Wednesday, May 28th, 2008
“T-Bone” Walker was born today (May 28th) in 1910! Wow that means if he was alive today, he’d be 98!!! It’s a true testament to his work that, so many decades after his passing, his music continues to touch new ears on stages across the world. I’m betting there isn’t a single Blues band alive that has not played at least one T-Bone song, whether they knew it or not. Often when I’m on YouTube or Myspace, I find songs credited to more recently popular artists that were actually written by T-Bone. My favorite is “Stormy Monday.” The lyrics touch me differently every time, and no matter how hard we try it never sounds quite the same. There is simply a magic to it which takes on a life of its own. The words have a great power to them even after all these years, I think because there is still great economic struggle in our society. Though we try to ignore it, we are still a nation teeming with poor, suffering souls. T-bone’s music, like most original Blues artists’, was genuine in every sense. I can only hope to be as prolific as Walker, and I think all artists aspire to the longevity his work will undoubtedly enjoy.
Tags: Blues, guitar, legend, longevity, singer, suffering, t-bone, walker
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