Six-fingered Slide from Hound Dog Taylor

The Charlie Parker of harmonica, Little Walter.

Little Walter on harmonica

Electric slide guitarist Hound Dog Taylor. Joining him on harp is Little Walter, sitting in with his band the Houserockers for a driving boogie that won’t disappoint. Hound Dog Taylor was known for his electric slide guitar roughly styled after that of Elmore James, his cheap Japanese Teisco guitars, and his raucous boogie beats. He was also famed among guitar players for having six fingers on his left hand.

After hearing Taylor with his band, the HouseRockers in 1970 featuring Brewer Phillips on second guitar, and Ted Harvey on drums at Florence’s Lounge on Chicago’s South Side Bruce Iglauer, a shipping clerk at the time for Delmark Records, tried to get him signed by his employer. Having no success getting Delmark to sign Taylor, Iglauer formed a small record label with a $2500 inheritance and recorded Taylor’s debut album “Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers” on his fledgling Alligator Records in 1971.


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