(1910 -
1975)
(born May 28, 1910, Linden,
Texas; died March 16, 1975, Los Angeles,
California)
Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker was a
creator of modern blues and a pioneer in the
development of the electric guitar sound that
shaped virtually all of popular music in the
post-World War II period. Equally important,
Walker was the quintessential blues
guitarist. He influenced virtually every
major post-World War II guitarist.
No one has been able
to match Walker's incredible command of tone and
dynamics, his intricate jazz-flavored chording, or
his ability to sustain excitement, both in what he
played and how he played it.
Walker was the master
of the shuffle rhythm, and an incredibly effective
soloist. Few guitarist, blues, rock, or
otherwise, have played with more self-assurance and
more presence, or have exhibited more intimate
understanding of how to elicit precisely phrased
sounds from the instrument, than Walker.
Robert
Santelli
-- The Big Book of Blues : A Biographical
Encyclopedia
