T-Bone Walker – Strollin’ With Bones

T-Bone Walker – Strollin’ With Bones – Live in Los Angeles, March 10, 1950.

Aaron Thibeaux (T-Bone) Walker was born on May 28, 1910 in Linden Texas.

Walker was unfairly overlooked during the blues revival of the 1960’s on both sides of the Atlantic, as he drew his inspiration more from jazz players such as Charlie Christian and the vocal stylings of big band singers rather than the Delta players and singers emulated by his contemporaries in Chicago.

This slight was made even more ironic by the fact that two of the players that the up and coming musicians of the time most often modeled themselves on, B.B. King and Chuck Berry were each acolytes of Walker’s style.

Walker had already recorded the two songs for which he is best known, ‘Mean Old World’ and ‘Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just As Bad)’ when he signed with Imperial Records in 1950.
Two of the four songs recorded at his first session for the label in April of that year, would also gain status as blues standards, ‘Glamour Girl’ and the swinging instrumental ‘Strollin’ With Bones’ (Note: the original pressing has his name as plural – most compilations of the Imperial recordings correct it to the singular)