Phillip Walker (February 11, 1937 – July 22, 2010) was an American

electric blues Electric blues refers to any type of blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplifier, amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the ...

guitarist, most noted for his 1959

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

, "Hello My Darling", produced by J. R. Fulbright. Although Walker continued playing throughout his life, he recorded more sparsely.

Life and career

Walker grew up in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and learned to play guitar in his teens in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. He worked with

Lonesome Sundown Cornelius Green III (December 12, 1928 – April 23, 1995), known professionally as Lonesome Sundown, was an American blues musician, best known for his swamp blues recordings for Excello Records in the 1950s and early 1960s. Early life Green ...

and

Lonnie Brooks Lonnie Brooks (born Lee Baker Jr., December 18, 1933 – April 1, 2017) was an American blues singer and guitarist. The musicologist Robert Palmer, writing in ''Rolling Stone'', stated, "His music is witty, soulful and ferociously energetic, b ...

, and briefly joined

Clifton Chenier Clifton Chenier (June 25, 1925 – December 12, 1987), was an American Creole musician known as a pioneer of zydeco, a style of music which arose from Creole music, with R&B, blues, and Cajun influences. He sang and played the accordion and w ...

's band in the 1950s. By the 1960s he was in a R&B band in Los Angeles with his wife Ina, who used the stage name Bea Bopp. His album ''Bottom of the Top'' was released by

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

in 1973. Further albums were released on Black Top, Hightone, JSP, Joliet, and

Rounder Records Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by Al ...

. Walker was also known for his variety of styles and the changes he would often make for each album. Not until 1969 did he begin to record more regularly, when he joined with the record producer,

Bruce Bromberg Bruce Bromberg (October 31, 1941 - December 27, 2021) was an American Grammy Award winning producer of blues music. He was born in Chicago, and raised there and in Park Forest, Illinois. In 1958 he moved with his family to Los Angeles, and beg ...

. He appeared on show 237 of the

WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour The '' WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour'' is a radio program created, produced, and hosted by folksinger Michael Johnathon. Background WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour is a live audience celebration of grassroots music and the artists who make it. T ...

in 2002 when ''Live at Biscuits & Blues'' had just been released. Walker's final studio release is ''Going Back Home'' (2007) on

Delta Groove Productions Delta Groove Productions is an American blues record label in Van Nuys, California, United States. The label was founded by Randy Chortkoff ( Rand Jay Chortkoff; 1949–2015), a producer, concert promoter, and harmonica player. Chortkoff's bi ...

Death

On July 22, 2010, Delta Groove Productions issued an email statement regarding Walker's death: "It is with deepest sorrow that we report on the sudden and unexpected passing of legendary blues guitarist Phillip Walker. He died of apparent heart failure at 4:30 AM, early Thursday morning, July 22, 2010. He was 73 years old."

Discography

*1973 ''Bottom of the Top'' (Playboy) *1977 ''Someday You'll Have These Blues'' (Joliet) *1980 ''The Blues Show! Live at Pit Inn'' (Yupiteru) *1982 ''From L.A. to L.A.'' (Rounder) *1984 ''Tough As I Want to Be'' (Rounder) *1988 ''Blues'' (Hightone) *1994 ''Big Blues from Texas'' (JSP) *1995 '' Working Girl Blues'' (Black Top) *1998 ''I Got a Sweet Tooth'' (Black Top) *1999 ''Lone Star Shootout'' with Lonnie Brooks and Long John Hunter (Alligator) *2002 ''Live at Biscuits & Blues'' (M.C.) *2007 ''Going Back Home'' (Delta Groove Productions)

References

External links

Phillip Walker discography from Music City
* Allmusic.com artist overviewbr>Official websiteWoodSongs Archive
Audio and Video links at show 237 {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Phillip American blues singers American blues guitarists American male guitarists Black Top Records artists 1937 births 2010 deaths Singers from Louisiana People from Welsh, Louisiana Guitarists from Louisiana 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians