Aaron Thibeaux Walker was born in Linden, Texas on 28 May 1910, the only child of Ranee and Movelia Walker. The family moved to Dallas in 1912 and as a pre-teen Walker would lead Blind Lemon Jefferson around the Dallas streets. He taught himself guitar and worked streets and functions until he toured with various travelling shows in the mid-to late 1920s. He made his recording debut for Columbia in 1929 ('Trinity River Blues'/'Wichita Falls Blues') as Oak Cliff T-Bone. The name T-Bone is a phonetic corruption of his middle name.
Walker worked locally with artists as diverse as Cab Calloway and Ma Rainey before moving to the Los Angeles area in 1934, where he worked his own combo at the Little Harlem Club and gradually built a following. He recorded one title ('T-Bone Blues') with the Les Hite orchestra and worked with that band on tours through Chicago and New York for much of 1939-40. He returned to the Little Harlem Club, where he reformed his own group. He played guitar on a record date with Freddie Slack's orchestra in July 1942 and, at the end of the date, recorded two songs ('Mean Old World'/'I Got A Break Baby') for Capitol Records. On the strength of that record he began to tour and to work whites-only clubs in Hollywood. He made frequent stops at the Rhumboogie club in Chicago from 1942-45 and in 1945 he made recordings for the Rhumboogie and Mercury labels.
Black & White In September 1946, Walker signed an exclusive contract with Black 6k White Records and worked with producer Ralph Bass. He recorded 49 titles in tl next 15 months, among which were all his bestseller: He had hit records with such well-remembered titles as 'Call It Stormy Monday' and 'T-Bone Shuffle'. He became a national touring attraction and his acrobat stunts, such as playing the guitar behind his head an< doing the splits on stage, helped him to become a major star. Because of the second AFM recording bai Walker could not make any new recordings during