marion Little Walter Jacobs and Big Walter Horton, also known as Walter "Shakey" Horton, or simply Big Walter. Both men were titans of the harp during the same post-war interval in the blues chronology, but Little Walter's reputation was achieved very early on in his career (and his life was a lot shorter), while Big Walter Horton was a mainstay in the Chigago blues scene (and much earlier in Memphis) until 1981.

Both players possessed equally commanding techniques and incredible tones on the instrument, and both performed as frontmen and sidemen with some of the biggest blues stars in Chicago. So why was Big Walter much less well known ? In the following outline of Walter Horton's music and life, the article will demonstrate some of the facts surrounding his lack of commercial fame, and honor how large his musical contribution was.


BIG WALTER'S LIFE
Early Big Walter

Walter Horton was born in 1917 or 1918 in Horn Lake Mississippi, a little south of Memphis. He moved to Memphis when he was quite young and owned a harmonica while still a child. He began to play on the street for money in his youth, and later worked as a cook and iceman, but health problems convinced him ultimately that his future was in music. Tall and lanky, Walter would later acquire the designation "Big Walter", not only because of his appearance, but to distinguish him from the "other" Walter.

In Memphis he played in Handy Park off Beale St. and would perform with artists such as the Memphis Jug Band and Little Buddy Doyle who made recordings for the "race" labels in the 1920's and 1930's. Will Shade, who founded the Memphis Jug Band, was also a harmonica player, and he probably showed Walter some of his technique.

An interesting point is that the personnel listing for the Memphis Jug Band's second recording session in Chicago on June 9, 1927, credits one 'Shakey Walter' as the harmonica player on the title "Sunshine Blues". Walter would have been just 10 years of age at the time, making it unlikely that he is the musician to whom the listing refers, but more about this later.

In 1937, Walter went to Chicago where he played as a street musician, but he did not stay. He must have returned to Memphis soon after since he claimed that he played harmonica on guitarist Little Buddy Doyle's July 1939 sessions, recorded in Memphis, although the session details do not identify him positively. Hammie Nixon, who played harmonica with Sleepy John Estes, added confusion to this issue by saying that he had played on the same sessions. What is certain on those sides, is that the harmonica playing echoes strong overtones of John Lee Sonny Boy Williamson, who must have been making his influence felt. More about this later.

After returning south, Walter played at picnics, private parties, and in the jukes that were scattered throughout the delta. Around this time he me artists like Eddie Taylor (Taylor was living in Memphis by 1943), David Edwards, and Floyd Jones with whom he would record much later.


POST-WAR BIG WALTER

The Memphis Jug Band and Little Buddy Doyle sessions aside, Walter's first recordings were cut in Memphis for the Sun and Modern labels in early 1951. Allegedly, Sam Phillips the owner of Sun Records, went and fetched Walter from a park in order to have musicians available to cut a session. Sam mad the records, but issued only one title on Sun. Sam had a deal with Modern Records to provide new blues for the west coast label's catalogue, and the masters for the remaining Horton sides were shipped to the Modern Office in Hollywood.

It was Modern who issued Horton's next records, under the name "Mumbles", though the name did not sit well with Horton. Unfortunately, only four of the sides Horton recorded for Modern were issued at the time ("Little Boy Blue/Now Tell Me Baby" & "Black Gal/Jumpin Blues"). The remainder lay
unissued for almost 20 years. Modern Records was more interested in promoting the blues of their recent acquisition, B.B. King.

Memphis was a magnet for blues activity at this time, and doubtless Walter saw the likes of Howlin' Wolf, James Cotton, Joe Hill Louis, Little Jr. Parker, and Little Walter Jacobs. All of these artists could have picked up some technique from Big Walter, certainly Howlin' Wolf, since Horton (except for Wolf) was the eldest of the group, and the most experienced harmonica player in the area.

In February 1953, Walter recorded his masterpiece "Easy" for Sun Records. It is an instrumental with a steady loping beat, and a melody that is based on Ivory Joe Hunter's "I Almost Lost My Mind". Driven by Horton's harmonica, which gradually builds to fierce intensity, it must have made the meters on Sam Phillips' recording console jump right out of the glass. With only guitarist Jimmy DeBerry and drummer Houston Stokes or Jack Kelly to accompany him, Walter demonstrated how important a set of powerful lungs was to a making a great harmonica piece.

This title was actually recorded under Jimmy DeBerry's name but it is Walter's number all the way. On "Easy" Walter plays with his harp right into the microphone, and creates an eerie distorted wailing sound that was partly due to the immaturity of the electronics at the time. Later he would use the same technique to stamp his trademark sound. It is precisely this feature that makes the record such a memorable example of the close-miked harp sound that would soon typify Chicago blues. Only a few others like Snooky Pryor, Little Walter, and Howlin' Wolf had employed the technique on record before "Easy" was cut. Were these other harp players influencing Walter Horton by this time ?

Conversely, Walter claimed that he was playing amplified harmonica around 1940 but there is no way to verify this. It was not uncommon for blues musicians to conjure up stories of this ilk in order to embellish their pasts. Johnny Shines said that Willie Miller (Sonny Boy Williamson II) took some instruction from Walter Horton, though it is difficult to imagine Sonny Boy admitting this to anyone. Howlin' Wolf who was in Sonny Boy's circle of influence, not only musically (Sonny Boy married Wolf's sister), also could play in a similar fashion to Horton. Big Walter once boasted that he had played on a take of "Dust My Broom" with Robert Johnson, with Walter keeping the only surviving acetate from the session. The circle of influences can become blurred very quickly by following this manner of reasoning.

When "Easy" was recorded, Big Walter was no longer living in Memphis. Eddie Taylor had convinced him to move to Chicago where he would eventually get regular work in the exploding blues scene with the bands of Johnny Shines, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers, and Tampa Red. It is interesting to note that Shines was also from Memphis.

In January 1953, on a Johnny Shines date for J.O.B. records, Walter cut "Evening Sun" , with a full-blown amplified harmonica sound that almost rivals his work on "Easy". During the same year, Walter replaced Jr. Wells in Muddy Waters' band but remained only one year. Still, he was to record several memorable sides in that band, like "Mad Love" and "Blow Wind Blow". In the next several years, Horton became a sort of house-harmonica session man for Chess and recorded several knockout solos on records by Jimmy Rogers.

Walter's second great masterpiece is his harp break on the Jimmy Rogers title "Walking by Myself" from 1956. This number has a medium-fast tempo and Walter comps madly along with Willie Dixon's pounding bass by supplying rhythmic staccato blurps through his amplified horn. Rogers sings in his characteristic understated style. In direct contrast to Jimmy's vocals, Walter plays the instrumental bridge with atomic fury, alternately switching his harp rapidly from low to high register while holding the same note. It seems as if the recording engineer or producer recognized what Walter was putting down, and may have signalled him to keep blowing. Horton takes another chorus and continues to alternate between registers for so long that his head must have exploded at the end of the song. No blues recording since has contained such superlative harp work sustained for such duration.

It was becoming obvious by this time, that Shakey Horton did not like to form lasting relationships with any particular band, although he continued to play in the clubs with many of his long-time musical peers. Walter was always a shy loner, and his personality was not suited to the spotlight of the stage. This was one of the main reasons why, in spite of his overwhelming talent on his instrument, he never achieved the commercial success that Little Walter did.

Shakey could be his own worst enemy. The writer can recall seeing him at a club date in the early 1970's, where at the end of the first set, the writer and a well-known Toronto blues disc jockey, attempted to pay Walter a compliment on his outstanding performance. In response, Walter snapped back, "Yeah, you guys might have liked it, but it was f----n killing me !" At that point, Horton walked off in a huff to his dressing room.

In 1954, Walter made a couple of sides for the small Chicago label States Records, one of them being his well-known tune "Hard Hearted Woman". Horton then moved over to Eli Toscano's Cobra label, known by blues fans as the company that had Otis Rush, Magic Sam, and Buddy Guy in its stable. The time was 1956, and Walter would record "Have a Good Time" and "Need My Baby", two tunes that would become permanent in his repertoire. Both are uptempo swinging numbers whose mood is in complete contrast to the normally somber persona of Horton. Likely this was due to Willie Dixon's production effort at the Cobra studio. These would be the last sessions Walter would make under his own name for the next 5 years, but he continued to wax great music as a sideman with Otis Rush ("I Can't Quit You Baby" and "My Love Will Never Die").

Ironically, in spite of the technical advances that had been made in the recording industry by this time, many of the Cobra sides were cut in Toscano's tiny studio behind his retail store and office, which was not much better than a garage. Amplifiers were placed on top of garbage cans, drums or crates, and microphones were moved around until the sound was "right". These crude recording facilities inadvertently contributed to the great sustain that Shakey got out of his instrument, and the slightly dull edge to the sound of some of the Otis Rush sides actually enhances the performance.

It was during the middle 1950's that Horton formed a musical tie with Willie Dixon that was to last for the rest of his life. Willie wrote for, played on, sang on, produced and funded sessions for several labels including Chess and Cobra, and Shakey was a sideman on many of these. Later, Willie would form the Chicago Blues All Stars, in which Shakey had both a supporting and a front line role.

Willie was Walter's greatest booster, and he stated flat out that "Walter was the best harmonica player he had ever heard". No doubt Horton's presence as a sideman on so many Chicago sessions was due to Dixon's influence. Even Walter's signature tune "Have a Good Time", with its silly lyrics, ("Fish like Peter, Pray like Paul") bears some marks of Willie's penmanship. One of Eli Toscano's business partners at Cobra Records said that Willie was a creative songwriter and anytime a new tune was needed, Willie would go to the washroom and write out a number.

After the demise of Cobra, Walter's output dropped off, and it was not until the early 1960's that he got to record again as a leader. He made a long play recording on the Argo label (which was owned by Chess) in 1964, using Buddy Guy and Willie Dixon as sidemen, but it did not sell well, and has been long out of print. He also cut some single sides for a few small local labels, which have been bootlegged on LP once, and he reprised two of his favourites, "Need My Baby Blues" and "Have a Good Time" for these. Both titles, though poorly recorded, show that Shakey had been working out regularly in the Chicago night clubs during his recording hiatus, and his strong tone cuts through without hesitation.


WALTER'S RE-DISCOVERY

It was during the middle 1960's that Horton began to get some attention from outside the immediate Chicago blues market. Johnny Winter was living in Chicago for a time, and had heard Shakey (and played with him probably). During this period, Walter got to record on sessions for Vanguard, Testament, and Arhoolie Records. In 1965, at the urging of Testament Records owner Pete Welding, Johnny Shines came out of his self-imposed musical retirement, and chose Walter as one of his sideman. Each of these companies would issue the music in long play vinyl format, and the records were distributed across the continent and to Europe. Southern harp player Charlie Musselwhite was paired with Walter on at least one Vanguard title. Musselwhite readily admitted that Big Walter was his favorite player, and that he learned much from Shakey.

As part of the touring Folk Blues Festival, Walter went to Europe in 1965. On the tour, Walter was recorded with singer Big Mama Thornton, who dueted on harmonica with him. These sessions were issued on Arhoolie CD-305 "Ball N'Chain".

Late in 1968, Walter made a session in London with a group of English players for Sire Records, that included bass player Jerome Arnold. Walter had attracted the attention of members of the burgeoning blues scene there, particularly the first incarnation of the band Fleetwood Mac, who at that time were almost strictly a blues outfit. In early 1969, the Mac toured the U.S. and recorded a complete session in Chicago at Chess studios, that was arranged by Marshall Chess and included Walter and Otis Spann on eight of the tracks. The sides were issued on Mike Vernon's Blue Horizon label as a double LP set.

At roughly the same time, blues guitarist Johnny Winter came blasting out of obscurity and recorded his first Columbia album featuring a heavy dose of electric delta blues, with Horton and Willie Dixon providing accompaniment on one of the tracks. From these brief exposures on record with white artists, and from record labels that were not run by small Chicago independents, Walter was to get some overdue recognition.

Another reason for Horton's higher profile at this time, was that Little Walter Jacobs had died suddenly in 1968 (at 38 years of age) from injuries sustained in a street brawl, and left a void that could be filled readily by Horton. There was enough similarity in their styles and tone to allow record producers to substitute without compromising the music.

Late in that year, Walter toured Europe as part of Willie Dixon's Chicago Blues All Stars group, with Clifton James(drums), Sunnyland Slim (piano), and Lee Jackson or Johnny Shines (guitar). In the summer of 1969, the Chicago Blues All Stars cut an album for the German MPS label that was well-produced under Willie Dixon's tutelage, and featured great sound. Walter got to play some fine harp on almost every title, as well as performing a vocal. This session unfortunately, has not been reissued on
CD.

Big Walter made some additional sides for a small Chicago label around 1970. These were done in an informal setting, without much production, and a few of the titles feature him playing unaccompanied.

One other session that merits attention from this period is a Chess LP done under the name of guitarist Jimmy Reeves Jr., who as his name alludes, was a young Jimmy Reed lookalike and soundalike, complete with a photograph of rack mounted harmonica around his neck.

The session was a straight Willie Dixon affair that featured a few Reed titles and a lot of Willie's songbook. Fortunately, M.T. Murphy was the lead guitarist and Shakey performed some outstanding sympathetic backing in tandem with pianist Lafayette Leake or Sunnyland Slim. Reeves Jr., the star of the session, was relegated to vocals. This session appeared only briefly on vinyl, then disappeared presumably due to poor sales, and a lingering aftertaste of bad Jimmy Reed clones that had exhausted their market attraction. This type of session is a good example of how a mediocre artist (Reeves Jr.) can be rescued from oblivion by a good backing group, a task that Walter handled measurably, several times during his career.

In 1972, Bruce Iglauer's Alligator label was just starting up, and one of its earliest releases was the pairing of Walter with Carey Bell. The record was both a musical and commercial success, and it may have helped Walter get some needed exposure to the audiences of college radio stations, and commercial stations who started to feature weekly blues programs.

Throughout the 1970's, Walter would continue to tour, and had several more LP's (at least three were live performances) issued by Red Lightnin', JSP, and Blind Pig records. All of these have made it to CD format. Walter even went to Hollywood, at least on the screen, for he is seen briefly in the first "Blues Brothers" movie (which also included guitarist M.T. Murphy) playing backup for John Lee Hooker. Sadly, Walter would pass on in 1981 (he was 63), just at the time that he was starting to reap some rewards that he missed out on for so long. A year later, Walter got his due by being inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.

So, never becoming a star of the modern blues harp like Little Walter Jacobs, what position does Big Walter Horton hold in the blues story ? The most oft-mentioned comment about Walter Horton's harp playing is that he played with a huge tone that was never matched. Carey Bell stipulates this today. True enough. This tone is what will attract even the most casual listener to the Chicago Blues sound.

More significant however, is the fact that Walter Horton demonstrated a direct link between the un-amplified harmonica styles of the pre-war period, and the amplified, hard-blowing horn sound that would be taken to its zenith by players like Jimmy Cotton, George Smith, Junior Wells, Jerry McCain, Lazy Lester, and of course Little Walter. These musicians would be followed closely by the next generation of players like Carey Bell, Charlie Musselwhite, Paul Butterfield, Rod Piazza, Jerry Portnoy, Kim Wilson, Pierre Lacocque, and Sugar Ray Norcia.

While a small number of blues harmonica players were able to record over a wide time span (Hammie Nixon, Sonny Terry), Walter Horton is likely the only blues musician who was able to make recordings on the harmonica during both the pre-war and post-war periods, and modernize his sound to the amplified style in the process.


MUSICAL STYLINGS

To best appreciate Walter Horton's position in the blues story, it helps to understand a little of the history of the blues harmonica before the post-war amplified style developed. The harmonica prior to John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson's first recordings for Bluebird in the late 1930's, was not an instrument that was largely sought out by the race record companies such as Paramount, Okeh, Vocalion, Victor, and Decca when they made their field trips to the south in search of new talent.

Instead these companies concentrated on singers, guitarists, pianists, and small band units in the mould of Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Roosevelt Sykes, and Scrapper Blackwell/Leroy Carr (Sykes himself was a talent scout). There must have been many harmonica players, since the instrument was one of the least expensive to acquire, was extremely portable, and any green player could blow out a simple tune on it. The scarcity of recorded work however, bears out that the harmonica was not the instrument of favor among the talent scouts.

Alternatively, the harmonica was widely used in the blues and was geographically widespread (not just in the Delta) at a relatively early stage in the development of the music. This is illustrated by the number of recorded musicians, who could play more than one instrument. Case in point is Robert Lee McCoy (later to be Robert Nighthawk), who was out-rambled up and down the Mississippi only by Elmore James.

McCoy played harmonica on the records made by Big Joe and his Washboard
Band in 1940, and had already recorded for Bluebird as a guitarist, both
under his own name and as accompanist to other Bluebird artists (John Lee Williamson). This band was composed of Kansas Joe McCoy (Memphis Minnie's partner), Ransom Knowling, Robert Lee McCoy (who was Joe's cousin), and Amanda Sortier who was Robert Lee's girlfriend at the time. Other examples of guitarists who played harmonica (or vice-versa) were Robert Johnson, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters (at least in his delta days), Little Walter, Louis Myers, and Buddy Moss (Moss was not from the Memphis/Delta region).

One of the most famous pre-war harmonica players was Deford Bailey, who came to notoriety not necessarily through his phonograph recordings, but as a member of the Grand Ole Opry from Nashville. Considering that the Opry of the 1920's and 1930's mostly presented music that could be termed loosely "Early County", Bailey was not particularly a blues harmonica player. His repertoire did include some "blues" titles ("Cow Cow Blues", "Kansas City Blues", "Hesitation Blues") but each of these were played by many bluesman early in the 20th century, and Bailey could have learned them from a number of sources.

In spite of his virtuosity on the instrument, especially in view of the fact that he often performed completely unaccompanied, Bailey certainly was not the only harmonica player of major talent. However, he was one of the earliest players to popularize it to a wider audience (these are some of the earliest recordings of the harmonica from the American south), and Sonny Terry remembered seeing Bailey as he travelled through North Carolina.

It is noteworthy to realize that blues musicians did not survive strictly by playing "blues". The best musicians could play in a variety of styles; they had to in order to make a living catering to the tastes of their segregated audiences. Both Deford Bailey's and Walter Horton's records demonstrate ample evidence of this. Some photographs of Walter show him with the harmonica held between his lips, unsupported by his hands, and he was reputed to be able to play an instrumental entirely with the use of his mouth.

Even when Willie "Rice" Miller (Sonny Boy Williamson II) supposedly was stomping around the south in his rubber boots and charming people out of churches with the siren call of his harp, the regional harmonica players of this era could have been seen by only a handful of folks at a time. Deford Bailey's music then, must have been influential on any aspiring harmonica player who owned a radio, phonograph, or was fortunate enough to attend an Opry show in person. It is not unlikely that Walter Horton may have seen Bailey or at least heard some of his music on record/radio, and a few elements of Bailey's sound are present in Walter's playing.

What is more convincing, is that Deford could not use an amplifier since they had not been invented in the 1920's, so his playing was completely acoustic. It would have been necessary sometimes for him to step forward closer to a microphone when recording or when doing a radio broadcast, but his collection of different techniques to produce the sounds, would be created acoustically, primarly through the use of his embouchure, teeth, lips and through the use of hand movements to cup his instrument. A listening to any of Walter Horton's recordings (especially his earlier material on Modern) provides aural evidence that Walter relied much on acoustic manipulations to provide his bag of sounds, and that his playing style was partly a throwback to the un-amplified era. On a more unusual note, Bailey was almost 20 years older than Horton, yet he lived until 1982 (Horton passed on in 1981).

A more likely direct influence on Walter Horton could have been Noah Lewis who was even older than DeFord Bailey, but lived around Memphis and played and recorded with Cannons Jug Stompers. Horton would have been 11 or 12 when Lewis cut his first sides with Cannons Jug Stompers for Paramount records in 1927. This group continued to record until 1930. Lewis's strong use of clearly formed chords and lack of slurring between his notes suggests a player much in command of his horn ("Devil in the Woodpile"), unlike that of other players who needed to alternate rapidly between vocals and blowing. Noah Lewis also created to effect, a slightly nasal tone that would surface on much of Horton's material.

During the late 1920's and early 30's, Will Shade of the Memphis Jug Band often acted as a sort of impressario for assembling groups of blues and jug band players, from the pool hall on Beale St. where he hung out. There must have been lots of musical competition among the bluesmen of Memphis and likely Walter Horton had met and played with musicians in Shade's loosely organized talent pool. The quantity of bluesmen going through Memphis at the time is demonstrated by the fact that of the recording sessions by the Memphis Jug Band between 1927 and 1934, Shade was the only member to be present on each side. Every other musician in the group had changed between each session. The only other explanation for this is that Shade was taking all the money and no one would play with him more than once or twice.

The Memphis Jug Band's second recording session took place in Chicago in June 1927, and session credits list 'Shakey Walter' as the harmonica player. The title "Sunshine Blues" from this recording date, shows an harmonica player demonstrating a couple of devices that Walter would use later on, namely a nasal tone, and a swooping wide-open chordal blowing effect, akin to a very loud train whistle. There is enough aural evidence to tempt the listener into believing that it could have been Walter, but the reality is that he was only 10 years old then, and the session occurred in Chicago while Walter's home was still in Memphis. Supposedly Walter had a strict mother so it is difficult to believe that he could have escaped to such a distant place unnoticed.

It is more likely that the harmonica player on the date is Will Shade, and the credit to 'Shakey' was a credit to Walter in absentia, whom Shade no doubt had played with in Memphis by this time, boy or no boy. Perhaps Shade was trying simply to make the band appear more diversified than it actually was, since several of the musicians doubled on more than one instrument. Perhaps the person who listed the band members on the session roster was not present at the session, or made a transcription error, or wrote down whatever Shade (erroneously) dictated.

Another reason to discount Horton's presence on the session, is the absence of his tremelo or shaking effect. The harp player on "Sunshine Blues" has a style that lacks a strong vibrato. This vibrato-less style resembles Will Shade's technique of blowing straight through the horn.

Perhaps the best way to confirm that it is Shade who plays harp on "Sunshine Blues", is to compare the track with "Kansas City Blues", recorded in Atlanta during the Memphis Jug Band's third session from October 19, 1927. On the latter track, Shade is credited as being the harmonica player (there is no mention of Walter at this session). An aural comparison of the harmonica breaks on this title, to those on "Sunshine Blues", reveals an identical tone and approach.

An important fact to note about this mystery, is not whether the player was Walter, but that Will Shade himself was a competent harmonica blower, who must have shown a lot of his technique to Walter, when Walter was quite young. Walter obviously retained some of Shade's distinctive devices for the remainder of his life, therefore it was Shade's playing that became most reflected in Walter's approach, including his later Chicago playing.

Just how he got the moniker "Shakey" is open to argument, but one of Walter's most noticeable aural traits was the deliberate warble or vibrato in his harp, which would have made the sound of his instrument decay at a slower rate than a vibrato-less approach. Part of Walter's trick in creating the vibrato or tremelo effect, was to move his head from side to side, almost in a shaking motion, while moving his mouth over the holes of the harmonica.

This technique may have been developed to make the instrument sound louder and to make it heard over top of the other acoustic instruments (banjo, guitar, bass or jug, piano) in the band, in settings where audience noise competed with the performers. Another reason for Walter's adoption of this technique could have been to differentiate his playing from Will Shade's.

A very remarkable attribute of Walter's instrumental approach was his ability to get a completely nasal sound out of his harmonica, almost as if he were playing it through his nose part of the time. This is obvious from his earliest recordings and he employed the trait on many sessions. One of the reasons that Walter used this technique is simply that he learned to play this way long before amplifiers were used.

Walter could also make his harmonica sound like a wah-wah, and for lack of a better term to describe the phonetic of such a sound, he must have been creating this effect before the wah-wah pedal became a staple of electric guitar players. This effect is perhaps an imitation of a steam locomotive (train sounds were favorites of early harmonica players) or possibly an attempt to copy the muted trombones or trumpets that had been used so effectively by players in jazz orchestras like Duke Ellington's. Whatever the reason, it is distinctly Big Walter.

A brief examination of the Little Buddy Doyle sessions from 1939 is necessary in this discussion, partly to understand if it was really Walter Horton who played harp on them, and partly to demonstrate the instrumental techniques favored by Walter. There were two sessions, the first on July 1, and the other on July 14, and both took place in Memphis.

During the first session, only 2 titles were recorded, these being "Hard Scufflin' Blues" issued on Okeh records, and "Grief Will Kill You" on Vocalion. Both titles are somewhat autobiographical of Doyle's life, since he was unusually short in stature and suffered from the effects of a chronic illness, possibly encephalitis. His high pitched voice is foiled perfectly by the harmonica accompaniment. The harmonica player on these 2 sides uses several of Walter's dominant traits, namely the "wah-wah" sound evoking a train whistle, the single note stacatto straight through blowing effect, and a rapid tempo that Walter could easily navigate. The fast tempo is enough to make it appear unlikely that the player is Hammie Nixon.

Doyle's second session produced 6 more titles, but the harmonica player sounds inconsistently off-miked, as if he were pushed into the background. Little Buddy's singing and the accompanying guitar(s) are up front all the time, with the somewhat muted harp providing backup. During the solos, the harp player steps forward to blow, but the quality of the 78 rpm records used as dubs for the compact disc re-issue, make it more difficult to assess the playing technique. The harmonica style sounds sometimes like John Lee Williamson (Sonny Boy I), and the nuances that Walter liked to employ, are not so obvious. Perhaps the record company was trying to get a "Sonny Boy" sound, in an attempt to capitalize on Williamson's popularity, and capture the timbre of his Bluebird recordings. The possibility exists that a different harp player (Nixon ?) could have been on the session, although the aural evidence still points to Walter. Walter may simply have positioned himself as a rhythm player on this session, and underplayed his trademark effects.

It must be surmised that Walter's approach to harp playing, was partly an amalgam of devices learned from his tutor(s), and partly a collection of sounds developed by himself. Memphis was a melting pot of musical influences since no one style dominated the region unlike that of the delta area to the south (Charley Patton). Horton's approach to the harmonica reflected this fact.

Of all the post-war players, Walter was equally at ease switching between the older style, and the full-miked technique so favored by his younger Chicago peers. Not to belittle Little Walter Jacobs, for he too could perform adeptly in both modes, but it was the more modern sound that garnered Jacobs his reputation. A good example of Horton's earlier style of playing exists on the instrumental "Walter's Boogie" from the 1967 session with Johnny Young (Arhoolie CD-325).

Walter was a bridge between the earlier approach of playing the instrument in multi-noted chordal fashion, to the single note horn-like phrasing punctuated with abrupt overblown bass lines, that typified the Chicago sound of the 1950's. While amplification was responsible for the dramatic shift in technique for the blues harp, no other harmonica player had more musical devices (even Rice Miller). None had so identifiable a sound, and none had such a huge tone, as did Big Walter. What is more convincing is that no other harp player since Horton, has been able to emulate his tone, although his musical partner Carey Bell would later supply a closer compliment to his playing. This in itself ensures Big Walter's greatness for the long term.

Perhaps the most noticeable facet of Horton's recorded material is the lack of use of a chromatic harmonica. This larger more complex instrument would become a surgical tool in the hands of Little Walter, George Smith, and James Cotton, but Big Walter always preferred to keep his instrument kit simple with a few Hohner Marine Bands. He didn't apologize for it, and he had no reason to. He could make his Marine Bands sound like an orchestra, and his instrumental powers were the most complete of any of his contemporaries (and offspring).

A final testament to Walter's virtuosity is that he could play completely unaccompanied. Fortunately for blues fans, he was able to record several titles in this manner. No band and no microphone. He didn't need either.

Walter's singing was another matter, at least by the written record. Some have criticized him for having a flat, hazy monotone delivery style, and as noted above, the Bihari brothers who owned Modern records had called him "Mumbles". Walter's voice was to him, a source of his shyness, but from the aural evidence, he was badly misjudged on this count.

The most immediate effect on first listening to a Walter Horton vocal performance is how obvious his singing sticks out. This is not due to a lack of vocal range, nor any deliberate slurring of diction. Instead, Walter's gruff, from-the-belly presentation serves as an offset to his sensitive harmonica accompaniments, and if anything, shows his understanding of the music by singing it exactly as it feels to him.

Some good examples of this exist in the early Modern sides, the ones where he got ill-named as Mumbles. The words to the songs are fairly easy to decipher, so there is little mumbling going on there. What is most noticeable is how forceful Walter's singing is, and he uses his full vocal range to make these sides swing in a manner that was not to characterize his sessions for a long time after, until he met up with Carey Bell and recorded in the early 1970's. The man did not have a voice like Ray Charles, but he made use of it in a way that was difficult to forget.

WALTER HORTON AS SIDEMAN
Sequenced alphabetically by the artist's name.

Carey Bell
Chicken Shack
Little Buddy Doyle (not verified)
Ronnie Earl
Fleetwood Mac
Willie Dixon (Chicago Blues All Stars)
David (Honeyboy) Edwards
John Lee Hooker
Floyd Jones
Joe Hill Louis
Memphis Jug Band (improbable on recording dates)
Charlie Musselwhite
John Nicholas
Jimmy Reeves Jr.
Jimmy Rogers
Otis Rush
Johnny Shines
Otis Spann
Sunnyland Slim
Eddie Taylor
Hound Dog Taylor
Big Mama Thornton
Muddy Waters
Homesick James Williamson
Johnny Winter
Johnny Young

THE MUSIC - A DISCOGRAPHY ABOUT WALTER HORTON

It is impossible to list all of Walter Horton's output in this type of article, there are just too many recordings, especially as a sideman. Additionally, a lot of the sessions from the early 60's for some of the independent Chicago labels, have been out of print for a long time. The following recordings represent a fair cross-section of Walter's more accessible work. The recordings are listed in approximate chronological sequence.

"Harmonica Blues - Great Harmonica Perform. of the 1920's and 30's", Yazoo 1053
(This is one of the few collections of pre-war harmonica blowers available on CD. No Walter Horton here, but historical and interesting playing from so long ago. Not strictly blues but contains sides by Deford Bailey, Jazz Gillum, Robert Lee McCoy-Nighthawk, Jaybird Coleman etc)

"Memphis Jug Band, Volume One", JSP CD606
(Contains earliest sides from 1927 & 1928 by this band. Includes "Sunshine Blues" from June 9, 1927 with the harmonica playing credited to 'Shakey Walter', although the player is likely Will Shade, not Walter.)

"Memphis Jug Band, Complete Recorded Works, Vol.1 (1927 - 1928)", Document 5021
(Very similar to JSP collection)

"Memphis Jug Band", Yazoo 1067
(Similar to above. Great photograph of the band and good liner notes in typical Yazoo fashion)

"Memphis Harp & Jug Blowers 1927 - 1937", Document 6028 (Austria)
(Contains the Little Buddy Doyle sides from 1939)

"The Memphis Blues 1927 - 1931", Yazoo 1008
(No Horton titles, but contains a cross section of the music from Memphis that Horton would have heard as a youngster. Contains one title from 1929 by harmonica player Noah Lewis. Other artists are Furry Lewis, Frank Stokes, Memphis Minnie, Cannons Jug Stompers)

"A Sun Blues Collection", Rhino/Sun R2 70962
(Contains Walter's first masterpiece "Easy" with Jimmy DeBerry. A collection of sides from Sun by its roster of blues artists. Great blues.)

Blues Masters, Vol 4: Harmonica Classics, Rhino R2 71124
(Contains "Easy". A good intro by various artists to the blues harp.)

"The Blues Came Down from Memphis", Charly CDGR 243
(Deadly collection by most of Sun Records roster of harmonica players from the 50's - Jimmy Cotton, Dr Ross, Jr Parker, Joe Hill Louis etc, including Walter's "Easy". It doesn't get any better than this)

"Mouth Harp Maestro", Flair/Virgin V2-86297
(The early Modern sides from Memphis, the best examples of his throwback stylings to the pre-war period)

"Johnny Shines & Robert Lockwood", Paula PCD-14
(Contains "Evening Sun" and "Brutal Hearted Woman" plus 2 others with Shines; Essential Big Walter)

"Jimmy Rogers, The Complete Chess Recordings", Chess CHD2-9372
(Contains Walter's other masterpiece solo on "Walking By Myself")

"The Cobra Records Story", (2 CD box), Capricorn 42012-2
(Contains almost everything at Cobra: Horton, Rush, Guy, Sam etc.)

"Walter Horton & Paul Butterfield - An Offer You Can't Refuse", Castle CLACD 429
(Unusual compilation of Walter with Robert Nighthawk from 1964. A few titles live from Toronto club date in 1973, and several very early sides by Paul Butterfield from 1963. Originally issued on vinyl by Red Lightnin'in early 70's. Walter's horn is in fine shape with unobtrusive rhythm guitar by Nighthawk)

"Chicago, The Blues Today, Vol 3", Vanguard VMD 79218
(Good mid 60's sessions with Shakey as sideman to Johnny Shines & Johnny Young)

"The Johnny Shines Band - Masters of Modern Blues", Testament TCD 5002
(Has Horton as sideman to Shines electric band, Good mid-60's sessions)

"Johnny Shines with Big Walter Horton", Testament TCD 5013
(More fine sides with Horton as sideman to Shines' electric band)

"Floyd Jones - Eddie Taylor - Masters of Modern Blues", Testament TCD 5001
(Middle 60's sessions with Horton as sideman to both Taylor and Jones. Worth it just to hear the Eddie Taylor sides)

"Otis Spann's Chicago Blues", Testament TCD 5005
(Sides from 1965 with Otis Spann, solo piano, and with band. Only one track with Big Walter but Jimmy Cotton gets to blow his brains out on some of the other tracks, so nothing wrong with that. Spann plays some organ too)

"Johnny Young, Chicago Blues", Arhoolie CD-325
(Knockout playing from late 60's with Shakey as sideman to mandolin/guitar player Johnny Young. Also contains some of Jimmy Cotton's finest playing. This one needs to be in every blues collection)

"Big Mama Thornton, Ball N' Chain", Arhoolie CD-305
(Some live sessions with Horton from European tour in 65', other U.S. studio sides with Cotton)

"Johnny Winter", Columbia CK 9826
(Johnny's great blowout first Columbia session from 1968 with Walter & Willie Dixon on one title, "Mean Mistreater". At last, good sound. Worth getting for this one tune. Ignore the fluffy liner notes that come with the CD)

"Big Walter Horton with Carey Bell", Alligator 4702
(A fine early 1970's set with his harp-mate Carey Bell. Two harps, two singers, double the blues pleasure ! Thanks Bruce Iglauer)

"Big Walter Shakey Horton - Toronto '73", Multimedia MIL 6104
(Live club recording of Walter with pickup band, decent sound and good performance)

"Big Walter Horton/King Biscuit Boys - Well All Right !", Sequel NEX CD 285
(Joe Willie Wilkins/Houston Stackhouse (Rice Miller's old Band) and Walter's band from Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival of 1973. Great performances and sound. Informative liner notes marred by poor editing and rife with spelling errors)

"Fine Cuts" Walter Horton, Blind Pig
(With John Nicholas band from 1977)

"Walter Horton - Little Boy Blue", JSP CD 806
(A simmering Walter club date backed by Ronnie Earl & band from sometime in late 1970's, showing that Walter could blow hard with that magnificent tone right up to the end. Only 4 tracks feature Walter, the rest are by Earl's band, but Walter gets to show them how it's done. Ronnie Earl fans will also want to hear this material)

Curtiss Clarke
Toronto - 1999