Bman's Blues Report

It is a matter of public record that Phillip Walker was born in Welsh, Louisiana, February 11, 1937. Phillip was the seventh of twelve children of Malvin and Viola Weber Walker, sharecroppers who were married at ages 14 and 13 and began raising a family when they were only children themselves. Malvin was a smart hardworking farmer who always managed, somehow, to keep a roof over the heads of his family. Malvin could fix anything, and Phillip seems to have followed in his dad's footsteps with a mechanical aptitude nothing short of amazing. When Phillip was 8 years old his family moved to Port Arthur, Texas. It is this combination of Louisiana Creole, French, and Indian (his mother’s mother was full-blooded Cherokee), and Texas western gunslinger that combines to prod Phillip’s unique speech patterns, accent and dialect. His mother spoke in the French Creole dialect (Cajun) of the area. Things went smoothly in Port Arthur for a while, but by the time he was 12 years old, his father’s...

Phillip Walker (February 11, 1937 – July 22, 2010) was an American electric blues guitarist, most noted for his 1959 hit single, "Hello My Darling", produced by J. R. Fulbright. Although Walker continued playing throughout his life, he recorded more sparsely. Walker grew up on the Texas Gulf Coast, and by his mid-teens was playing guitar in Houston. He worked with Lonesome Sundown (and would do so again in the 1970s) and Lonnie Brooks. In the mid 1950s he had a spell in Clifton Chenier's band. He spent the 1960s in Los Angeles, California leading a band that played a catholic repertoire of the R&B chart music, joined by his singing wife Ina, alias Bea Bopp. Walker was also known for his variety of styles and the changes he would often make for each album. Not until 1969 did he begin to record more regularly when he joined with producer Bruce Bromberg. Since then, fans had a more steady supply of Walker's music. He appeared on show 237 of the WoodSongs Old-Time Rad...

Phillip Walker (February 11, 1937 – July 22, 2010) was an American contemporary blues guitarist, most noted for his 1959 hit single, "Hello My Darling", produced by J. R. Fulbright. Although Walker continued playing throughout his life, he recorded more sparsely. Walker grew up on the Texas Gulf Coast, and by his mid-teens was playing guitar in Houston. He worked with Lonesome Sundown (and would do so again in the 1970s) and Lonnie Brooks. In the mid 1950s he had a spell in Clifton Chenier's band. He spent the 1960s in Los Angeles, California leading a band that played a catholic repertoire of the R&B chart music, joined by his singing wife Ina, alias Bea Bopp. Singles furnished his album Bottom of the Top (Playboy, 1973), succeeded by sets for Joliet, Rounder, Hightone, JSP and Black Top. Walker was also known for his variety of styles and the changes he would often make for each album. Not until 1969 did he begin to record more regularly when he joined with producer...