Little Walter

Marion “Little” Walter Jacobs(May 1, 1930 – February 15, 1968)

Little Walter went down in history as one of the greatest, most influential and inventive Blues harp players of all time. He “plugged in” his lowly harmonica and suddenly, he forever revolutionized how the harp was played.

Before, the harmonica was regarded as a simple instrument, with even the best playing simple, neatly packaged phrases. Walter, on the other hand, played “between the notes”, stopping in between times, putting the harp where it had never gone before, doing things harp players had simply never done, which rightfully earned him comparisons to what Charlie Parker did for Jazz and what Jimi Hendrix did for guitar.

He topped the charts with his songs, and more importantly, he drove the harmonica to a place of legitimacy and immortality in the repertoire of Blues instruments.

For all his genius, he had an unfortunate balance. Little Walter lived free, fast, and hard. He had a pension for women and drugs, but his real demon was alcohol, which slowly drug him downwards for years. His legendary short temper got him into many hot spots, and at 37, he died far too young.

He was Muddy Water’s confidant, sideman, and good friend. He played with the likes of B.B. King, Howlin’ Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson and Ray Charles.