JOE LOUIS WALKER LEGENDARY ELECTRIC BLUES GUITARIST: FROM THE OUTHOUSE TO THE PENTHOUSE-EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW!

J  O  E

L  O  U  I  S

W  A  L  K  E  R

LEGENDARY 
ELECTRIC BLUES GUITARIST

SINGER-SONGWRITER-PRODUCER

NEW RELEASE

B L U E S  C O M I N'  O N

Featuring guest performances by fellow blues icons ...
Keb' Mo', Eric Gales, and Albert Lee plus Detroit soul singer Mitch Ryder, harmonica virtuoso Lee Oskar, Hot Tuna's Jorma Kaukonen, punk rock vocalist Charlie Harper, legendary session player Waddy Wachtel, and many others.


JOE LOUIS WALKER INTERVIEW
CLICK BELOW TO LISTEN

Joe Louis Walker picked up the guitar as a child, and by the time he was 16, was an in-demand musician on the local club scene, regularly backing touring blues artists rolling through town. As a 16-year-old, he was the house guitarist at San Francisco’s famed musical playground, The Matrix, where he played with or opened shows for everyone from Lightnin’ Hopkins to Jimi Hendrix to Thelonious Monk. In addition to his work at The Matrix, he was a regular at Bill Graham’s famed Fillmore West. San Francisco’s music scene was quickly becoming a melting pot of blues, jazz and psychedelic rock, and Walker was right in the center of it. These ear-opening surroundings explain the ease with which Walker blends blues, rock, gospel, jazz and country, making it seem as if the walls between the genres never existed in the first place. 

The blues legends Walker accompanied shared not only musical knowledge but also their personal wisdom with the teenage up-and-comer. Fred McDowell, Ike Turner, Albert King, Freddie King, Robert Jr. Lockwood, Lightnin’ Hopkins and many others taught, fed and chastised the youngster. Blues icon Willie Dixon told him to set his sights high. “What’s your style? You need your own sound,” Dixon preached. Walker took the advice to heart and developed his own fiery, melodic and always unpredictable guitar attack.
Walker met legendary guitarist Michael Bloomfield in 1968 and the two became fast friends. Bloomfield introduced Walker to many of the day’s top rockers, including Sly Stone, Carlos Santana, Steve Miller, Bob Weir (of the Grateful Dead), Jorma Kaukonen (of Jefferson Airplane) and even jazz legend Wayne Shorter. Bloomfield helped push Walker’s blues in a more rock-fueled direction, and he became the single biggest influence on the young Walker’s sound. The two shared an apartment for years and remained close friends until Bloomfield’s death in 1981.

Walker has released 24 albums and toured the world virtually non-stop. He has garnered four Blues Music Awards (and has been nominated a whopping 52 times) and holds an international reputation as one of the blues’ most prolific and talented stars. He’s also recorded as a guest with some of the blues world’s best-known artists, including appearances on Grammy-winning records by B.B. King and James Cotton.
His latest release is entitled BLUES COMIN’ ON joined by a host of talented friends and peers on this superb studio album. Features guest performances by fellow blues icons Keb' Mo', Eric Gales, and Albert Lee plus Detroit soul singer Mitch Ryder, harmonica virtuoso Lee Oskar, Hot Tuna's Jorma Kaukonen, punk rock vocalist Charlie Harper, legendary session player Waddy Wachtel, and many others. This album explodes with the passionate playing and souful melodies that have made Walker a favorite among true blues aficionados including 
The Rolling Stones! 

-Available at amazon.com

JOE LOUIS WALKER

BLUES COMIN' ON

available at amazon.com
Featuring guest performances by fellow blues icons Keb' Mo', Eric Gales, and Albert Lee plus Detroit soul singer Mitch Ryder, harmonica virtuoso Lee Oskar, Hot Tuna's Jorma Kaukonen, punk rock vocalist Charlie Harper, legendary session player Waddy Wachtel, and many others.

For more information about 

Joe Louis Walker

Visit

Link to website:www.joelouiswalker.com

Link to Facebook page: www.facebook.com/joelouiswalker/

DISCOGRAPHY

Albums

Blues Comin' On (HighTone, 2020)

Everybody Wants a Piece (Provogue, 2015)

Hornet's Nest (Alligator Records, 2014)

Hellfire (Alligator Records, 2012)

Between A Rock and The Blues (Stony Plain Music, 2009)

Witness to the Blues (Stony Plain Music, 2008)

Playin' Dirty (JSP, 2006)

New Direction (Provogue, 2004)

Ridin' High (HighTone, 2003)

She's My Money Maker (JSP, 2002/03)

Guitar Brothers (JSP Records, 2002)

Pasa Tiempo (Evidence Music, 2002)

In the Morning (Telarc, 2002)

Silvertone Blues (Polydor/Polygram, 1999)

Preacher and the President (Polydor/Polygram, 1998)

Great Guitars (Polydor/Polygram, 1997)

Blues of the Month Club (Polydor/Polygram, 1995)

JLW (Polydor/Polygram, 1994)

Blues Survivor (Polydor/Polygram, 1993)

Live at Slim's, Volume Two (HighTone, 1992)

Live at Slim's, Volume One (HighTone, 1991)

Blue Soul (HighTone, 1989)

The Gift (HighTone, 1988)

Cold Is the Night (HighTone, 1986)

DVDs

Live At 'On Broadway' (Blues Express, 2001)

Joe Louis Walker in Concert (inakustik, 2003)

Viva Las Vegas Live (DVD plus CD; Cleopatra Blues, 2019)

MY NEW BOOK IS FINALLY OUT!

ENTITLED

THE 

ROCK STAR CHRONICLES

SERIES ONE

CHRONICLES, TRUTHS, CONFESSIONS AND WISDOM FROM THE MUSIC LEGENDS THAT SET US FREE

 …Order yours today on Hardcover or E-book

 at bookbaby.com

Featuring over 45 intimate conversations with some of

the greatest rock legends the world will ever know.

CHRIS SQUIRE... DR. JOHN... GREG LAKE... HENRY MCCULLOUGH... JACK BRUCE … JOE LALA…  JOHNNY WINTER... KEITH EMERSON... PAUL KANTNER...  RAY THOMAS... RONNIE MONTROSE... TONY JOE WHITE... DAVID CLAYTON-THOMAS… MIKE LOVE... TOMMY ROE... BARRY HAY... CHRIS THOMPSON... JESSE COLIN YOUNG... JOHN KAY... JULIAN LENNON... MARK LINDSAY... MICKY DOLENZ… PETER RIVERA ...TOMMY JAMES… TODD RUNDGREN... DAVE MASON... EDGAR WINTER... FRANK MARINO... GREGG ROLIE... IAN ANDERSON... JIM “DANDY” MANGRUM... JON ANDERSON... LOU GRAMM... MICK BOX... RANDY BACHMAN… ROBIN TROWER...  ROGER FISHER... STEVE HACKETT... ANNIE HASLAM… ‘MELANIE’ SAFKA... PETULA CLARK... SUZI QUATRO... COLIN BLUNSTONE… DAVE DAVIES... JIM McCARTY... 

PETE BEST

Book Trailer

BOOK REVIEW

-By Literary Titan (5) STARS

The Rock Star Chronicles, by Ray Shasho, is a splendid book written by a music enthusiast who has poured their heart and soul into it. It’s a story of a boy who loved rock music, and his obsessive passion of it earned himself the name Rock Raymond. He went to school but instead was schooled in all matters of music while his peers were buried chin-deep in coursework. He then became a radio DJ and has now compiled a book on all interviews he held with Rock gods who raided the airwaves back in the 70s and 80s. It’s a compilation of interviews with outstanding vocalists, legendary guitarists and crazy drummers in the rock music scene. Each interview gives a reader an in-depth view into their personal lives and the philosophies that guide their lives which all serve to humanize these great icons. For readers who are old enough to call themselves baby boomers this book will bring old memories back to life. Millennials, on the other hand, may think of this book as a literal work of the Carpool Karaoke show.

The Rock Star Chronicles is a book I didn’t know I was waiting for. To come across a book that will talk me into trying something new. One brave enough to incite me to venture into new frontiers. This book made me a believer- I am now a bona fide Rock and Roll music fan.

Ray Shasho masterfully gets the interviewees talking. He smartly coaxes answers from them with crafty questions designed to get a story rolling out of them. The artists talk about diverse issues ranging from music, politics, and their social engagements. Having been on the music seen all his life, Ray Shasho knows the buttons to press, how to get them comfortable about talking about their lives.

The book’s cover is befitting of its subject matter with the leather look offering a royal background to the golden letter print. It speaks to how high a level rock music holds in the pecking order- arguably, modern music as we know it has originated from blues and rock music.  The second noteworthy thing is the use of high definition pictures to reference the musician being interviewed in every sub-chapter. This ensures that the book is for both original rock and roll lovers and aspiring new ones. Together is makes for a refreshing and consistently enjoyable read.

I recommend this book to rock music enthusiasts, aspiring musicians wondering what it takes and all readers curious to learn new things by going back in time.

https://literarytitan.com/2020/05/03/literary-titan-book-awards-may-2020/   Gold Award Winner

Author Interview - 
Ray Shasho

By Literary Titan

The Rock Star Chronicles uses your interviews with rock legends to humanize them and preserve their contribution to the genre. Why was this an important book for you to write?

I was fortunate to have lived through two of the greatest decades for music. It was a time when radio played incredible music and rock concerts were a bargain and a happening thing to do. Rock groups featured incredibly talented musicians with guitarists and lead singers in the spotlight. There has never been a generation to match that period of music expertise and staying power. I wanted the reader to understand and realize how great a talent they really were and still are. Especially to wannabe musicians and the young. Many of the artists I have interviewed have passed on and others nearing retirement. It was important to me to tell their stories at a vulnerable period in their lives and be recognized as the greatest music legends the world will ever know.

What is one interview in this book that stands out as the most exciting one you had?

Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull has always been a rock hero to me. He has written and performed complex music and always had an incredible stage presence. Going to a Tull concert back in the day was a huge event. I will admit the first time I interviewed Ian Anderson I was quite nervous. I remember when the phone rang for the interview, I thought, that’s Jethro Tull calling me! During the second interview I got him to chat about politics, religion, ancestry, and world events. I tried not to ask the same mundane music questions that have been asked of him many hundreds of times. He was intellectual and I was on my best game that day.

What do you think is one thing modern musicians have to learn from the icons of the rock and roll genre?

Bands must perform live. All the legends started performing at school dances, bars, clubs, and anywhere they could be seen by an audience big or small. If they are talented eventually someone will give them a break, but it will not be easy. Having a You Tube video with a lot of page views is a start, but it will never have the impact of playing in front of live audiences.

What do you find is a common misconception people have about music?

People that pay big money to watch an artist lip sync on stage and still call it a great show. Music lovers who go see a legendary rock band and there are no original members in the band. Ringo Starr would never bill himself as The Beatles, instead he created an All-Starr band. All generations need to do a little homework before purchasing expensive tickets to concerts nowadays. My book will certainly help identify who the real legends are.

Music is a universal language that we all share and cherish.