T-Bone Blues [Atlantic]

Performer: T-Bone Walker
Artist: Plas Johnson; Lloyd Glenn; Barney Kessel; Jimmy Rogers; Junior Wells
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Personnel includes: T-Bone Walker (vocals, guitar); Earl Palmer, Eddie Chamblee. Producers: Ahmet Ertegun, Jerry Wexler, Nesuhi Ertegun. Recorded between 1955 and 1957. The last truly indispensable disc of the great guitar hero's career, and perhaps the most innately satisfying of all, these mid-'50s recordings boast magnificent presence, with T-Bone Walker's axe so crisp and clear it seems as though he's sitting right next to you as he delivers a luxurious remake of "Call It Stormy Monday." Atlantic took some chances with Walker, dispatching him to Chicago for a 1955 date with Junior Wells and Jimmy Rogers that produced "Why Not" and "Papa Ain't Salty." Even better were the 1956-1957 L.A. dates that produced the scalding instrumental "Two Bones and a Pick" (which finds Walker dueling it out with nephew R.S. Rankin and jazzman Barney Kessel). ~ Bill Dahl

Q (1/95, p.280) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...Walker took the electric guitar torch from Charlie Christian, held it high with grace and dignity, and then passed it to Buddy Guy and Hendrix....stronger than dirt, tougher than tough, bluesy as the deep blue sea."

Somewhere between the blues-jazz of Lonnie Johnson and Charlie Christian and the electrified blues of B.B. King, Chuck Berry, and Buddy Guy is Aaron "T-Bone" Walker. During the 1930s through the 1950s, the height of his recording and performing career, T-Bone fused influences of the past and reshaped them into modern guitar blues. A master showman as well as a brilliant guitarist and singer, Walker is a performer whose influence cannot be underestimated: nearly every blues guitarist of the past half-century has paid props to the man. His best-known song, "Stormy Monday," is a staple of every bar band's repertoire.

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