T-Bone Walker
Born Aaron Thibeault Walker in May of 1910, T-Bone single-handedly revolutionized western culture as a whole, and modern music in particular, by introducing the electric lead guitar into the blues. His fluid phrasing in both instrument and voice have gone on to form the foundation which legends like Chuck Berry, B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Johnny Winter, Duane Allman, and Jimi Hendrix have freely admitted to building their own legacies upon.
It is ironic then, that a musician of such far-reaching influence as T-Bone would have first made a name for himself by letting his feet do the talking as a dancer, first for his stepfather’s weekend band and then later for the legendary Cab Calloway. But his fancy footwork served him well, for it not only made him a fantastic showman, but endowed him with a unique mastery of rhythm and timing.
It was his first offering to Black & White Records in 1947, that embedded his music into the imaginations of musicians and audiences the world over. “They Call It Stormy Monday” not only became a radio mainstay, but can be effortlessly cited as the epicenter of the enormous blues explosion of the late ‘40s and early ‘50s, and thus the subsequent invention of a new genre called “rock n’roll” thereafter.
“Selected by The U.S. National Recording Preservation Board for inclusion in the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry of “sound recordings that are culturally, historically or aesthetically significant”
“One of the most influential records not only in blues history, but in guitar history.”
In 1960, Lester Sill met T-Bone through a series of events beginning with Randy Wood at Dot Records. Pat Boone wanted to record the song and Randy reached out to Lester. T-Bone agreed to have Lester represent the song's publishing interests through Gregmark, and this was the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship with T-Bone and his family.
T-Bone spent most of the ‘60s by mesmerizing audiences throughout Europe and rang in the ‘70s by winning a Grammy for the album Good Feelin’. Though T-Bone would leave this world a few years later in body, his spirit lives on not only in the generations to come that will discover his artistry, but also through his daughter, Bernita Walker, who has dedicated her life to affecting social change in her own way via Project Peacemakers, a domestic abuse agency that offers support groups, education, and anger management courses: https://www.projectpeacemakersinc.org
Lester Sill pictured with Bernita Walker (T-Bones Daughter) Rock And Roll Hall of Fame Awards (1987)
“A Month Of Mondays If that doesn’t give you the blues, nothing will.
Norman Pearlstine ranks his favorite versions of the classic “Stormy Monday Blues” —one for every doggone working day of the month.”
Blues Hall of Fame in 1980
Stormy Monday - The T-Bone Walker Story by Helen Oakley Dance, was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001