Growing up in Mississippi in the 1920s, Walter Horton was, at the age of five, given a harmonica by his father which he quickly mastered and paved the way for him becomming one of the blues greats, and an innovative pioneer of amplified harmonica.
Living in Memphis in his early teens he started busking in the streets and joined the Memphis Jug Band (using the name Shakey Walter) though it was a tough time during the Depression era in a part of the south where racism was rife. He earned a living playing for tips at street parties and juke joints and occasionally played with and learned from blues greats like Robert Johnson, Ma Rainey and Big Joe Williams in the Mississippi Delta region. His first recordings were playing harmonica with guitarist Little Buddy Doyle in 1939. His health was poor and he played little through the 1940s but returned to music in the '50s, becoming one of the first artists to record for Sam Phillips at Sun Studios, including one of his most famous tracks, 'Easy'.
He then became a leading light on the Chicago blues scene, joining the Muddy Waters Band, among others. His distinctive way of shaking his head while playing earned the nickname Shakey and his reputation grew as he became a sideman for Willie Dixon, Johnny Shines, Sunnyland Slim and many others. He toured Europe with Dixon's Chicago All Stars and also recorded with Fleetwood Mac and Johnny Winter. He became a regular guest at blues and folk festivals and accompanied John Lee Hooker in the 1980 film 'The Blues Brothers'. He died of heart failure a year later at the age of 60.
