While the other players in Muddy Waters' band were electrifying the blues, Little Walter was doing something unprecedented. Holding his harmonica and a microphone in his cupped hands, Walter attacked the instrument with the authority of the bop sax players who'd influenced him, bringing a dynamic new sound to Chicago blues. In 1952, after Walter's own "Juke" topped the R&B charts, he started his own group. Walter was a disciplined musician, but he had less control of his personal life. "He was hellacious when he drank," said Lazy Lester Johnson. Walter died at thirty-seven after suffering head injuries in a street fight.
Total album sales: Under 500,000
Peak chart position: N/A
