Blues with a Feeling: The Little Walter Story [Hardcover]

Tony Glover (Author), Scott Dirks (Author), Ward Gaines (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415937116 | ISBN-13: 978-0415937115 | Publication Date: June 30, 2002

Whenever you hear the prevalent wailing blues harmonica in commercials, film soundtracks or at a blues club, you are experiencing the legacy of the master harmonica player, Little Walter. Immensely popular in his lifetime, Little Walter had fourteen Top 10 hits on the R&B charts, and he was also the first Chicago blues musician to play at the Apollo. Ray Charles and B.B. King, great blues artists in their own right, were honored to sit in with his band. However, at the age of 37, he lay in a pauper's grave in Chicago. This book will tell the story of a man whose music, life and struggles continue to resonate to this day.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Little Walter (born Marion Walter Jacobs in 1930) was perhaps the finest Chicago-style blues harmonica player of all time. Learning from such greats as Sonny Boy Williamson, he rose to superstar status as sideman to blues giant Muddy Waters and took the lowly harmonica to a place of prominence as an expressive, powerful electrified lead instrument of almost vocal qualities. Collaborating via e-mail, noted blues scholars Glover, Ward Gaines, and Scott Dirks unearthed important information on the artist's shadowy life through interviews and library research. They paint a picture of Walter as a fiery, independent soul who lived fast and loose and died tragically as a result of a street fight at the age of 37. But for his vast musical contributions, all modern blues harmonica players certainly owe a debt to this musical pioneer. A pleasant read intended for a lay audience, this is the only biography available on Walter, and all public and music libraries with blues aficionados should add it to their collections. Bill Walker, Stockton-San Joaquin Cty. P.L.,
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Blues-harp blower Tony "Little Sun" Glover and his collaborators say Little Walter Jacobs "was to harmonica blues what Charlie Parker was to jazz saxophone." Jacobs' playing, much of it in Muddy Waters' band, "set the standard" for and "creat[ed] much of the musical language" of the modern blues harp. Bedeviled by a roving eye for the ladies (one of his best-known songs, "Boom Boom, Out Go the Lights," however, seems a simple statement of misogyny) and addictions that compromised his health, Jacobs was also the epitome of the urban bluesman. "Coupling his small 10-hole Hohner Marine Band harmonica with . . . cheap microphones," he "easily overloaded public address amplifiers" in the 1940s, but then he incorporated "the distortion and harsh tones produced when pushing amplifiers beyond their intended limits." That leads the authors to liken his innovations to the groundbreaking electric guitar tactics of Jimi Hendrix in the '60s. An excellent shelfmate for Robert Gordon's recent Muddy Waters biography, Can't Be Satisfied [BKL Ap 1 02]. Mike Tribby
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 328 pages
• Publisher: Routledge (June 30, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415937116
• ISBN-13: 978-0415937115
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #544,923 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Read for Any and All Blues Harp Enthusiasts!, August 25, 2002

By 

D. A. Martin "Avid Reader" (Morocco) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Blues with a Feeling: The Little Walter Story (Hardcover)

Those of us into blues harmonica know that Little Walter is the father of this musical genre. Although he was not necessarily the first to put harp to mic to amplifier (I believe Snooky Pryor was many years before), Little Water undoubtedly revolutionized how amplified blues harp was played, then and now. He turned the harmonica - a simple pocket instrument that many musicians didn't take seriously - into a musical force that Muddy Waters pianist Otis Spann called "the mother of the band." As a budding harp player, I do not consider any band a true BLUES BAND if it doesn't have a harmonica player at the forefront (as opposed to the background). We who follow blues music have Marion "Little Walter" Jacobs to thank for that.

This book is a must-have for any and all blues harmonica enthusiasts. As with Robert Gordon's recent Muddy Waters bio "Can't Be Satisfied," the authors of "Blues With A Feeling" lay out in brilliant detail, from painstaking research and interviews with family, friends and associates, Walter's life in ways many had never been privy to. Just as his musical ability made him famous, his quick temper, heavy drinking and overall reckless lifestyle, unfortunately, led to his eventual, yet far too early demise.

If you really want to understand the man, myth, icon, and human being that was, is and will always be Little Walter, then buy this book.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book About A Great Musician, November 26, 2002

By 

Frederick J. Decker "Fred Decker" (Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Blues with a Feeling: The Little Walter Story (Hardcover)

Whether you are familiar with Little Walter's wonderful music, or not this is a great book that will make any reader appreciate Little Walter even more. For a treat, listen to the songs described in the book as you read. The authors point out fascinating insights on many songs, including how Little Walter changed harmonicas and where in each song he changed them. They even explain what keys each harmonica was in. Little Walter deliberately changed harmonicas in mid song to make his records harder for other harp players to copy. Even if you don't play the harmonica, just listen to each song as the authors talk about it and be amazed at how brilliant Walter was.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Book With A Feeling, August 21, 2002

By 

D. B. Phillips (Minneapolis, MN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Blues with a Feeling: The Little Walter Story (Hardcover)

I have been a fan of, and musically influenced by, Tony Glover and his partners Dave Ray and John Koerner since the mid-sixties. I am also an avid reader of biographies of musicians. I also have a pretty good collection of Little Walter vinyl and have anxiously awaited this book since I first heard about it being in the works.

Talk to a blues fan and Little Walter is usually the first name you will hear mentioned when harp players are discussed. He is, as the book says, to blues harp what Jimi Hendrix was to the electric guitar. But precious little has been revealed about the man himself besides what his unique and innovative music could tell us. This book rectifies that in an outstanding manner.

From the beginning it is obvious that this subject has been painstakingly researched by authors who love the blues and blues people. The book contains almost more names and connections in the weaving and intertwining of the musicians and their music than one can readily digest. It sent me to my record collection dozens of times resulting in new revelations as I listened with a fresh perspective.

One of the finest musical biographies I have read. I could smell the 'fragrance' of the streets, feel the pounding of feet in the clubs, hear the grittiness of the little tube amps, and feel the joy and desperation of the musicians.

A terrific must-read for anyone who loves the blues.
And some great photos too!