ABSTRACT: 00:37 Walter is introduced 01:27 Talks about his early childhood. Born December 20th 1943 in New Orleans. Lived mostly in the Uptown neighborhoods around 2nd and Derbigny. 02:02 His earliest musical experiences were from singing in the church choir and playing guitar, which his uncle bought him, in his church group. 03:31 Learned how to play his guitar by ear but he only played with one finger and didn’t know much. 03:57 Another one of Walter’s uncles had a chuch group that was working at a radio station on Sunday mornings called WBOK. His uncle invited Walter and his group to come play on the radio. 04:04 At the gig, he saw a guitarist playing with all of his fingers and he was inspired to play the guitar like him. 04:56 Walter started practicing, but it wasn’t sounding right as his guitar was tuned up to play with his one finger. An older man by the name of Pop saw him playing incorrectly and tuned up his guitar properly and taught him a few bar chords. 05:47 It was mostly blues chords that he was learning. At this point Walter was around 18 years old and still playing in church group. 06:49 Erving Charles, a bass player, and Walter went to school together and Erving started to come with more and more money in his pocket from playing some blues gigs around town. He invited Walter to come practice with him and his band. 07:33 At a show with Erving Charles, Lee Dorsey was there and he asked Walter if he would like to go on tour with him. Walter decided to go on the road with him for about two years. 08:29 Some brief discussion on working with Lee Dorsey in the mid 1960s. 08:55 Walter decided to come back home after touring for a long time. When he got back Irma Thomas asked him to work with her. Walter worked with Irma for about two more years playing shows in and around New Orleans. 09:27 Discussion on Walter’s first big band, The Solar System which formed in the late ‘70s early ‘80s. First Amendment was also discussed, another of Walter’s smaller groups which he played with at the Paris Lounge on Jackson Ave from 4am to 6am. 10:50 Some talk about his different club gigs around the city. 12:00 For a long time Walter played around the city without ever cutting a record. He talks about being offered a few times but he felt that he wasn’t ready because he mostly liked to be a sideman. Eddie Bo conviced him to record his first single called “Pony Express” 13:15 Talks about his work with Johnny Adams for almost 15 years. 14:45 Allison heaps some praise on his playing ability which she feels is always getting better. 15:50 Walter talks about his 1981 record which he made with Senator Jones and the Help Me label which is titled “Get On Up” his first album. 17:10 Demonstration: “Something You Got” 19:15 Walter talks about his latest record “Sada” on Point Blank Records. The album was good for him as he had a lot of creative control on the record. 21:10 Point Blank eventally changed focus and he talks about being ready to find a new company to work with as he is ready to go to work on a new album. 22:11 Demonstration: “Girl I Wanna Dance” 24:30 Demonstration: “Sada” 27:13 Talks about how New Orleans has treated him as musician over the years. Walter feels that it has been great and that there has been a lot of support. 28:54 He sees a lot more young people coming to his shows it feels great to see that. 30:25 Closing remarks.
