Walker has achieved legend status as a blues guitarist

Phillip Walker makes his third appearance in the Flathead on Nov. 26, bringing his five-piece band and his own distinct style of south Texas blues to the Kalispell Eagles.

Bring your dancing shoes and, to help feed the Flathead, bring a couple cans of food or non-perishable items for the food pantry, good for $1 off the ticket price at the door.

Walker was born in Louisiana in 1937, the seventh of 12 children. His father was a farmer, his mother French Creole, and his grandmother a full-blooded Cherokee.

In a recent phone interview, Walker says he had a happy childhood growing up farming in the South and squabbling with all his siblings. At age 8 his family moved to Texas and he says that when he wasn't working in the fields or helping herd cattle on horseback, he spent every minute learning how to play guitar.

He constructed his first instrument from a cigar box, using the thinnest wire from his family's window screens for strings. Though his family was poor, Walker was fortunate to have five musician uncles who would come by with their Cajun style of music they played in the clubs in the 1920s and '30s. Walker borrowed from their zydeco roots and added a generous share of Texas blues to create his own sound.

Louisiana zydeco king Clifton Chenier gave Walker his first bona fide guitar when he was 16 and soon after Walker took to the road against his father's better judgment, he says, calling the guitar "a starvation box."

In 1955 he was a veteran sideman, and had played with such legends as Little Richard, Etta James and Fats Domino, touring across the United States. He formed his own group, the Blue Eagles Band, and toured with T-Bone Walker, Jr. Parker and other big names. Shortly after, he met and married talented songwriter Ina Beatrice Gilkey, known as Bea Bopp, who began composing songs for him. For several years the two worked the Los Angeles clubs as Phil and Bea Bopp. By 1977 Walker had become a well-respected international star.

Musically, Walker is an innovator. His love of life is evident in his live shows and he's infused with the energy of the crowds.

"It just comes naturally," he said.

Robert Cray describes Walker as one of the most powerful musical influences in his career. In the late '80s, Cray recorded one of Walker's songs as the title cut of his album, "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark," which went platinum.

Today Walker's early recordings from the mid-50s to the '80s are highly sought after by collectors. Walker doesn't hesitate when asked what has kept him on the road for 51 years.

"The love of music keeps me going," he says. "It surely hasn't been for the money. And it's been a joy playing with folks like Chuck Berry and Jimmy Reed. It was a great school."

At his core, Walker remains the proud son of farmers, the Louisiana-born Texas boy with a big dream. His band, honed over countless nights on the road, features trumpet, tenor sax, base and drums.

Tickets to Walker's Kalispell show are $12 in advance and are available at Sportsman and Ski Haus in Kalispell and Whitefish, Glacier Wallflower in Columbia Falls, Sunshine Tapes & CDs in Kalispell, Electric Avenue Books in Bigfork, and at the Kalispell Eagles. Tickets at the door are $15 with a $1 off with your donation of food for the Flathead Food Bank. Doors open at 8 p.m. Showtime is at 9 p.m.

"Gut wrenching perfection, Phillip Walker is one of the 10 most important blues guitarists living today." - Guitar Player Magazine