Little Walter made the harmonica dangerous. Before him it was a folk toy, a novelty. After him it was a horn section compressed into a single reed. Marion Walter Jacobs showed up in Chicago from Louisiana and decided the harmonica needed to be louder, nastier, and more expressive than anyone had imagined. He cupped it in his hands, pressed it against a microphone, and overblew notes that weren't supposed to exist.

Juke hit #1 on the r&b charts in 1952. An instrumental. A harmonica instrumental. Chess Records didn't know what to do with it except release it and count the money. He was Muddy Waters' secret weapon -- the harp that answered Muddy's guitar like they were having an argument and neither one was willing to lose.

My Babe. Sad Hours. His solo recordings for Checker are essential documents of what the amplified harmonica could accomplish. He died at 37 from injuries sustained in a street fight, and the instrument never fully recovered from losing him. Nobody's done what Little Walter did. Nobody's come close.

The harmonica was a toy until Little Walter cupped it to a microphone and made it wail. Juke is the only harmonica instrumental to hit #1 on the r&b charts. He was Muddy's secret weapon, Chess Records' ace, and the greatest blues harmonica player who ever lived. Dead at 37. Nobody's matched him.