The blues harmonica player Little Walter was born Marion Walter Jacobs in
Louisiana in 1930 and like many of his contemporaries was born into a life of
poverty and limited opportunities. He left school at the age of 12, leaving
Louisiana to busk on the streets of various southern towns including New Orleans
and St. Louis playing guitar and harmonica. Eventually he headed north and began
playing in Chicago where his skill as a harmonica player began to overshadow his
guitar playing and it became his primary instrument.
It was during this period that he found himself competing w...