Aaron Thibeaux “T-Bone” Walker, May 28th, 1910 ~ March 16th, 1975. One of the most influential pioneers and innovators of the jump blues and electric blues sound. Walker a multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter began playing during the 1930s and is the first musician recorded playing blues with an electric guitar.
Walkers parents were both musicians, but as he grew up it was his stepfather who taught him a multitude of instruments. Early in the 1920s, the teenage Walker began to learn his art from the street-strolling string bands of Dallas. Walker had left school at 10, and by 15, he was a professional performer on the blues circuit, with famed performer Charlie Christian as his mentor.
In 1929, Walker made his recording debut with a single for Columbia records, 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. His second album followed in 1942, but his most prolific recording period was between 1946-1948. His most famous song was “Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad”, recorded in 1947.
Walker influenced some of the finest musicians for generations. His trick of playing the guitar with his teeth was imitated by a young Jimi Hendrix. B.B. King once said, “When I heard T-Bone Walker play the electric guitar I had to have one”. While Chuck Berry once said, “All the things people see me do on the stage I got from T-Bone Walker”.
We found this film which we feel reflects nicely the era and musical style of T-Bone Walker.
