T-Bone Walker

The Soundwaves Vinyl of the Week is T-Bone Blues by T-Bone Walker.

 

This Record Store Day “Black Friday” edition was released in November, 2025 and also included a bonus 10-inch with 4 extra tracks recorded during the same session.

 

Originally released in 1959, this album is the blueprint of modern electric guitar and showcases a master who blended blues and jazz like no other. This album captures Walker at his technical peak when he changed the game by essentially turning the guitar into the lead instrument, similar to how Miles did with the trumpet, or Coltrane did with the Sax. His solos are like following vocal lines.

 

Most of what you hear from Walker’s guitar are clean tones accompanied by a flutter of single notes elegantly arranged into statements. Two tracks of his that have become legendary are “Papa Ain’t Salty” and “Stormy Monday”. This album is a must for anyone studying the guitar, regardless of whatever genre you are driven towards.