Best of Little Walter

Best of Little Walter
Greatest hits album by Little Walter
Released	1958
Recorded	May 12, 1952 – January 25, 1955 in Chicago, Illinois[1][2]
Genre	Chicago blues
Length	35:44
Label	Checker LP 1428[3]
Producer	Leonard Chess, Phil Chess, Willie Dixon
Little Walter chronology
Best Of Little Walter (1958) Hate to See You Go (1969)

Best of Little Walter is the first LP record by American blues performer Little Walter. First released in 1958, the compilation album contains ten Little Walter songs that appeared in the Top 10 of the Billboard R&B chart from 1952 to 1955,^[4] plus two B-sides. The album was first released by Checker Records as LP-1428, which was the first LP record released by Checker, and then released on Chess Records with the same catalog number.^[3]

The album has been reissued numerous times, although it has been largely superseded by the twenty-song collection Little Walter His Best: Chess 50th Anniversary Collection.

Artwork and packaging

The album cover features a black-and-white photo portrait shot by Grammy award winning photographer Don Bronstein of Little Walter holding/playing a Hohner 64 Chromatic harmonica and liner notes by Studs Terkel, who had written Giants of Jazz. The original LP featured a black label.

Accolades

In 1991, The Best of Little Walter was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in the "Classics of Blues Recordings – Album" category.^[3] The album is also ranked #198 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".^[5]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by All songs written by Walter Jacobs, except where noted. 

Side one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"My Babe" (Willie Dixon)	2:44
2.	"Sad Hours"	3:15
3.	"You're So Fine"	3:07
4.	"Last Night"	2:46
5.	"Blues with a Feeling (Rabon Tarrant, re-written by Jacobs)"	3:10
6.	"Can't Hold Out Much Longer"	3:03

Side two
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Juke"	2:47
2.	"Mean Old World (T-Bone Walker, re-written by Jacobs)"	2:57
3.	"Off the Wall"	2:52
4.	"You Better Watch Yourself"	3:04
5.	"Blue Light"	3:14
6.	"Tell Me Mamma"	2:47

Personnel

The following people contributed to the Best of Little Walter:^[1][2]

• Little Walter – lead vocals, harmonica
• Muddy Waters – guitar on "Juke" and "Can't Hold Out Much Longer"
• Jimmy Rogers – guitar on "Juke" and "Can't Hold Out Much Longer"
• David Myers – guitar
• Louis Myers – guitar
• Leonard Caston – guitar on "My Babe"
• Robert Lockwood, Jr. – guitar on "My Babe"
• Willie Dixon – bass, producer
• Elgin Evans – drums on "Juke" and "Can't Hold Out Much Longer"
• Fred Below – drums
• Studs Terkel – sleeve notes

Singles chart

The songs "Juke" and "My Babe" peaked at #1 on Billboard magazine's R&B Singles chart. "Sad Hours", "You're So Fine", and "Blues with a Feeling" made it to #2 on the same chart. "Last Night" and "Mean Old World" peaked at #6, "Off the Wall" and "You Better Watch Yourself" reached #8, and "Tell Me Mama" made it to #10.^[4]

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog
United States	1958	Checker/Chess Records	LP	1428
United States	1967	Checker Records	LP	3004
United States	1988	MCA Records/Chess Records	LP	CH-9192
			Cassette	CHC-9192
			CD	CHD-9192

References

1. George R. White; Robert L. Campbell; Tom Kelly. "The Chess Label Part I (1950–1952)". Robert Campbell. Clemson, South Carolina: Clemson University. Retrieved March 9, 2011.
2. George R. White; Robert L. Campbell; Tom Kelly. "The Chess Label Part II (1953–1955)". Robert Campbell. Clemson, South Carolina: Clemson University. Retrieved March 9, 2011.
3. Past Hall of Fame Inductees. Blues Foundation. Go under 1991 Hall of Fame Inductees and click on The Best of Little Walter--Little Walter (Checker, 1958) to view the album review.
4. Whiburn, Joel (1988). Top R&B Singles 1942-1988. Record Research. p. 613. ISBN 0-89820-068-7.
5. "#198 The Best of Little Walter". Rolling Stone. 2003. Retrieved September 20, 2010.