Re: [Harp-L] Cadillac Records - Little Walter

[cljdm@xxxxxxx]

 Hi, 

It just SEEMS to me that the Little Walter scene where he shoots someone over the  taking and using of his name, is a vague reference to Sonnyboy II taking Sonnyboys I 's moniker. The scene has Little Walter shooting the dude for taking his name and going on the road with it. That is just plain WRONG. Hollywood is using to much license with the facts. I know they could not reference every Bluesman  in the movie.  To portray  LW  as a murderer in this scene is criminal in my book.

Chris Mastakas

 


 

 

---- Original Message ----
From: Bill Kumpe <bkumpe@xxxxxxx>
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tue, May 10, 2011 10:37 am
Subject: [Harp-L] Cadillac Records - Little Walter


Quite a bit of artistic license was taken in the film and I suspect the
Little Walter shooting was an attempt to reinterpret him as an early father
of the modern rap gangsta character.

But, we make a mistake to try to canonize these old blues men.  Every
objective report I have read describes Walter as brilliant, difficult, mean
and irresponsible.  And that was not out of the ordinary for a bluesman of
the time apparently.  Of the characters in the film, only Howlin Wolf was
what you could really call a solid citizen.  And the movie portrayed him
badly.  He did not drive to Chicago in a rusty pickup.  He was probably the
only musician to ever drive up the blues highway with real money in his
pocket ($4000.00) and while I don't know exactly what he did drive on that
particular early trip I believe he later preferred Pontiac station wagons
over Cadillacs and for that matter Epiphone guitars over Gibsons.  

Bill Kumpe
Tulsa, OK