ROBERT " BILBO " WALKER
Robert "bilbo" Walker - Cathead mini blues festival - Clarksdale 11 oct 2009
Robert "Bilbo" Walker Jr. (February 19, 1937 – November 29, 2017) was an American blues musician who is known in the blues music world due to his "rock 'n' roll showmanship" and "flamboyant Chuck Berry imitations."
Walker was born near Clarksdale, Mississippi. Walker Sr. was often referred to by his nickname, "Bilbo", which was then passed on to Walker Jr., who was sometimes called "Little Junior Bilbo".Walker began to explore music after his sister's boyfriend introduced him to Ike Turner.
After spending 17 years in Chicago, Illinois with his friend David Porter, Walker moved to the area around Bakersfield, California and started a farm growing such commodities as watermelon and cotton. During this time, he continued to perform at local bars in the California area, as well as in Chicago and Clarksdale when on visits.
In 1997, Walker released his first album, Promised Land, and followed it with two more records, 1998's Rompin' & Stompin' and 2001's Rock the Night.[citation needed] He appeared in the 2015 documentary film I Am the Blues.
Walker died of cancer in California at the age of 80. He was survived by a daughter and two grandsons.
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One of the last true Mississippi Delta bluesmen has died. Robert “Bilbo” Walker has gone home to the Promised Land, and surely he is finding his place among the greats. Walker, who was 80 years old, had been undergoing treatment for cancer in California. Recently, a Facebook Fundraiser had been established to help raise money for treatment and other expenses.
Walker had been busy of late, opening the Wonderlight City juke-joint outside Clarksdale, Mississippi in early 2016, and bringing his unique blues performances to Israel later that same year. In October of this year, he had taken part in the 7th annual King Biscuit Call & Response Blues Symposium with Duck Holmes, Roger Stolle, and Libby Rae Watson during the King Biscuit Blues Festival.
Robert “Bilbo” Walker Jr. was born near Clarksdale, Mississippi in 1937. Walker’s father had been referred to as “Bilbo,” and in time so was the younger Walker. After being introduced to Ike Turner, Walker developed an interest in music which he continued to pursue. He is completely self-taught and played guitar, piano, drums. He began playing guitar when he was eight years old after his father had bought him his first for $8. Later he would spend 17 years in Chicago with friend and bass player David Porter, which included time playing on Maxwell St.
Walker bought land outside Bakersfield, California and grew cotton and watermelons for the next few years. Of course, he also worked as a musician playing gigs back in Chicago and the Delta, as well as in Bakersfield.
What made Walker amazing was his showmanship, which to a large extent he gleaned from Ike Turner. Walker’s manager Roger Stolle told The Jerusalem Post in 2016, “Robert can’t read or write, and he says he stopped learning new songs in 1965. That means he plays all those things that he heard from the source, from guys like Muddy Waters and Magic Sam. He hung out with them. Robert is a living link to all those giants of the blues.”
Walker issued three albums: Promised Land on the Rooster Blues label in 1997, Rompin’ & Stompin’ on the Fedora label in 1998, and Rock the Night on the Rooster Blues label in 2001.
Robert “Bilbo” Walker will be remembered as a true Delta bluesman, bringing the traditions and the music that is the blues to fans old and new for over 60 years with honesty, heart, and panache
American Blues Scene
Robert “Bilbo” Walker has been playing blues music for over 60 years. Hailing from the same area of the Mississippi Delta as Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, B.B. King and others, Walker has become a legend of the genre in his own right. And for the past seven years, he’s been working on opening his own live music venue, known locally as a “juke joint.” Juke joints—or quasi-legal drinking establishments with live music—are a relic of blues music that were popular until about 50 years ago. Today, they’re nearly extinct. But Walker just celebrated the grand opening of Wonderlight City—a classic-style juke joint located in a remote rural area 20 miles from Clarksdale, Mississippi. With nothing but fields surrounding the establishment, this is one venue you’ll really have to go out of your way to find. But when you happen upon it, you’re in for a real treat.
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One of the last true Mississippi Delta bluesmen has died. Robert “Bilbo” Walker has gone home to the Promised Land, and surely he is finding his place among the greats. Walker, who was 80 years old, had been undergoing treatment for cancer in California. Recently, a Facebook Fundraiser had been established to help raise money for treatment and other expenses.
Walker had been busy of late, opening the Wonderlight City juke-joint outside Clarksdale, Mississippi in early 2016, and bringing his unique blues performances to Israel later that same year. In October of this year, he had taken part in the 7th annual King Biscuit Call & Response Blues Symposium with Duck Holmes, Roger Stolle, and Libby Rae Watson during the King Biscuit Blues Festival.
Robert “Bilbo” Walker Jr. was born near Clarksdale, Mississippi in 1937. Walker’s father had been referred to as “Bilbo,” and in time so was the younger Walker. After being introduced to Ike Turner, Walker developed an interest in music which he continued to pursue. He is completely self-taught and played guitar, piano, drums. He began playing guitar when he was eight years old after his father had bought him his first for $8. Later he would spend 17 years in Chicago with friend and bass player David Porter, which included time playing on Maxwell St.
Walker bought land outside Bakersfield, California and grew cotton and watermelons for the next few years. Of course, he also worked as a musician playing gigs back in Chicago and the Delta, as well as in Bakersfield.
What made Walker amazing was his showmanship, which to a large extent he gleaned from Ike Turner. Walker’s manager Roger Stolle told The Jerusalem Post in 2016, “Robert can’t read or write, and he says he stopped learning new songs in 1965. That means he plays all those things that he heard from the source, from guys like Muddy Waters and Magic Sam. He hung out with them. Robert is a living link to all those giants of the blues.”
Walker issued three albums: Promised Land on the Rooster Blues label in 1997, Rompin’ & Stompin’ on the Fedora label in 1998, and Rock the Night on the Rooster Blues label in 2001.
Robert “Bilbo” Walker will be remembered as a true Delta bluesman, bringing the traditions and the music that is the blues to fans old and new for over 60 years with honesty, heart, and panache
American Blues Scene
Robert “Bilbo” Walker has been playing blues music for over 60 years. Hailing from the same area of the Mississippi Delta as Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, B.B. King and others, Walker has become a legend of the genre in his own right. And for the past seven years, he’s been working on opening his own live music venue, known locally as a “juke joint.” Juke joints—or quasi-legal drinking establishments with live music—are a relic of blues music that were popular until about 50 years ago. Today, they’re nearly extinct. But Walker just celebrated the grand opening of Wonderlight City—a classic-style juke joint located in a remote rural area 20 miles from Clarksdale, Mississippi. With nothing but fields surrounding the establishment, this is one venue you’ll really have to go out of your way to find. But when you happen upon it, you’re in for a real treat.
SUBSCRIBE: https://goo.gl/vR6Acb
This story is a part of our Human Condition series. Come along and let us connect you to some of the most peculiar, stirring, extraordinary, and distinctive people in the world.
Got a story idea for us? Shoot us an email at hey [at] GreatBigStory [dot] com
Follow us behind the scenes on Instagram: http://goo.gl/2KABeX
Make our acquaintance on Facebook: http://goo.gl/Vn0XIZ
Give us a shout on Twitter: http://goo.gl/sY1GLY
Come hang with us on Vimeo: http://goo.gl/T0OzjV
Visit our world directly: http://www.greatbigstory.com
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