The Best of Little Walter is the first LP record by American blues performer Little Walter.[5] First released in 1958, the compilation album contains ten Little Walter songs that appeared in the Top 10 of the Billboard R&B chart from 1952 to 1955,[8] plus two B-sides. The album was first released by Checker Records as LP-1428, which was the first LP record released by Checker, and then released on Chess Records with the same catalog number.[3]
| The Best of Little Walter | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Greatest hits album by | ||||
| Released | 1958 | |||
| Recorded | May 12, 1952 – January 25, 1955 in Chicago, Illinois[1][2] | |||
| Genre | Chicago blues | |||
| Length | 35:44 | |||
| Label | Checker LP 1428[3] | |||
| Producer | Leonard Chess, Phil Chess, Willie Dixon | |||
| Little Walter chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [4] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [5] |
| Record Mirror | [6] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [7] |
The album has been reissued numerous times, although it has been largely superseded by the twenty-song collection Little Walter His Best: Chess 50th Anniversary Collection.
Artwork and packaging edit
The album cover features a black-and-white photo portrait shot by Grammy award winning photographer Don Bronstein of Little Walter holding/playing a Hohner 64 Chromatic harmonica and liner notes by Studs Terkel, who had written Giants of Jazz. The original LP featured a black label.
Accolades edit
In 1991, The Best of Little Walter was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in the "Classics of Blues Recordings – Album" category.[3] In 2003, the album was ranked #198 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".[9]
Track listing edit
All tracks are written by Walter Jacobs (Little Walter), except where noted
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "My Babe" (Willie Dixon) | 2:44 |
| 2. | "Sad Hours" | 3:15 |
| 3. | "You're So Fine" | 3:07 |
| 4. | "Last Night" | 2:46 |
| 5. | "Blues with a Feeling" (Rabon Tarrant, re-written by Jacobs) | 3:10 |
| 6. | "Can't Hold Out Much Longer" | 3:03 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Juke" | 2:47 |
| 2. | "Mean Old World" (T-Bone Walker, re-written by Jacobs) | 2:57 |
| 3. | "Off the Wall" | 2:52 |
| 4. | "You Better Watch Yourself" | 3:04 |
| 5. | "Blue Light" | 3:14 |
| 6. | "Tell Me Mamma" | 2:47 |
Personnel edit
The following people contributed to the Best of Little Walter:[1][2]
- Little Walter – lead vocals, harmonica
- Muddy Waters – guitar on "Juke" and "Can't Hold Out Much Longer"
- Jimmy Rogers – guitar on "Juke" and "Can't Hold Out Much Longer"
- David Myers – guitar
- Louis Myers – guitar
- Leonard Caston – guitar on "My Babe"
- Robert Lockwood Jr. – guitar on "My Babe"
- Willie Dixon – bass, producer
- Elgin Evans – drums on "Juke" and "Can't Hold Out Much Longer"
- Fred Below – drums
- Studs Terkel – sleeve notes
Singles chart edit
The songs "Juke" and "My Babe" peaked at #1 on Billboard magazine's R&B Singles chart. "Sad Hours", "You're So Fine", and "Blues with a Feeling" made it to #2 on the same chart. "Last Night" and "Mean Old World" peaked at #6, "Off the Wall" and "You Better Watch Yourself" reached #8, and "Tell Me Mama" made it to #10.[8]
Release history edit
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 1958 | Checker/Chess Records | LP | 1428 |
| United States | 1967 | Checker Records | LP | 3004 |
| United States | 1988 | MCA Records/Chess Records | LP | CH-9192 |
| Cassette | CHC-9192 | |||
| CD | CHD-9192 |
References edit
- ^ a b George R. White; Robert L. Campbell; Tom Kelly. "The Chess Label Part I (1950–1952)". Robert Campbell. Clemson, South Carolina: Clemson University. Retrieved March 9, 2011.
- ^ a b George R. White; Robert L. Campbell; Tom Kelly. "The Chess Label Part II (1953–1955)". Robert Campbell. Clemson, South Carolina: Clemson University. Retrieved March 9, 2011.
- ^ a b c Past Hall of Fame Inductees Archived 2012-07-17 at the Wayback Machine. Blues Foundation. Go under 1991 Hall of Fame Inductees and click on The Best of Little Walter--Little Walter (Checker, 1958) to view the album review.
- ^ AllMusic
- ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 5. MUZE. pp. 273–274.
- ^ Jopling, Norman (10 October 1964). "Little Walter: The Best Of Little Watler" (PDF). Record Mirror. No. 187. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
- ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 354–355.
- ^ a b Whiburn, Joel (1988). Top R&B Singles 1942-1988. Record Research. p. 613. ISBN 0-89820-068-7.
- ^ "#198 The Best of Little Walter". Rolling Stone. 2003. Archived from the original on June 12, 2010. Retrieved September 20, 2010.