His Best (Little Walter album)


His Best is a greatest hits album by Chicago blues harmonica player Little Walter, released on June 17, 1997 by MCA and Chess Records as a part of The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection. The album is seen as the CD successor to the 1958 The Best of Little Walter and features ten of the songs from that album.

Notable inclusions

Juke

"Juke" was Little Walter's first solo recording for Leonard Chess and reached #1 on the R&B Singles chart. A harmonica instrumental, it is Walter's most famous composition.

Mean Old World

Adapted from a 1942 T-Bone Walker song, "Mean Old World" became a #6 R&B chart success for Walter.

Blues with a Feeling

Walter's rendition reached #2 on the R&B Single chart and made the song a harmonica-blues standard. "Blues with a Feeling" was originally recorded by Rabon Tarrant with Jack McVea and His All Stars in 1947.

My Babe

Written by Willie Dixon, "My Babe" was Walter's second #1 on the R&B Charts. It is perhaps Walter's best-known vocal performance.

Roller Coaster

The song "Roller Coaster" is an instrumental version of the 1955 Bo Diddley song "You Don't Love Me ". The song reached #6 on the R&B charts.

It Ain't Right

Although "It Ain't Right" did not chart, it was later adapted by other musicians, including John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, who recorded it as the closing track to their debut album Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton.

Key to the Highway

Walter's rendition of "Key to the Highway" reached #6 and was his second to last charting single. His rendition became a blues standard, performed and recorded by a variety of artists. It was originally recorded by Charlie Segar in 1940.

Just Your Fool

One of Walter's later recordings, it was released in 1962. Buddy Johnson originally recorded the song as "I'm Just Your Fool" in 1953; in 2010, "Just Your Fool" became a popular single by Cyndi Lauper.

Track listing

Personnel

According to liner notes: