Ry Cooder 's opinion is that Little Walter was the single greatest blues musician ever. His revolutionary harmonica technique has earned comparisons to Charlie Parker and Jimi Hendrix in its impact, and he is generally considered the first modern 'urban' blues musician. Working odd jobs, travelling around, busking and honing his musical skills with Sonny Boy Williamson and Big Bill Broonzy, Little Walter arrived in Chicago c. 1945, and fell into the City's bustling Blues scene. Tired of being drowned out by electric guitarists, he developed a radical yet simple solution: He cupped a small microphone in his hand while he played, and plugged it into an amplifier, easily competing with any guitarist's volume, and exploring radical new timbres. He joined Muddy Waters' band c. 1948, and is featured on most of Muddy's classic recordings from the 1950s. Walter's' solo career took off in 1952, when the first completed take of the first song attempted at his very first session spent eight weeks at #1 on the Billboard R&B charts!! - the song was "Juke", and it was the first harmonica instrumental ever to become a hit on the R&B charts, the first of an impressive fourteen top-ten hits between 1952 and 1958, including two #1s (the second being "My Babe" in 1955.) Juke was selected as one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. A legendary eccentric alcoholic, and swaggering scenester, Little Walter had a notoriously short fuse, which led to a decline in his fame and fortunes in the 1960s. He died of injuries sustained in a nightclub brawl, a classic blues death to be sure, but a tragedy for Urban Blues just as it's greatest practitioners were making comebacks on the back of the success of their British acolytes like the Rolling Stones. This collection of Little Walters greatest performances is an overdue tribute to one of the Greats. First time European CD collection of this classic artist. Detailed notes and beautiful packaging. Wonderful sound in true RevOla style. A must for all Blues fans, and anyone who cares about the eerie sound that unbelievably (in today's world) produced so many hits
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