[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 58 (Thursday, April 25, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E544-E545]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CELEBRATING ``LITTLE WALTER'' AND THE INAUGURAL LITTLE WALTER MUSIC 
                                FESTIVAL

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. RODNEY ALEXANDER

                              of louisiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 25, 2013

  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in celebrating ``Little 
Walter'' and the inaugural Little Walter Music Festival which will 
strike a chord in Alexandria, LA, on Saturday, May 4, 2013. 
Additionally, I would like to call attention to this much-anticipated 
festival for enhancing economic development and quality of life by 
unifying and celebrating Louisiana's interests.
   The festival, honoring Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, Blues sideman and 
bandleader Little Walter, will take place on the Red River. Headlining 
the event is the ``Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, LMHOF, Little Walter 
Legends.'' Multiple Louisiana Blues harp artists, LMHOF member Henry 
Gray, who played with Little Walter in Chicago, and a cast of Louisiana 
Blues All Stars will help usher ``Little Walter'' into The Louisiana 
Music Hall of Fame with a presentation from LMHOF President Mike 
Shepherd. Closing the event is a jam session featuring Lady Liz 
Neville, former lead vocalist in the Hotel Bentley's Mirror Room, along 
with the LMHFO ``Legends'' band on Little Walter's classic hits, 
``Juke'' and ``My Babe.''
   Little Walter, born Marion Walter Jacobs near what is now Spring 
Bayou Road in the small town of Marksville, LA, revolutionized the 
sound of the Blues harmonica through amplification just by clasping a 
microphone to the harmonica as he played. He spent several years in 
Alexandria before making his way to Chicago to eventually become a 
member of Muddy Waters band, where he began recording his unique style 
of Blues. According to his 2008 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction, 
Little Walter ``could make a harmonica moan and roar like a full horn 
section or produce an unearthly, haunting wail.''
   Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in wishing the Little 
Walter Music Festival the best of luck, and for its part in retaining 
the charm and spirit of our region. Lastly, I rise in celebration of 
Little Walter and his accomplishments making the Blues sound what it is 
today.

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