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Call It Stormy Monday
Aaron Thibeaux (T-Bone) Walker was ranked number 47 on the list of greatest guitarists by Rolling Stone. Here is the listing:
T-Bone Walker invented the guitar solo as we know it — he was the guy who figured out how to make an electric guitar cry and moan. Born in Texas in 1910, he was a bluesman touring the South by the age of fifteen. As early as 1935, he was playing primitive electric-guitar models. But he shocked everyone with his 1942 debut single, "Mean Old World," playing bent notes, vibrato sobs and more wild new electric sounds that other guitarists hadn't even dreamed of. Walker invented a new musical language, from the urban flash of "The Hustle Is On" to the dread of "Stormy Monday." Through the Forties and Fifties, he led his suave L.A. jump-blues combo on classics such as "You're My Best Poker Hand," "I Know Your Wig Is Gone" and "Long Skirt Baby Blues."
Here is the beginning of his bio at The Texas State Historical Society:
T-Bone Walker also known as Oak Cliff T-Bone, the only son of Rance and Movelia (Jamison, Jimerson) Walker, was born Aaron Thibeaux Walker in Linden, Texas, on May 28, 1910. Looking for a better future for her son, his mother left her husband and moved to Dallas, where Aaron attended Northwest Hardee School through the seventh grade. His mother played guitar, and his stepfather, Marco Washington, played bass and several other instruments. Family friendship with Blind Lemon Jefferson and Huddie Ledbetter familiarized him with the blues from infancy. T-Bone was recruited to lead Jefferson around the Central Avenue area, and he absorbed the legendary musician's style. While still in his teens, Walker met and married Vida Lee; they had three children. Continue Reading...
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