Watch T-Bone Walker perform ‘Call It Stormy Monday’:
Born in Texas in 1920, T-Bone (Aaron Thibeaux) Walker is considered to be the godfather of electric blues guitar, influencing countless players from B.B. King to Eric Clapton and Gary Moore. A showman as well as a unique artist, his stunts such as plucking the strings with his teeth and doing the splits while playing were imitated by the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Chuck Berry.
He enjoyed his heyday during the late Forties and early Fifties, recording his classic and much covered ‘Call It Stormy Money’ in September 1947, but by 1955, years of touring and heavy drinking started to take their toll on his health and he was eclipsed by the new wave of American rock’n'roll and soul artists.
However, the up-and-coming British musicians of the early Sixties were fascinated by traditional blues and so he found a new audience on this side of the Atlantic, impressing a whole new generation of guitarists. When he performed at the Marquee club, Gary Farr and the T-Bones had their chance to back their mentor.
Walker continued to tour and record, receiving a Grammy for his album ‘Good Feeling’ in 1970, until his death from pneumonia in 1975.