Little Walter

Marion Walter Jacobs, known as Little Walter, was the most revolutionary harmonica player in blues history, the musician who transformed the instrument from a folk accompaniment into a fully amplified lead voice capable of competing with electric guitars. A member of Muddy Waters's band in the late 1940s and early 1950s, he achieved solo stardom with 'Juke' in 1952: the only harmonica instrumental to reach number one on the Billboard R&B chart. His subsequent recordings for Chess, including 'My Babe,' 'Blues with a Feeling,' 'Off the Wall,' and 'Last Night,' established a chromatic harmonica style of unprecedented sophistication, drawing on jazz phrasing and saxophone-like tone. His volatile temperament and heavy drinking led to numerous violent incidents, and he died in 1968 from injuries sustained in a street fight. He is universally regarded as one of the most accomplished blues harmonica player who ever lived.