T-Bone Walker

AKA:

Oak Cliff T-Bone

Birth Name:

Aaron Thibeaux Walker

Birth Date:

May 28, 1910

Birth Place:

Linden, Texas

Death Date:

March 16, 1975

Place of Death:

127 W 40th Place, Los Angeles, California

Age:

Cause of Death:

Bronchial pneumonia

Cemetery Name:

Inglewood Memorial Park

Claim to Fame:

Music

Infusing the blues with an electrifying, yet, sophisticated uptown flavor, T-Bone Walker was the driving force that redirected the course of the blues - moving it from juke joints and roadhouses to swank nightclubs and theaters. Favoring hot swing rhythms with a big band accompaniment, Walker seamlessly blended jazz and Texas blues to become a seminal figure in the development of rock 'n' roll. In his youth, a 10-year-old T-Bone was called upon to work as lead boy to Blind Lemon Jefferson through the rough neighborhoods of Dallas. In exchange Jefferson taught the young boy the basics of blues guitar. In the fall of 1942 Walker got the chance to record his electric guitar when he cut "I Got a Break Baby" and "Mean Old World" on Capital Records. His biggest hit, "Call it Stormy Monday" was issued in 1947 and made him a household name. In the 1960s, when blues began to lose it's popularity, Walker toured Europe with such legends as Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker and Memphis Slim. After 50 years on the road the effects of drinking, gambling, ulcers and arthritis all took their toll and he died of a stroke-induced pneumonia at the age of 64.

Fun Fact

Chuck Berry, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck have all openly admitted to “stealing” his guitar riffs.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Inglewood Memorial Park

720 E Florence Avenue

Inglewood, California, 90301

USA

North America

Map:

Map of Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California

Grave Location:

Capistrano Court, Memorial Panel 25

Grave Location Description

As you drive through the entrance park at the Mausoleum of the Golden West. Walk to the left towards Capistrano Gardens which is to the left of the mausoleum. The courtyard is square with wall crypts on the three outer walls forming the yard. Walk through the center of the courtyard to one of the last panels on the right marked Memorial Panel 25. T-Bone Walkers memorial is just above eye-level.