Big Walter Horton

Walter Horton, known as Big Walter Horton, was one of the most accomplished blues harmonica players in history, renowned for his huge, fat tone and melodic inventiveness. He claimed to have been playing harmonica since he was five and to have taught both Little Walter and James Cotton, though these claims are disputed. What is widely regarded is the beauty and power of his playing: his tone was perhaps the fullest and most resonant of any blues harp player. He recorded for Sun, Chess, Cobra, and other labels, and was a fixture of the Chicago blues scene for three decades, though his shy, retiring personality and chronic alcoholism prevented him from achieving the fame his talent deserved.