Just In Case...

UPDATE: Never Mind! The Little Walter YouTube videos have already been yanked by the poster. I had a feeling that they would not be up very long. Someone will probably do it again. Guess we'll all have to buy the DVD at some point. Was planning that anyway.

Just in case you don't surf the harmonica forums and haven't been made aware of the Little Walter videos that have been posted up on YouTube, I'm going to supply a bit of information that'll lead to places chock full of LW stuff (again just in case you need to know a bit more about LW than you do).

Check out Mean Old World at www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1TM39ckWRc and an untitled instrumental at www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYUZgxOQ0DE. The importance of course is that there is VERY little film footage in existence of the greatest blues harp player, so every snippet is valuable. These are from 1967, which is late in Walter's career and he's playing acoustic and not the amplified blues harp that he set the standard for, but anyone who knows harmonica, knows just how good this stuff is.

I guess I could have embedded the videos here, but since these come from a recently released American Folk and Blues Festival Vol. 3, 1967, I don't want to get involved with issues related to copyright issues. So, click on the link while they are available. Also, click on this. If you haven't done so, get a copy of the book that these guys wrote and spend a bit more time with Little Walter. It is one of the BEST books about the blues world swirling around Chicago in the '50s and '60s and the only book dedicated to the life of one greatest stars of Chi-town Blues. Their site will link you up with the AFBF music DVDs from which these clips come. If you don't have volumes 1&2 of this series then they are must haves for all blues fans wanting to see the blues giants from America blow through Europe and blow them away with their talent. Big Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Otis Rush, Buddy Guy, Magic Sam, Willie Dixon, Lightnin' Hopkins, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, Junior Wells, Otis Spann, Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, oh and on and on...just get 'em.

This latest release is still in European DVD format, so it may or may not work in your DVD player unless it supports that region. There is also a clip of Little Walter singing and playing My Babe that the youtube poster hasn't put up yet, also with Hound Dog Taylor supplying lead guitar. The website of the DVDs has some of the great liner notes that you can read for yourself.

I posted a picture of the Little Walter bio book just for the added graphic and I don't think the authors mind if I tout the book as one the the best that I've read about the music. Their website also has information is regards to a complete Little Walter box set that'll be available next month. Hmmmm, I don't know what I'm lacking there, but I might have to bite. Anyway--'nuff for now.