Blues Musician Joe Louis Walker Dead at 75
Joe Louis Walker, a prominent blues guitarist and singer whose career spanned more than 60 years, has died at the age of 75. His death occurred late last month due to a cardiac-related illness, according to Rolling Stone. He was surrounded by his wife Robin and daughters Leena and Bernice at the time.
Walker was born and raised in San Francisco, where he began playing guitar as a child. By the late 1960s, he had become a regular in the Bay Area music scene during a period of rising interest in blues and psychedelic rock. During this time, he built connections with musicians such as Jimi Hendrix and Mike Bloomfield, with whom he later shared a home.
After spending some time away from the spotlight in the mid-1970s, including a period in jail and various jobs, Walker joined a gospel group called the Spiritual Corinthians. That led to an appearance at the 1985 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, which played a key role in his return to blues performance and recording.
Walker released over 30 albums across his career and performed with artists such as Bonnie Raitt and Mark Knopfler. He also opened for major acts including Muddy Waters and Thelonious Monk. Aretha Franklin once called him “The Bluesman,” a nickname that remained with him throughout his life.
He received a Grammy nomination in 2016 for Everybody Wants a Piece in the Best Contemporary Blues Album category. Earlier this year, he revisited his 1986 debut album Cold Is The Night. Among other honors, Walker was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, named a USA Fellow by United States Artists, and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Mississippi Valley Blues Society.
Details about a memorial or public tribute have not yet been announced.
