Big Walter Horton - Blues Harmonica Giant: Classic Sides 1951-1956 (3 CD)

Album: Blues Harmonica Giant: Classic Sides 1951-1956
Size: 184,6 + 183,5 + 84,8 MB
Time: 79:11 + 78:55 + 36:44
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2010
Styles: Blues, harmonica blues
Art: Full

CD A:
1. Cotton Patch Hotfoot (2:37)
2. What's The Matter With You (Take 1) (2:30)
3. Little Boy Blue (Take 1) (3:01)
4. Blues In The Morning (2:51)
5. Now Tell Me Baby (3:07)
6. I'm In Love With You Baby (Take 1) (3:10)
7. Black Gal (2:58)
8. Hard Hearted Woman (2:42)
9. Jumpin' Blues (2:17)
10. So Long Woman (3:03)
11. What's The Matter With You (Take 2) (2:16)
12. Little Boy Blue (Take 2) (2:58)
13. I'm In Love With You Baby (Take 2) (2:39)
14. Grandmother Got Grandfather Told (Take 1) (2:59)
15. In The Mood (3:04)
16. Grandmother Got Grandfather Told (Take 2) (2:45)
17. We All Gotta Go (Take 3) (2:59)
18. Little Walter's Boogie (Take 1) (2:38)
19. We All Gotta Go (Take 4) (2:58)
20. Little Walter's Boogie (Take 2) (2:33)
21. West Winds Are Blowing (Take 1) (3:08)
22. Little Walter's Boogie (Take 3) (2:35)
23. West Winds Are Blowing (Take 2) (3:06)
24. Walter's Instrumental (2:56)
25. Off The Wall (2:16)
26. Off The Wall (2:36)
27. Hard Hearted Woman (3:03)
28. Back Home To Mama (3:09)

CD B:
1. Hard Hearted Woman (Alt.) (3:08)
2. Back Home To Mama (Alt.) (2:50)
3. Need My Baby (2:18)
4. Have A Good Time (2:19)
5. Need My Baby (Take 1) (2:34)
6. Selling My Whiskey (Incomplete) (1:14)
7. Midnight Showers Of Rain (3:02)
8. Prison Bound Blues (2:43)
9. Riding In The Moonlight (3:15)
10. Let's Take A Little Walk (2:31)
11. Easy (2:59)
12. Hydramatic Woman (2:32)
13. Tiger Man (King Of The Jungle) (3:12)
14. Seems Like A Million Years (Take 1) (2:49)
15. Seems Like A Million Years (Take 2) (2:49)
16. Worry You Off My Mind (3:13)
17. Shine Boy (2:27)
18. Evening Shuffle (Take 1) (2:28)
19. Evening Shuffle (Take 2) (2:16)
20. Evening Sun (2:31)
21. No Name Blues (2:49)
22. Brutal Hearted Woman (2:54)
23. Gonna Call The Angel (Rehearsal) (3:07)
24. Gonna Call The Angel (Take 3) (2:53)
25. Big Stars Falling Blues (3:10)
26. Rambler's Blues (2:44)
27. Evalena (2:30)
28. Highway 61 (3:03)
29. It's You Baby (2:21)

CD C:
1. Hard Hearted Woman (4:00)
2. Sick & Tired (8:20)
3. Walter's Jump (2:08)
4. Leaving In The Morning (3:16)
5. Walter & Carey (8:38)
6. Walking By Myself (3:58)
7. My Eyes Keep Me In Trouble (6:20)

Big Walter Horton was a giant on the amplified harmonica, bringing the electricity of the instrument into the modern blues era with his works as a sideman and as a bandleader. This three-disc box does a great job of looking at the length, breadth, and scope of his career with a disc of Horton solo and as a bandleader in the 1950s; a second disc of him working with the likes of Joe Hill Louis, Willie Nix, Mose Vinson, Johnny Shines, Tampa Red, Sunnyland Slim, and others during the same decade; and a third disc featuring Horton's 1970s work with Carey Bell. It’s a nice and rounded overview of a remarkable musician. /Steve Leggett, AllMusic

(For personnel details, see artwork included.)

Blues Harmonica Giant: Classic Sides 1951-1956 (3 CD) mc
Blues Harmonica Giant: Classic Sides 1951-1956 (3 CD) zippy

---

Big Walter Horton - Live At The El Mocambo

Album: Live At The El Mocambo
Size: 156,3 MB
Time: 67:29
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1991
Styles: Blues, harmonica blues
Art: Full

1. Jukin' With Walter (4:21)
2. Have A Good Time (4:21)
3. Lonely Avenue (5:19)
4. Medley: Not That Easy/Ain't That A Shame (4:36)
5. Walter's Swing (4:11)
6. Can't Hold Out Much Longer (4:03)
7. Rockin' My Boogie (4:42)
8. Blues With A Feeling (4:32)
9. Kentucky Fried (2:26)
10. That Ain't It (3:31)
11. Easin' In Slow (2:51)
12. Little Boy Blue (5:12)
13. Going Back To Arkansas (5:30)
14. Turkey Scratch (4:53)
15. La Cucharacha (5:19)
16. Sweet Home Chicago (1:35)

Big Walter Horton, sometimes known as Shakey Walter Horton, is one of the most influential blues harmonica players of all time, and a particular pioneer in the field of amplified harmonica. He isn't as widely known as his fellow Chicago blues pioneers Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson II, due mostly to the fact that, as a rather shy, quiet individual, he never had much taste for leading his own bands or recording sessions. But his style was utterly distinctive, marked by an enormous, horn-like tone, virtuosic single-note lines, fluid phrasing, and an expansive sense of space.

Horton's amplified harp work graced sides by Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers, Otis Rush, Johnny Shines, Tampa Red, and many others; he was frequently cited as an inspiration by younger players, and most accounts of his life mention a testimonial from legendary bassist/songwriter Willie Dixon, who once called Horton "the best harmonica player I ever heard." /Excerpt from biography by Steve Huey, AllMusic

(Recorded at the El Mocambo club, Toronto Canada, July 25th, 1973.)

Live At The El Mocambo mc
Live At The El Mocambo zippy

---

Walter Horton & Paul Butterfield - An Offer You Can't Refuse

Album: An Offer You Can't Refuse
Size: 173,9 MB
Time: 74:26
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1972/1997
Styles: Blues, harmonica blues
Art: Full

1. Walter Horton - Easy (3:17)
2. Walter Horton - Have A Good Time (3:19)
3. Walter Horton - Mean Mistreater (3:04)
4. Walter Horton - In The Mood (3:08)
5. Walter Horton - West Side Blues (3:08)
6. Walter Horton - Louise (4:05)
7. Walter Horton - Tin Pan Alley (2:54)
8. Walter Horton - Walter's Boogie, This Is It (2:57)
9. Walter Horton - Jukin' With Walter (4:21)
10. Walter Horton - Going Back To Arkansas (5:33)
11. Walter Horton - Rockin' My Boogie (4:44)
12. Walter Horton - Blues With A Feeling (4:34)
13. Walter Horton - That Ain't It (3:33)
14. Walter Horton - Kentucky Fried (2:28)
15. Paul Butterfield - Everything's Gonna Be Alright (3:40)
16. Paul Butterfield - Poor Boy (3:53)
17. Paul Butterfield - Got My Mojo Working (3:09)
18. Paul Butterfield - Last Night (4:40)
19. Paul Butterfield - Loaded (2:55)
20. Paul Butterfield - One Room Country Shack (4:55)

An album released on the Red Lightnin' label in 1972 consisting of one side of Big Walter Horton and the other side with very early Paul Butterfield (1963). The Horton side consists of eight tracks of Horton with guitarist Robert Nighthawk (no bass or drums). Nighthawk is playing pure backup here, very little else. It is not clear when these were recorded. Perhaps not classic Walter, but any Big Walter is worth a listen. There are three instrumentals that make for good listening, including a version of "Easy" (not up to the original Walter recording). The instrumental "West Side Blues" has some interesting Walter harp licks that I have not heard elsewhere. The other five cuts are Walter singing. Of these, there is a great version of "Louise" and Walter singing "Tin Pan Alley" which never fails to raise the hair on the back of my neck. If you can find this album, it is good to have.

The Butterfield side contains six tracks with Butterfield, Smokey Smothers on guitar, Jerome Arnold on bass, and Sam Lay on drums. This was recorded at Big Johns, the North side Chicago club where the Butterfield Band first played in 1963 - some two years before the material on the first Paul Butterfield Blues Band album, which was released in 1965. The six tracks include two instrumentals, "Got My Mojo Working" and the Butterfield-authored tune "Loaded." Although this is very early Butterfield, the harp playing is excellent and already in his own unique style. The singing is a little rough and heavy sounding. Butterfield fans will want to find this rare vinyl for musical and historical reasons. /Michael Erlewine, AllMusic

Note: This CD reissue has six additional tracks by Walter Horton compared to the original LP release. Tracks 1-8 and 15-20 taken from the original LP "An Offer You Can't Refuse" (1972), tracks 9-14 taken from the CD "Live At The El Mocambo" (1991).

An Offer You Can't Refuse mc
An Offer You Can't Refuse zippy

---

Southern Comfort - Southern Comfort

Size: 105.7 MB
Time: 44:58
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1969/2005
Styles: Chicago Blues, Harmonica Blues
Art: Full

01. Easy (No.2) ( 3:22)
02. If It Ain´t Me Baby ( 3:22)
03. Sugar Mama ( 3:24)
04. Need My Baby ( 2:58)
05. Somethin' Else ( 3:54)
06. Walking By Myself ( 3:50)
07. Train Time ( 3:33)
08. Found A New Love ( 4:03)
09. Same Old Blues ( 2:04)
10. Paying Double ( 2:28)
11. Netti-Netti (11:55)

Southern Comfort was a rather disorganized recording date for Big Walter "Shakey" Horton, not in the least because he doesn't actually sing and play on all of the numbers. Nevertheless, the album, done in a single session in London in October 1968, is actually reasonably worthwhile, even if it's not one that you'd put at the top of the stack of Horton releases. Set up while Horton was playing a festival in the U.K., his backing band on this recording consisted of British guitarist Martin Stone (who played in Savoy Brown, the Action, and Mighty Baby) and fellow Chicago bluesmen Jesse Lewis and Jerome Arnold, who were also in England at the time. The liner notes to the 2005 CD reissue of the album describe the session as something of a nightmare in which a steadily drunker Horton passed out before the album was completed. Yet it's actually quite passable, if slightly loose, electric Chicago blues, albeit with a cheapish, echo-heavy sound. Presumably owing to Horton's incapacity, vocals on three of the numbers are actually taken by Lewis and Arnold, who do a competent job. In need of material to fill out the LP after Horton had passed out, however, the other musicians took the off-the-wall step of cutting an improvised 12-minute psychedelic raga, "Netti-Netti," complete with backward tape and wah-wah guitar. Not at all like the rest of this straightforward blues album, it's certainly not nearly on the same level of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band's epic psychedelic instrumental "East West" (on which Arnold had also played). Perversely, however, it's given the record a reputation among psychedelic collectors, some of whom probably aren't interested in the electric Chicago blues that actually takes up most of the space on the record. ~Richie Unterberger

Southern Comfort MP3
Southern Comfort FLAC

---

Walter Horton - Little Boy Blue

Size: 121.8 MB
Time: 52:23
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1992
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Full

01. I Cry For You (5:31)
02. Lord Knows I Tried (7:59)
03. Counrty Girl (5:16)
04. Walter's Shuffle (3:37)
05. Little Boy Blue (4:55)
06. It's Not Easy (4:50)
07. Two Old Maids (4:26)
08. What's On Your Worried Mind (7:50)
09. Walter's Swing (7:55)

A 1980 live recording in Boston. Working with a pickup band consisting of Ronnie Earl on guitar, Mudcat Ward on bass, and Ola Dixon on drums, Horton catches fire and quite simply blows his heart out. The album features some of Horton's best late-period playing. ~Cub Koda

Little Boy Blue MP3
Little Boy Blue FLAC

---

Old Friends - Sunnyland Slim, Honeyboy Edwards, Kansas City Red, Big Walter Horton, Floyd Jones

Source: CD
Size: 162,3 MB
Time: 68:49
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1981/1993
Styles: Chicago Blues
Art: Full

01. Apron Strings (Feat. Honeyboy Edwards) (3:04)
02. Gamblin' Man (Feat. Honeyboy Edwards) (2:49)
03. 43rd Street Jump (Feat. Honeyboy Edwards) (2:55)
04. The War Is Over (Feat. Honeyboy Edwards) (3:18)
05. When I Came In (Feat. Honeyboy Edwards) (2:52)
06. Banty Rooster (Feat. Floyd Jones) (3:44)
07. Mr. Freddy Blues (Feat. Floyd Jones) (3:36)
08. Over The Seas Blues (Feat. Floyd Jones) (4:13)
09. I'm A Prisoner (Feat. Kansas City Red) (5:18)
10. Freedom Train (Feat. Kansas City Red) (4:55)
11. Lightnin' Struck The Poor House (Feat. Kansas City Red) (4:37)
12. Linda Lu (Feat. Kansas City Red) (5:58)
13. Lula Mae (Feat. Kansas City Red) (4:49)
14. That's All Right, I'll Be Around (Feat. Kansas City Red) (3:54)
15. Heartache (Feat. Sunnyland Slim) (4:40)
16. Sometimes I Worry (Feat. Sunnyland Slim) (4:14)
17. I'm Going Back Home (Feat. Big Walter Horton) (3:45)

Personnel:
David 'Honeyboy' Edwards: Guitar, Harmonica (on track 5)
Floyd Jones: Bass
Sunnyland Slim: Piano
Kansas City Red: Drums
Big Walter Horton: Harmonica

Old Friends…together for the first time…nearly fifty years after their paths first crossed, a legendary group of old blues friends from Memphis and the Mississippi Delta finally gathered in a Chicago studio to record together for the first time. Sunnyland Slim, Big Walter Horton, Floyd Jones and Honeyboy Edwards knew each other since the early 1930s: Kansas City Red, the youngster of the bunch at 54, met the others one by one during the 1940s, and over the years, in Chicago and down South, the bluesmen worked with one another off and on in various combinations. Not until 1979, at a prestigious Carnegie Hall concert in New York, did all five play together on the same stage, and it was 1980 before the quintet recorded as a unit.

“The music has the unforced feel of (Chicago’s) blues of the late 30s and 40s without once sounding anachronistic. The five musicians (playing as a quintet) share the vocal duties, providing striking contrasts....All the material is original in the true sense, not just old blues with reshuffled lyrics and new titles, and the quintet interprets it with real conviction.”

Thanks to MarcFr.
Old Friends

---

Big Walter Horton & King Biscuit Boys - Well All Right! (The Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival Vol. 4)

Year: 1996
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:31
Size: 140,1 MB
Styles: Blues, harmonica blues
Scans: Full

1. Intro/Little Car Blues (3:55)
2. Me & The Devil Blues (3:50)
3. Down So Long (3:29)
4. Cool Drink Of Water Blues (3:42)
5. Bricks In My Pillow (3:53)
6. Sweet Black Angel (4:17)
7. It's Too Bad (3:25)
8. Dr. Downchild (4:36)
9. Intro/Walter's Slow Blues (4:42)
10. Hard Hearted Woman (4:15)
11. Swingin' Blues (4:48)
12. That Ain't It (4:05)
13. Trouble In Mind (3:17)
14. St. Louis Blues (2:41)
15. The Honeydripper (Walter Jumps One) (1:37)
16. It Hurts Me Too (3:51)

Recorded at the 1973 Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival, this set is for the serious collector/historian only - it has excellent, informative liner notes but the sound quality is less than perfect. The King Biscuit Boys are all Mississippi Delta blues veterans who never really made it big but were local fixtures in the region from doing the King Biscuit radio show. Houston Stackhouse mentored Robert Nighthawk but made few recordings of his own. Joe Willie Wilkins was a sideman on many of Sonny Boy Williamson's early recordings. The music is programmatic rough and tumble electric Delta blues played by veterans of the Delta juke joints. These guys had played together forever. Its enjoyable music played by a good backup band lacking a star to backup.

Big Walter Horton is backed up by a group of local Ann Arbor neophytes (guitarist John Nicholas, bassist Sarah Brown and drummer Fran Christina) who became veterans of the Texas blues scene, recording and playing with Asleep at the Wheel, Stevie Ray Vaughn, The Fabulous Thunderbirds and Marcia Ball, to name a few. Walter isn't really in top form but on his worst day he was still an amazing technical and musical harp virtuoso. There is enough octave jumping and beautifully controlled note-bending here to reaffirm his place in the upper pantheon of harp wizards. He never rushes, goes for quality not quantity, and teaches a course in restraint and soul. Big Walter's vocals take some getting used to and many prefer him as an accompanist. Try his six masterpieces backing up Johnny Shines on Johnny Shines and Robert Lockwood on Paula.

Recorded at the Ann Arbor Jazz & Blues Festival 1973.
Tracks 1-8: King Biscuit Boys
Tracks 9-16: Big Walter Horton Blues Band

(For full personnel details, see artwork included.)

Well All Right! (The Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival Vol. 4) mc
Well All Right! (The Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival Vol. 4) zippy

---

Big Walter Horton - Live At The Knickerbocker

Year: 1980/2001/2014
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:12
Size: 120,2 MB
Styles: Electric blues, harmonica blues
Scans: Full

1. I Cry For You (5:26)
2. Lord Knows I Tried (7:56)
3. Country Girl (5:11)
4. Walter's Shuffle (3:34)
5. Little Boy Blue (4:53)
6. It's Not Easy (4:46)
7. Two Old Maids (4:39)
8. What's On Your Worried Mind (7:45)
9. Walter's Swing (7:58)

It's 1980 and Big Walter undertakes a short tour of the North East. At this stage of his career, he's the King of the Blues Harmonica - Little Walter, the only serious contender for the title had died twelve years earlier. Here he's drawing on at least four decades in the business, having played with the likes of Little Buddy Doyle, Muddy Waters, Eddie Taylor and Johnny Shines.

Here he's backed by Sugar Ray Norcia's band and Sugar Ray himself contributes to three tracks. These are quality musicians, on the brink of wider fame. On bass there's 'Mudcat' Ward; on piano, Little Anthony and on drums the phenomenal Ola Dixon. The guitarist is a new kid, Ronnie Horvath, who's starting to get folks talking. Suffice to say he's now known as Ronnie Earl.

This is a classic live set - possibly Big Walter's last recording. These tracks feature the seemingly casual brilliance he could display on stage - his speed of thought and execution allied to his prodigious technique were always best heard live. Here is a genuine "Were you there?" moment. Even after more than thirty years, the excitement of that night is as fresh as ever. /Amazon

(Note: Originally released as "Little Boy Blue" in 1980.)

Live At The Knickerbocker mc
Live At The Knickerbocker zippy

---

Walter 'Shakey' Horton - The Soul of Blues Harmonica

File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Source: LL (from CD)
Released: 1964/1996
Styles: Blues
Time: 53:11
Size: 122,5 MB
Covers: Front,CD,Back,Tray

(3:21) 1. Groove Walk
(3:01) 2. Wee Baby Blues
(3:00) 3. It's All Right
(2:52) 4. Wrinkles
(3:18) 5. Hard Hearted Woman
(2:39) 6. John Henry
(4:14) 7. Good Moanin' Blues
(2:38) 8. Friday Night Stomp
(3:08) 9. Gonna Bring It on Home
(2:33) 10. La Cucuracha
(3:04) 11. West Winds Are Blowing
(2:26) 12. Little Walter's Boogie
(2:39) 13. Truckin' Little Woman
(3:04) 14. Just One Mistake
(2:04) 15. If It Ain't Me
(2:47) 16. Walkin' by Myself
(3:11) 17. Blow Wind Blow
(3:02) 18. Mad Love (I Want You to Love Me)

Walter Horton, better known as Big Walter (Horton) or Walter "Shakey" Horton. A quit, shy man, but one of the premier blues harmonica players in history of blues. In the 1930s he performed with guitar player Little Buddy Doyle. Horton was among the first to be recorded by Sam Phillips at Sun Records in Memphis. In the early 1950s Horton appeared on the Chicago blues scene, playing with Eddie Taylor and Johnny Shines. In 1952, Walter Horton replaced Junior Wells in Muddy Waters band. From the early 1960s, he recorded as a sideman with several Chicago blues musicians.
Big Walter's first album from 1964 and with an all star cast -- Buddy Guy (guitar), Jack Myers (bass), Willie Dixon (vocals), and Willie Smith (drums). Although not definitive, this album is worth seeking out for Horton fans. It features Walter in a variety of musical styles, including a good rendition of "Hard Hearted Woman" and a wild version of "La Cucaracha".

The Soul of Blues Harmonica

---

Joe Hill Louis with Walter Horton & Mose Vinson - The Be-Bop Boy

File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Source: LL (from CD)
Released: 1992
Styles: Blues
Time: 74:08
Size: 171,3 MB
Art: Full (24 page booklet)

(3:48) 1. Joe Hill Louis - She Treats Me Mean and Evil
(2:07) 2. Joe Hill Louis - Dorothy Mae
(2:58) 3. Joe Hill Louis - Sweetest Gal in Town
(3:03) 4. Joe Hill Louis - Keep Your Arms Around Me
(3:04) 5. Joe Hill Louis - Got Me a New Woman
(3:04) 6. Joe Hill Louis - I'm a Poor Boy
(3:04) 7. Big Walter Horton - In the Mood
(3:06) 8. Big Walter Horton - West Winds Are Blowing
(2:39) 9. Big Walter Horton - Little Walter's Boogie
(2:45) 10. Big Walter Horton - We All Got to Go (Sometime)
(2:41) 11. Joe Hill Louis - We All Got to Go (Sometime)
(2:34) 12. Big Walter Horton - Little Walter's Boogie
(2:56) 13. Joe Hill Louis - Tiger Man
(2:48) 14. Mose Vinson - 44 Blues
(2:21) 15. Mose Vinson - My Love Has Gone
(2:35) 16. Mose Vinson - Mistreatin' Boogie
(2:45) 17. Mose Vinson - My Love Has Gone
(2:36) 18. Mose Vinson - Worry You Off My Mind
(2:49) 19. Mose Vinson - Reap What You Sow
(2:57) 20. Big Walter Horton - Walter's Instrumental
(2:34) 21. Joe Hill Louis - Hydramatic Woman
(3:15) 22. Joe Hill Louis - Tiger Man
(3:14) 23. Joe Hill Louis - Keep Your Arms Around Me
(3:04) 24. Joe Hill Louis - She Comes to See Me Sometime
(2:43) 25. Joe Hill Louis - We All Got to Go (Sometime)
(2:25) 26. Joe Hill Louis - Shine Boy

Joe Hill Louis was a raw, chaotic, one-man band blues of the highest order. Almost all of his recordings he made for Sam Phillips in Memphis in the early '50s. Also included are Sun recordings with Walter Horton and Mose Vinson that feature Joe Louis Hill. In early 1950 Hill had come to the attention of sound-engineer Sam Phillips. Phillips was attempting to start his own record label and he had partnered up with Memphis radio DJ Dewey Phillips. They recorded at least 16 sessions between 1950 and 1953, leasing the best tracks to the Bihari brothers in Los Angeles. In 1952 Phillips also send masters to Chess in Chicago. These were all fine, rocking tracks full of disorted guitar, blazing harmonica and clattering drums in a unique style. Early 1953 Sam Phillips got his Sun label up & running and he issued a Joe Hill Louis 45. Despite recording a wealth of fine material with Louis including a fantastic final session in November of '52 that saw Louis backed by Big Walter Horton on harmonica and Mose Vinson on piano, he would see no more releases on Sun Records. Lots of great performances stayed in the vaults until the 1980's when Charley released them in the Sun Blues Box.

The Be-Bop Boy
The Be-Bop Boy booklet

---

Walter Horton - Can't Keep Lovin' You

Size: 78,6 MB
Time: 33:59
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1984
Styles: Harmonica Blues, Chicago Blues
Art: Full

01. Skip It (2:50)
02. Hard Hearted Woman (2:49)
03. Tin Pan Alley (4:46)
04. Walter's Boogie (3:08)
05. Sugar Mama (3:16)
06. Honeydripper (3:42)
07. West Wind (3:06)
08. Can't Keep Lovin' You (2:47)
09. Careless Love (4:40)
10. Gettin' Outta Town (2:50)

Big Walter Horton, sometimes known as Shakey Walter Horton, is one of the most influential blues harmonica players of all time, and a particular pioneer in the field of amplified harmonica. He isn't as widely known as his fellow Chicago blues pioneers Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson II, due mostly to the fact that, as a rather shy, quiet individual, he never had much taste for leading his own bands or recording sessions. But his style was utterly distinctive, marked by an enormous, horn-like tone, virtuosic single-note lines, fluid phrasing, and an expansive sense of space. Horton's amplified harp work graced sides by Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers, Otis Rush, Johnny Shines, Tampa Red, and many others; he was frequently cited as an inspiration by younger players, and most accounts of his life mention a testimonial from legendary bassist/songwriter Willie Dixon, who once called Horton "the best harmonica player I ever heard."

Horton was born April 6, 1918, in Horn Lake, MS, near Memphis. He began teaching himself to play the harmonica -- a gift from his father -- at age five, and moved with his mother to Memphis not long after, where he played in Handy Park (near the famed Beale Street) for tips. During his preteen years in the late '20s, he played -- and likely recorded at least a couple of sides -- with the Memphis Jug Band (as Shakey Walter); he also learned more about his craft from Will Shade, the Jug Band's main harmonica player, and Hammie Nixon, a cohort of Sleepy John Estes. Horton played wherever he could during the Depression -- dances, parties, juke joints, street corners -- and teamed up with the likes of Robert Johnson, Johnny Shines, Homesick James, and David "Honeyboy" Edwards, among others; he also worked as a sideman in several touring blues bands, including those of Ma Rainey and Big Joe Williams, and spent his first brief period in Chicago. In 1939, he backed guitarist Charlie "Little Buddy" Doyle on some sessions for Columbia. Around the same time (according to Horton himself), he began to experiment with amplifying his harmonica, which if accurate may have made him the first to do so.

Despite the considerable acclaim he enjoyed from his peers, Horton never became a recording star on his own; he simply lacked the temperament to keep a band together for very long, preferring the sideman work where his shyness was less of a drawback. That, coupled with his often heavy drinking, meant that money was often scarce, and Horton kept working steadily whenever possible. After his 1973 album with Bell, he became a mainstay on the festival circuit, and often played at the open-air market on Chicago's legendary Maxwell Street, along with many other bluesmen. In 1977, he joined Muddy Waters and producer/guitarist Johnny Winter on Waters' album I'm Ready, and during the same period recorded some material for Blind Pig, which later found release as the albums Fine Cuts and Can't Keep Lovin' You. Horton appeared in the Maxwell Street scene in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers, accompanying John Lee Hooker. He died of heart failure on December 8, 1981, and was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame the following year.

Can't Keep Lovin' You

---

Various - The Best Of Harmonica Blues

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:28
Size: 149.9 MB
Styles: Harmonica blues
Year: 2001
Art: Front

[3:15] 1. Little Mack Simmons - You Mistreated Me Baby
[2:37] 2. Snooky Pryor - It Seem Like a Dream
[2:59] 3. Walter Shakey Horton - Hard Hearted Woman
[5:52] 4. Billy Branch - Everthing Gonna Be All Right
[2:20] 5. James Cotton - Dealing With the Devil
[5:32] 6. Little Arthur Duncan - Kansas City
[5:20] 7. Carey Bell - One Day
[5:07] 8. J. Monque'D - Rice and Gravy Fever
[4:28] 9. Oscar Harp - Caress Me Baby
[2:31] 10. Martin Lang - Martin Leaps In
[4:46] 11. Doc Terry - Born in the Delta
[3:04] 12. Sonny Boy Williamson I - Bluebird Blues
[2:35] 13. Jazz Gillum - I'm Still Walking the Hi-Way
[2:46] 14. Sonny Terry - Goin' Down Slow
[3:15] 15. Jerry Boogie McCain - It Must Be Love
[1:53] 16. Kid Thomas - Rockin' This Joint Tonite
[2:53] 17. George Harmonica Smith - I Don't Know
[1:12] 18. Hermann Alexander - Baby Please Don't Go
[2:53] 19. CeDell Davis - When I Woke Up Last Morning

Harmonica Blues refers to any style of blues where the harmonica plays a central figure. Although the harmonica was present in many country-blues recordings, it became a dominant force in the '50s, when it was amplified by the likes of Big Walter Horton, Little Walter, and Junior Wells. The powerful sound of a miked harmonica became an instantly recognizable element of electric blues, particularly Chicago blues. ~AMG

The Best Of Harmonica Blues mc
The Best Of Harmonica Blues zippy

---

Various Artists - Sweet 'N' Tough: The Blues From Chicago

Year: 1996
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:43
Size: 165,0 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Scans: Full

1. Charlie Musselwhite - The Blues Overtook Me (4:44)
2. Maurice John Vaughan - Watching Your Watch (4:56)
3. Billy Boy Arnold - Fool For You (3:36)
4. A.C. Reed - My Buddy Buddy Friends (3:17)
5. Son Seals - Gentleman From The Windy City (4:09)
6. Lonnie Brooks - A Man's Got To Do What A Man's Got To Do (4:05)
7. Hound Dog Taylor - She's Gone (3:52)
8. Big Walter Horton - Christine (4:02)
9. The Jimmy Johnson Band - Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody's Home (4:45)
10. The Sons Of Blues/Chi-Town Hustlers - The Only Thing That Saved Me (3:18)
11. Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials - Everything I Do Brings Me Closer To The Blues (4:10)
12. Albert Collins - Master Charge (5:11)
13. The Kinsey Report - Love's Overdue (3:32)
14. Carey Bell - Tired Of Giving You My Love (3:52)
15. Fenton Robinson - I'm So Tired (3:55)
16. Detroit Junior - If I Hadn't Been High (4:05)
17. James Cotton - High Compression (2:43)
18. Big Twist & The Mellow Fellows - The Sweet Sound Of Rhythm & Blues (3:21)

To call Chicago the 'Home Of The Blues' is something of a misnomer, for the music that brought the city its reputation was made by generations of musicians who migrated from the southern states of Arkansas, Tennessee and especially Mississippi. Each brought his own particular experience and expertise, and Chicago's clubs and bars became the melting pot in which all these different elements were fused.

The blues is more popular today than it's ever been. The bedrock of its appeal remains as strong as ever and Chicago remains its strongest bastion. Sweet 'N' Tough encompasses this intriguing music in all its facets. /Excerpts from the liner notes by Neil Slaven

Sweet 'N' Tough: The Blues From Chicago mc
Sweet 'N' Tough: The Blues From Chicago zippy

---

Various Artists - Harp Blues

Year: 1999
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:15
Size: 161,2 MB
Styles: Harmonica blues
Scans: Full

1. Papa George Lightfoot - Wine, Women, Whiskey (2:15)
2. Jimmy Rogers w. Big Walter Horton - Walking By Myself (2:49)
3. Doctor Ross - Chicago Breakdown (2:56)
4. Sonny Boy Williamson - Ninety Nine (2:40)
5. Jerry 'Boogie' McCain - Steady (1:57)
6. Cousin Leroy - Up The River (2:45)
7. Little Junior Parker - Sweet Home Chicago (2:47)
8. Sammy Myers - Sleeping In The Ground (2:38)
9. Shy Guy Douglas - Monkey Doin' Woman (2:38)
10. Jimmy Reed - Found Love (2:22)
11. Little Walter & His Jukes - Roller Coaster (2:55)
12. Frank Frost - Ride With Your Daddy Tonight (2:40)
13. Junior Wells - All Night Long (Rock Me Baby) (3:48)
14. Eddie Hope & The Manish Boys - A Fool No More (2:23)
15. Howlin' Wolf - Howlin' Wolf Boogie (2:39)
16. Shakey Horton - Need My Baby (2:18)
17. Little Willie Foster - Little Girl (2:33)
18. Sonny Boy Williamson - Bring Another Half Pint (3:06)
19. Billy Boy - I Ain't Got You (2:15)
20. Jimmy & Walter - Easy (I Almost Lost My Mind) (3:01)
21. Chicago Sunny Boy (Joe Hill Louis) - Western Union Man (3:10)
22. Shy Guy Douglas - What's This I Hear? (2:59)
23. James Cotton - Rocket 88 (2:05)
24. George 'Harmonica' Smith - West Helena Blues (3:37)
25. Snooky Pryor - Boogie Twist (2:46)

It's hard to think of another musical instrument that is so closely associated with the blues as the humble harmonica or "harp". Since the 1920s - one hundred years after its invention - blues musicians have taken advantage of its low cost, volume and portability and have made some of the most influential of 20th century music. In the hands of early masters like DeFord Bailey and Jaybird Coleman the harp rose above its earlier status of a simple novelty instrument, while Jazz Gillum and John Lee "Sonny Boy #1" Williamson helped to define the sound of post-war blues bands. From the early 1950s, the harmonica became a key component of the blues almost entirely due to the recordings of the musicians on this compilation.

A quick glance at the track listing reveals that just about every post-war harmonica player of note is here together with some rather more (undeservedly) obscure names. (No Sonny Terry, you say? Well, he's blowing on Cousin Leroy's "Up The River"). Legendary figures rub shoulders with rather less familiar names. To the initiated, however, Eddie Hope's "A Fool No More", Papa Lightfoot's "Wine, Women And Whiskey" and Little Willy Foster's "Little Girl" are long-time classics. Legendary Sun recordings like Jimmy (de Berry) & Walter (Horton)'s "Easy" and Dr Ross' "Chicago Breakdown" are interspersed with masterpieces from the Chess studios by Little Walter ("Juke") and Jimmy Rogers ("If It Ain't Me") and Muddy Waters, Otis Spann, Champion Jack Dupree, Willie Dixon, Bo Diddley and Eddie Taylor are among the accompanists. Recorded between 1947 and 1968, this collection includes several of the greatest examples of harp blues ever recorded.

Harp Blues mc
Harp Blues zippy

---

Various - Sun Blues Archive

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:15
Size: 119.6 MB
Styles: Assorted blues styles
Year: 2012
Art: Front

[2:47] 1. Rufus Thomas - Tiger Man
[3:09] 2. Howlin' Wolf - Decoration Day
[2:57] 3. James Cotton - Cotton Crop Blues
[2:22] 4. Little Junior Parker - Mystery Train
[2:30] 5. Albert Williams - Rhumba Chillen
[2:56] 6. Pinetop Perkins - Pinetop's Boogie
[2:29] 7. Mose Vinson - Forty Four Blues
[2:57] 8. Walter Horton - Grandma Told Grandpa
[2:44] 9. Earl Hooker - Blue Guitar
[2:45] 10. Willie Nix - Baker Shop Boogie
[3:12] 11. Sleepy John Estes - Policy Man
[2:31] 12. Little Milton - Next Time I See You Baby
[3:18] 13. Kenneth Banks - Blue Man
[2:41] 14. Joe Hill Louis - Gotta Go Baby (Gotta Let You Go)
[2:58] 15. Jimmy And Walter - Before Long
[3:02] 16. Harmonica Frank - Rockin Chair Blues
[1:56] 17. Frank Frost - Crawl Back
[2:21] 18. Billy The Kid Emerson - Feel So Good
[2:31] 19. Dr. Ross - Juke Box Boogie

The Sun Sound began when Sam Phillips launched his record company in February of 1952. He named it Sun Records as a sign of his perpetual optimism: a new day and a new beginning. Sam rented a small space at 706 Union Avenue for his own all-purpose studio. The label was launched amid a growing number of independent labels. In a short while Sun gained the reputation throughout Memphis as a label that treated local artists with respect and honesty. Sam provided a non-critical, spontaneous environment that invited creativity and vision.

As a businessman, Phillips was patient and willing to listen to almost anyone who came in off the street to record. Memphis was a happy home to a diverse musical scene: gospel, blues, hillbilly, country, boogie, and western swing. Taking advantage of this range of talent, there were no style limitations at the label. In one form or another Sun recorded them all. Sam Phillips was responsible for some of the most legendary and influential rock 'n' roll recordings of all time, but blues was his first and greatest love, and so the Sun Records vaults are full of seminal blues sides from which this collection draws quite the bounty!

Sun Blues Archive

---

Walter Horton - Mouth Harp Maestro

Year: 1988
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:12
Size: 108,3 MB
Styles: Harmonica blues
Scans: Full

1. Jumpin' Blues (2:17)
2. Black Gal (2:59)
3. Hard Hearted Woman (2:42)
4. Go Long Woman (3:03)
5. What's The Matter With You (Take 2) (2:17)
6. Cotton Patch Hot Foot (2:36)
7. Little Boy Blue (Take 2) (2:58)
8. Walter's Blues (Take 1) (3:10)
9. Blues In The Morning (2:52)
10. Now Tell Me Baby (3:07)
11. Walter's Blues (Take 2) (2:39)
12. What's the Matter With You (Take 1) (2:30)
13. Little Boy Blue (Take 1) (3:01)
14. Boogie Woogie Boogie (2:45)
15. Sufficient Clothes (3:57)
16. Miss Darling (4:12)

Long before he arrived in Chicago, Horton was knocking 'em dead with his amplified harmonica wizardry in Memphis. Sam Phillips produced the classic sides that comprise much of this album in 1951, when Horton was billed as "Mumbles." Sizzling backup by guitarists Joe Hill Louis and Calvin Newborn urged the introverted harp giant on to dazzling heights on his earliest sides as a leader. /Bill Dahl

Mouth Harp Maestro mc
Mouth Harp Maestro zippy

---

Walter Horton - Fine Cuts

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:36
Size: 83.8 MB
Styles: Chicago blues
Year: 1978/2009
Art: Front

[3:00] 1. Everybody's Fishin'
[2:12] 2. Don't Get Around Much Anymore
[4:13] 3. Relaxin'
[4:16] 4. We Gonna Move To Kansas City
[4:18] 5. Walter's Swing
[1:16] 6. Hobo Blues
[3:30] 7. Stop Clownin'
[3:11] 8. Need My Baby
[3:01] 9. La Cucaracha
[3:54] 10. Worried Life
[3:39] 11. Put The Kettle On

Horton was tragically underrecorded as a bandleader; this album certainly attests to his talents in that regard, whether romping through a joyous "Everybody's Fishin'" or elegantly exmaining the tonal possibilities of the Duke Ellington chestnut "Don't Get Around Much Anymore." John Nicholas provides sympathetic backing on both guitar and piano, and Kaz Kazanoff is the stellar saxman. ~Bill Dahl

Fine Cuts mc
Fine Cuts zippy

---