Robert "Bilbo" Walker Jr. (February 19, 1937 – November 29, 2017) was an American blues musician, who is known in the blues music world due to his "rock 'n' roll showmanship" and "flamboyant

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

imitations."

Biography

Walker was born near Clarksdale, Mississippi. Walker Sr. was often referred to by his nickname, "Bilbo", which was passed on to Walker Jr., who was sometimes called "Little Junior Bilbo". Walker began to explore music after being introduced to

Ike Turner Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scout. An early pioneer of 1950s rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and ...

. After spending 17 years in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

with his friend David Porter, Walker moved to the area around Bakersfield, California and started a

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used ...

growing such commodities as

watermelon Watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family and the name of its edible fruit. A scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it is a highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000 varie ...

and

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

. During this time, he continued to perform at local bars in the California area, as well as in Chicago and Clarksdale when on visits. In 1997, Walker released his first album, ''

Promised Land The Promised Land ( he, הארץ המובטחת, translit.: ''ha'aretz hamuvtakhat''; ar, أرض الميعاد, translit.: ''ard al-mi'ad; also known as "The Land of Milk and Honey"'') is the land which, according to the Tanakh (the Hebrew ...

'', and followed it with two more records, 1998's '' Rompin' & Stompin''' and 2001's '' Rock the Night''. He appeared in the 2015 documentary film '' I Am the Blues''."Here Are 6 Must-See Music Films at Hot Docs"
'' Exclaim!'', April 19, 2016 Walker died of cancer in California at the age of 80.

Discography

*1997 ''

'' - Rooster Blues *1998 '' Rompin' & Stompin''' - Fedora *2001 '' Rock the Night'' - Rooster Blues

References

External links

*
Robert Walker
at Delta Boogie
Robert Walker
at Red's Blues Club in Clarksdale {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Robert 1937 births 2017 deaths Musicians from Clarksdale, Mississippi American blues guitarists African-American male guitarists Guitarists from Mississippi Deaths from cancer in California 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century African-American musicians 20th-century American male musicians