CD Edition limited to 5000 non-numbered limited edition copies.

RELEASE DATE: March 6, 2009

As shown in the Chess Records bio film, “Cadillac Records,” in the world of pop, rock and blues harmonica, there are two distinct eras: before Little Walter and post Little Walter. A featured player in the story of Chess, Walter took a mostly dismissed instrument and elevated it to a centerpiece of the rock and blues world by coupling it with cheap microphones and easily overloaded amplifiers. The effect created a totally new spectrum of sounds, and made Marion Walter Jacobs a deity of the harmonica thereafter.

It also didn’t hurt that Little Walter had a string of 14 Top 10 R&B hits between 1952 and 1958, including a pair of #1s, “Juke” and “My Babe.” Walter also recorded virtually a blues songbook, songs that have been played in bars, on stages and on record by untold bands ever since: “You’re So Fine,” “Blues With A Feeling,” “Mean Old World,’ “Boom, Boom Out Go The Lights,” “Key To The Highway,” and “Confessin’ The Blues,” among others. 

Made for Chess Records between 1950 and 1967, the 126 recordings on the five CDs here present an amazing recorded portrait by this gifted performer. Starting with a Walter lead recorded with Muddy Waters in 1950, this set contains all of his solo masters for the label, featuring all of the hits and 9 previously unreleased recordings including a pair of songs recorded with Bo Diddley, “Feel So Bad” and “Make It Alright.” The majority of these recordings have not been available anywhere for well over a decade.

There are also complete track by track credits, numerous period photos, and extensive liner notes by Tony Glover, Scott Dirks & Ward Gaines, the authors of the definitive Little Walter biography, “Blues With A Feeling/The Little Walter Story.”   

-        126 Killer Blues Tracks On 5 CDs
-        9 Previously Unreleased Recordings Including A Pair with Bo Diddley
-         Includes #1 R&B hits “Juke” and “My Babe” and 12 Other Top 10 R&B Hits
-        Track By Track Credits
-        Extensive Liner Notes by Little Walter Biographers Tony Glover, Scott Dirks & Ward Gaines