That Little Walter was born as Marion Walter Jacobs on May 1st appears to be widely agreed upon, but the actual year in which he arrived is subject to some debate - 1923, 1925, 1928 or 1930, take your pick. What is unarguable is that his innovative, distorted style of playing broadened the accepted scope of blues harmonica, for listeners and fellow musicians alike. What's also unarguable is the fact that he died far too soon - 44, 42, 39 or 37 years of age, depending on which of those birth-dates is the real one. Here's Walter in 1954, with 'Mellow Down Easy', a song written by the great Willie Dixon.
Early last year, while looking for a way to
increase my exercise and also see a bit
more of the countryside, I realised that I
could, if I wished, pick up the train,
travel one stop, then walk the ten miles
back home along the river that flows a few
hundred yards from our back door. With a
packed lunch and a flask of coffee it would
be the perfect jaunt. I began taking longer
local walks to build myself up for the task.
Then I had my thunderclap headache incident,
which knocked me sideways for a while. A
little later I did something nasty to a
ligament in my knee and suddenly the year
was gone.
This year I've been thoroughly enjoying
discovering new routes along the lanes,
bridleways and public right of ways that
criss-cross the countryside around our
village and once again I've been steadily
building myself up for that scenic ten mile
riverside walk home. Ten days ago the
inevitable happened. The day after my
birthday we went out for another pre-lunch
circular walk in an area we had high hopes
for, but actually turned out a bit of a
disappointment in terms of location and
scenery. Also, after about a mile, I managed
to twist my ankle, something I did with
painless regularity as a kid. Unfortunately,
the additional years on the clock and pounds
round the waist ensured that this time it
was anything but painless and it made an odd
grinding, cracking noise when it happened,
just to hammer home the point. In spite of
the discomfort, the ankle didn't swell
immediately, but a couple of days later it
really puffed up and has been swollen and
painful ever since. It's only a sprain, so
it's not the end of the world, just a bit
frustrating, but once again my very modest
perambulation plans are, for the time being,
on hold.
Here's an appropriately titled tune by the
extraordinary Willie Dixon.
