Between 1952 and ’55, blues harmonica player Marion “Little Walter” Jacobs was an ever-present figure on Billboard’s R&B charts. His debut hit, Juke, an infectious harmonica-led instrumental cut when he was still a sideman with Muddy Waters’ band, stayed at the top of the charts for two months in the summer of ’52. It kick-started a phenomenal run of Stateside chart success for Jacobs, who racked up a dozen consecutive Top 10 smashes for the Chess subsidiary, Checker, in a fertile three-year period.
Sadly, from 1956 onwards, Little Walter’s career witnessed a dramatic commercial decline that coincided with the rock’n’roll explosion. This magnificent retrospective spreads 126 tracks across five CDs and re-affirms why Little Walter has a special place in the blues pantheon. Sound-wise, he was undoubtedly a pioneer. Until Little Walter’s arrival the harmonica was dismissed as a novelty instrument but his virtuosity, coupled with the innovative use of electric amplification, resulted in a compelling blues style that was much imitated. Besides the big hits, including a second US chart-topper, My Babe, there are loads of alternate takes and nine previously unissued sides (one of which, A Pair, features the late Bo Diddley), as well as informative sleevenotes.
