The term 'living legend' is often thrown around in the music business, but in the case of Al "Wailin'" Walker it's entirely appropriate.
The veteran Canadian blues rock guitarist and vocalist and his band have been stirring things up on the Vancouver live music scene for five decades, and the list of artists he has worked with would be the envy of any musician in the field.
Personally mentored by such blues legends as Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, Pee Wee Crayton and Otis Rush, he has also shared the stage with such names as Johnny Winter, George Thorogood and Stevie Ray Vaughn.
In fact, he was once a close competitor of Vaughn – to the extent that he was also contemplated for a recording contract by the late, great record producer, talent scout and critic John Hammond, who had been instrumental in the careers of everyone from Billie Holiday and Count Basie to Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.
"They went with Stevie Ray," the White Rock resident admits ruefully. "But less than a year later I was playing on the same bills with him in Vancouver and on the Island."
Today, at a time when many seasoned players could be forgiven for tapering off activities in the face of a shrinking venue market, Walker is hotter than ever. In December his latest album, All Fired Up, rose to the number 1 spot in the Roots Music Charts for the U.S. and Canada – and stayed there in January (internationally it reached a solid number four).
It's likely that he will be booking some tours on the strength of it.
But we're fortunate, on the Semiahmoo Peninsula, that he is invested in the local community as well. He organized five successful dances at South Surrey's Crescent Legion Branch 240 in 2024 – and is on target to stage the same number in 2025. And he'll continue to donate a portion of the proceeds to various worthy causes, including Sources.
Latest of the local shows, featuring the full band (including respected core members as Bruce O'Neill on bass and vocals and Marko Ibarra on drums; plus Dave Webb or Jeff Simmons on keyboards and Jerry Cook on sax and other horns) will take place this Saturday (Feb. 8) starting at 7 p.m. at the Legion (2643 128 St.).
"I like supporting the 240, as my grandmother lived in White Rock, and we held her wake at the Legion," Walker said.
"We also have a new VIP Dance Club that helps get the word out, and we try to feature local acts as special guests to promote some of the younger bands – people like Intoxicated by Nature, James Buddy Rogers and Down n' Dirty."
Anyone who has heard his recordings (six acclaimed albums since 1978) or seen his live performances knows how Walker's raw authentic style commands attention – whether laying down lyrics in his gritty, yet tuneful, voice, or riffing and soloing on guitar with lines that can be blisteringly fast but also wail with equally heartfelt conviction.
In person, Wailin' Walker turns out to be an affable man with a neatly trimmed moustache and goatee, impressive tattoos and an agreeably piratical air (although his chosen rides are a Harley, or a cherished '65 Ford Falcon, you could just as easily imagine him striding the deck of a fast buccaneer sloop – and his trademark logo, a skull and crossed guitars, only tends to enforce the image).
As he explains, he generally eschews the labels and pigeonholes that abound in music, but he's comfortable with the tag 'blues rock', or perhaps 'rockin' blues' because it acknowledges his musical journey.
Born and raised in East Vancouver, Walker played his first hall gig there in 1974, when he was 15 years old.
It was a rough environment to grow up in, and Walker remembers an early gig at Cambrian Hall, not long after he graduated high school, when the venue was virtually demolished during an altercation between the Clark Park Gang and the Riley Park Gang during a band break.
"The curtains opened for the next set, and when we looked out we saw they'd smashed everything," he recalled, wryly. "That's when we learned, never close the curtains during a break."
But music was always on Walker's mind, he said.
"People want to call me a 'legend' or 'blues warrior,' but the fact is I've been fortunate," he said.
"I first picked up a guitar when I was 10 years old and fell in love with rock n' roll.
"I was listening to people like Led Zeppelin, Jeff Beck and Jimi Hendrix like everyone else. But because I was a musician, I delved into it – 'Where did these guys get it from?' It led me me to go back and listen to Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters and, later, the second generation of blues artists like Buddy Guy."
As an early influence, he also credits his father, who, classed as 'Capetown coloured', fled South Africa to escape apartheid and came to B.C. in the mid 1950s. Before he left, however, he had worked for Decca Records' South African division, making field recordings that led to such international hits as The Lion Sleeps Tonight.
"My dad opened my ears to all kinds of music," he said.
Over the years Walker's journey of discovery has led him to a lot of historic blues recordings and artists – and making such pilgrimages to the Deep South as a trip to the 'Juke Joint Festival' in Clarksdale Mississippi, and another to find and visit the gravesite of one of his favourites, Charley Patton (c.1891-1934) .
"He was the godfather of the blues – he taught (legendary guitarist/vocalist) Robert Johnson," Walker noted.
Along the way he also discovered the work other musicians such as the virtuoso Belgian-French Manouche guitarist Jean 'Django' Reinhardt (1910-1953) who overcame crippling damage to his hands to become one of the most celebrated jazz soloists of the 20th century.
The journey has also led him to value, he said, the underlying concept of 'swing' – a quality more easily felt than defined – but one that many great rockers have discovered lies at the core of their music.
The soubriquet 'Wailin' Walker' goes back to his first band in 1975-76, he said.
"We'd heard George Thorogood playing on the radio, and he got us onto the idea of rockin' rhythm and blues.
"I wanted to use the name the Houserockers like Hounddog Taylor, but it needed to be something, something and the Houserockers. I came up with Wailin' Walker and the Houserockers, and it stuck."
While pursuing music and travelling, Walker has remained a strong family man, with deep roots in Surrey (for many years he lived in the Guildford area, while commuting to various day jobs in Vancouver).
Some 12 years ago he and his wife Dawn moved to White Rock, and he said they've been very happy here. They have a son, Vince, and a grandson, Ace, and both seem to have inherited the musical bug.
"It's a real family affair," he said.
Walker said he's pleased that while the Vancouver scene has become increasingly moribund, White Rock and South Surrey increasingly seems to be a vital component of the live music picture – and that's a good thing for music of all styles and genres.
"We're seeing a nice resurgence in White Rock," he observed. "It appears it's becoming a good place to visit and listen to some live music with local beer houses and pubs having regular acts performing."
Tickets for Saturday's show ($20 advance) are available at www.wailinwalker.com/vipclub (ticket buyers can also enter their email there to join the VIP Club and get notified about future dances).
