Wade Walton

Wade Walton (October 10, 1919 – January 10, 2000)[1][2] was an American blues musician and local civil rights leader from Mississippi. He was also a renowned barber, who counted many famous musicians amongst his friends, colleagues, and customers.

Life and career

Walton was born in Lombardy, Mississippi but grew up near Parchman Farm.[2] He attended barber college in Memphis, Tennessee, and subsequently opened a barber shop in Clarksdale, Mississippi.[2]

Walton was known as the "blues barber"[3] because his "Big Six barber shop"[4] was a center of musical activity in Clarksdale. It was located first at 304 Fourth Street, and since 1989 at 317 Issaquena Avenue,[5] which was previously the site of W.C. Handy's house.[6] Walton was proficient on the harmonica, the guitar, and the razor strop,[5] which he played by striking it rhythmically with his razor.[7] Walton was recorded in his barber shop by Paul Oliver in 1960.[8] He later recorded an album, Shake 'Em On Down, released by Bluesville Records in the early 1960s.[5]

In 1960, by chance, Robert Curtis Smith met Paul Oliver and Chris Strachwitz in Walton's barber shop. This led to Smith recording, The Blues of Robert Curtis Smith: Clarksdale Blues (1963).[9][10]

Walton played in the Kings of Rhythm with Ike Turner, but stayed in Clarksdale working as a barber when Turner took the group national.[8]

Many musicians and other notable people patronized Walton's barber shop to play music with him or in homage, including Howlin' Wolf,[11] Muddy Waters,[12] Sonny Boy Williamson II, and Allen Ginsberg.[5]

Walton was also a local NAACP leader during the civil rights movement in the early 1960s,[12] resulting in the bombing of his barbershop.[13]

He makes appearances in Bill Ferris's 1975 documentary about the Delta blues, Give My Poor Heart Ease[14] and in Robert Mugge's documentary film Deep Blues: A Musical Pilgrimage to the Crossroads.[5]

Walton died in St. Louis, Missouri, on January 10, 2000, at the age of 80.[15][16]

Legacy

Walton was honored with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail.[17]

Discography

References

  1. "Illustrated Wade Walton discography". Wirz.de. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  2. Edward Komara; Peter Lee (July 1, 2004). Blues Encyclopedia. Routledge. p. 1048. ISBN 978-1-135-95832-9.
  3. Justin Gage; Melissa Gage (May 4, 2009). Explorer's Guide Memphis & the Delta Blues Trail: A Great Destination (Explorer's Great Destinations). Countryman Press. p. 145. ISBN 978-1-58157-101-1.
  4. Paul Oliver (September 25, 1997). Conversation with the Blues. Cambridge University Press. p. 199. ISBN 978-0-521-59181-2.
  5. Steve Cheseborough (2008). Blues Traveling: The Holy Sites of Delta Blues. Univ. Press of Mississippi. p. 92. ISBN 978-1-60473-328-0.
  6. Christiane Bird (October 10, 2007). The Da Capo Jazz and Blues Lover's Guide to the U.S. Da Capo Press. pp. 71–73. ISBN 978-0-306-81716-8.
  7. William R. Ferris (1978). Blues from the Delta. Perseus Books Group. p. 221. ISBN 978-0-306-80327-7.
  8. Colin Larkin (September 30, 2013). The Virgin Encyclopedia of The Blues. Ebury Publishing. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-4481-3274-4.
  9. "Robert Curtis Smith Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  10. "R.C. Smith discography". Wirz.de. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  11. James Segrest; Mark Hoffman (November 28, 2012). Moanin' at Midnight: The Life and Times of Howlin' Wolf. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. p. 539. ISBN 978-0-307-83101-9.
  12. Francis Davis (2003). The History of the Blues. Da Capo Press. p. 28. ISBN 0-306-81296-7.
  13. Robert Nicholson (1998). Mississippi: The Blues Today!. Perseus Books Group. p. 176. ISBN 978-0-306-80883-8.
  14. Sharon R. Sherman (1998). Documenting Ourselves: Film, Video, and Culture. University Press of Kentucky. p. 85. ISBN 0-8131-0934-5.
  15. Komara, Edward M. (December 6, 2017). Encyclopedia of the Blues. Psychology Press. p. 1048. ISBN 9780415926997. Retrieved December 6, 2017 via Google Books.
  16. Mayfield, Panny Flautt (July 24, 2017). Live from the Mississippi Delta. Univ. Press of Mississippi. p. 65. ISBN 9781496813756. Retrieved December 6, 2017 via Google Books.
  17. "Wade Walton". Mississippi Blues Trail.
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