Why T bone walker does not get the same recognition as Robert Johnson or Muddy?

Question

I have been listening to the blues for over 5 years and have over 80 albums, somebody recommended T bone to me and i listened to two of his albums recorded in the 1940's and they blew me away. So why doesn't he enjoy the same level of publicity as Johnson and muddy ( Especially with Johnson's not so good quality).Please answer this question this seriously, as it is very important to mr, and please please listen to the album T bone Blues...It has been in my itunes for over a week and all song have been played over 250 times each....this is music!

Answer 1

People who know the history of blues music realize that T-Bone Walker was one of the great innovators of the blues and he contributed significantly to the creation of modern blues music. I'm not too sure that he doesn't get the same recognition that others do: if not, perhaps it's because his records stopped charting in the late 1940s or because he never recorded for Chess. Or, perhaps it's because Stormy Monday Blues is one main song that is associated with him. Musicians like Muddy (Hoochie Coochie Man, Mannish Boy, Got My Mojo Working) and Wolf (Smokestack Lightning, Evil, Killing Floor, Red Rooster) are associated with numerous tunes. But, serious students of the blues know who Walker was and the place that he deserves in the history of the music. I also recommend "The Complete Imperial Recordings " 1991 EMI

Hope this helps.

EDIT:

There are 2 CDs titled "T-Bone Blues". In his book "Blues 100 Essential CDs" Greg Ward chose the

2000 release by Catfish which covers his career from 1940-1947 http://www.allmusic.com/album/t-bone-blues-catfish-r514029

There is also the 1989 equally fantastic release by Atlantic which contains his work from the 1950s.

Answer 2

Maybe it's because Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters played in the more popular Chicago/Delta Blues style, but T-Bone Walker was more known for his Texas-California/West-Coast Blues style. T-Bone's Jump-Blues and Jazz sounds were eclipsed by more modern blues. After his 1960's and 70's U.S. and European tours, he was known as 'The Father Of Electric Blues'. Muddy and Robert have become cultural icons, but T-Bone's noted as more of an innovator. He's one of my main singing-style heros. 'T-Bone'(Aaron Thibeaux)Walker was really an all-around showman/guitarist/composer/singer. He patented the basic vocabulary of the Blues. You can hear his influence in the playing of nearly every guitarist across the board. One of his most noted innovations on electric guitar was his highlighting of the b7th, and 6th and 9th degrees. The famous sliding 6th/9th blues lick, '12/8 phrased as 4/4 time' and the '9th Lick' in Stormy Monday have become standards in Blues music. A few heavily T-Bone influenced Blues guys are: Gatemouth Brown, Otis Rush, Johnny 'Guitar' Watson, Chuck Berry, Michael Bloomfield, Jimi Hendrix, Ronnie Earl, Duke Robillard, and Jimmy Page (that solo outro in 'Stairway To Heaven' is a T-Bone riff).

Answer 3

Robert Johnson in straightforward terms b/c of his unique sound and tone. he's in extraordinarily a lot a classification of his very own to no longer say the Muddy Waters didnt play an considerable area as properly. i in my opinion somewhat pay attention to Muddy Waters somewhat than Robert Johnson yet i think that Robert Johnson performed alarge function in placing the criteria for blues. basically my opionion.....

Answer 4

no idea. its a funny thing, what makes it into the popular consciousness. blues people know t-bone, music people know t-bone. and the things he did are typically the sort of things that get a person into the popular consciousness. he is key to developing electric guitar both in blues and really in popular music in general, and he is an innovator to a lot of the sort of showmanship tricks that we associate with a modern show. when you think about it, if you compare robert johnson to t-bone walker, they are contemporaries although t-bone lived longer, only robert is the last big name to play in the pre-war style of blues and t-bone is basically the first big name to play in the post-war style of blues. you would expect the innovator to be the more well known figure, especially since he is the better showman to boot. and this is nothing against rj, who i enjoy quite a bit.

Answer 5

Some good answers already, particularly from my "blues brothers" Kman and Wire & String. In my opinion, you are correct that T-Bone is under-appreciated with respect to others like Muddy and Johnson, even among the blues community. To understand why, you need to trace the course of blues popularity from the mid-50s through to the present. Blues had already lost much of its core, Black, audience to various forms of R&B, Jazz, and cultural nuances that would take too long to delineate here. Then...Rock & Roll hit. That eliminated virtually all of the remaining Black audience. For better or worse, it was white kids that kept the blues alive. Bored with much of the Rock & Roll they were being fed by an industry that saw huge dollar signs (think teen idols, manufactured groups, older pop stars jumping on the R&R bandwagon), hordes of white college kids turned to folk (the folk revival). Hearing people like Dylan, Dave Van Ronk, Tom Rush, Koerner, Ray & Glover, etc. doing blues songs, they began to get interested in hearing the original sources. Combined with a taste for more authentic, honest music (acquired from Folk), they began to "rediscover" people like John Hurt, Fred McDowell, Son House, Gary Davis, etc. Because T-Bone (and many seminal blues artists) had a more urban sound, they were passed over in favor of anyone who sounded closer to their expectations of what a "bluesman" should sound like. And in Robert Johnson's case, timing played a huge part in his status up to this day-the release of King Of The Delta Blues Singers in '61 couldn't have come at a more critical point. To white college kids just discovering blues, it was like manna from heaven.

Answer 6

B B King never denied that T Bone Walker was a geat blues musician and gave him credit for his style. Check out this video of the two of them jamming together.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0q_EEugHw8



Here's T Bone playing Stormy Monday

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVR8lg1YLuc



Allman Brothers giving credit to T Bone and playing Stormy Monday

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gDhR1R3S0s



And every time someone plays Stormy Monday they are giving a nod to T Bone.



Albert King & John Mayall

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FreJv-QABXA



Here's T Bone in 1940 playing & singing T Bone Blues

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Kn9zD5CqNw



The only reason I can think of why you might not here more of T Bone is people are always looking for something new to listen to and forget about where all this good music came from.

Answer 7

I don't like Tbone. I don't really like Johnsons playing.



Tbone walker gets a lot of credit! Look at All the questions that read, "Who was the greatest blues player of all time?".



Tbone walker is on that list more than Any other guy. Including Muddy.

Answer 8

Wow! Five years. Hmmm, can anybody say JOHN DAWSON WINTER III, I can . Did some co- work with Muddy frm, 77-80, first band 1962, recordrd first album in 68, Blues Found Hall Fame 1988,.!! Only 80 albums? been played 250 times,? Music ? Johnny Wintet IS MUSIC! ADD him to your collection, sounds like u need to build that collection. HE has 52 gigs scheduled this year and upcoming releases, the man is also a legend, please, please, please spend five more yrs, startin to listen to Johnny Winter, The Progressive Blues Experiment, debut album 1968, thru 2011. Heres YOUR MUSIC MAN. CHK HIM OUT.

Answer 9

Music is in the ear of the beholder. Johnson is considered the Godfather of the Blues. Too bad he is in the 27 club.