Barrelhouse Chuck on Big Walter

[PL500@xxxxxxx]

Hey guys, 

Check this interview with (piano player) Barrelhouse Chuck where he mentions 
Big Walter. Great story! The interview comes from Blueswax e-zine. 

Andrew
===================================================================

On Big Walter Horton:

BW: I have heard you mention what an enigma Big Walter Horton [1917 - 1981] 
was.

 BC: "There were times when a lot of the old guys would all be at the same 
club. None of them would even think of getting up to play when Walter Horton was 
on stage! They wouldn't even look at Walter! Walter just had this stare in 
his eyes.
I used to follow him around. He pulled a knife on me one time, but he was a 
lot of fun really. My friend Little Joe Berson, who was an incredible harmonica 
player and the reason I came to Chicago, was Walter's protege. I was 
Sunnyland Slim's protege; he called me his son and I went everywhere with him. I would 
walk into B.L.U.E.S on Halstead [Street] with Little Joe, and Little Joe 
could sound just like Walter Horton. Walter for some reason liked me and would 
purposely ignore Little Joe. Walter had a hundred-foot cord for his harmonica. He 
would see me walk in. He would walk past everyone in the room and come up to 
me and put his eyeball about half an inch from my eyeball with the harmonica 
in his mouth and hit a screaming note! Usually he hadn't shaved, and he 
sometimes would actually rub the side of his chin on my chin and sing, "I don't feel 
good tonight!" Then he would sit down next to me, cross his legs, and play "La 
Cucaracha," "I Been Around The World," "That Ain't It," or "Walter's Boogie."
In 1979 I was staying at the Tokyo Hotel [in Chicago on State St.] down the 
hall from Little Joe's room. It was $24 a night.  Fannie Mae, Walter's wife, 
had gotten into it with him and put a hurt on Walter. He came up to Little Joe's 
room all scuffed up and needed a place to stay so Joe put him up. I would let 
him borrow my rig [PA]. 
One time Water told us that he wanted us to know where we could find him if 
we needed to. He said, "Now, don't ever tell Fannie Mae this!" He took us down 
to 63rd Street to a little down-and-out bar that had a place in the back that 
was his hang out.
When Walter Horton played - it was the most incredible feeling - like being 
in an electric chair. He made the top of my head go numb! The feeling, his 
phrasing, his tone and his presence was just undeniable. The look that he had - 
that fire in his eyes - it was like "Don't mess with me, if you do, I'll cut 
you!" He pulled his knife about two inches from my throat one night just to let 
me know. I was messing with him just a little bit, and he, like "Eeeeaahh!" I 
was like, "Whoa - OK, Walter!"
Whenever you would ask him about other harmonica players like Little Walter 
[Jacobs] or Sonny Boy Williamson II, he would say, "I taught'em all!" and he 
did."