Little Walter discography

Little Walter (1930–1968) was an American blues artist who is generally regarded as the most influential blues harmonica player of his era.^[1] Most of his earliest recordings were as a sideman, when he contributed harmonica to songs by Chicago blues musicians such as Jimmy Rogers and Muddy Waters.^[2] As the featured artist, he recorded the instrumental "Juke" in 1952. The single reached number one on the Billboard Rhythm and Blues chart^[a] and launched his career as a solo artist.^[2]

A string of popular singles followed, including "Mean Old World", "Blues with a Feeling", and "Key to the Highway".^[2] His "My Babe" was one of the biggest R&B sellers of 1955.^[4] In addition to his solo career, Little Walter continued to record harmonica for songs by other artists. His harmonica can be heard on many of Muddy Waters' most famous songs, such as "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You", and "Got My Mojo Working".^[5][6]

Little Walter recorded at a time when blues musicians were primarily singles artists. His records were released on Checker Records, run by the Chess brothers, Leonard and Phil.^[7] The one album released during his lifetime is a compilation issued by Chess Records, titled The Best of Little Walter (1958).^[8] Rolling Stone magazine ranked it at number 198 in its list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".^[9] Little Walter died in 1968, a time when interest in electric blues shifted the focus from singles to albums. Chess continued to issue compilations of his earlier singles as well as previously unreleased recordings.^[2] In 2009, The Complete Chess Masters: 1950–1967 was issued by the Checker/Chess successor, Hip-O Records/Universal. The five compact disc box set contains 126 recordings and is believed to represent all of his solo recordings. In 2010, the set received a Grammy Award for Best Historical Album.^[10]

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