Interview with Lil' Malcolm Walker; Percy Walker

Accession No.: 
BE2-065

Interview with Malcolm Walker:

00:48 - Percy Walker and the House Rockers; Percy on accordion
-Joe Walker was playing guitar in his dad's band; Musical family

02:20 - Played drums in high school; His older brother, Percy Walker Jr., plays drums too
-Percy Jr. played drums for their dad; Played drums sometimes

03:40 - Started going on the road when he was 17
04:00 - New CD

04:30 - Started playing keyboard, then played accordion
-His grandfather, Melvin Walker, had a band and taught him accordion

06:25 - Triple note accordion, to the keyboard, to the piano accordion
-He's been playing piano accordion for about 10 year

07:40 - He dad played piano accordion; He replaced his dad in the band
08:25 - Recordings: "On My Way"; He was still in school

10:20 - Talk about Joe being able to play all kinds of instruments
-Lil' Malcolm and the House Rockers on Maison de Soul

11:15 - First album recorded in Kinder and the second in Crowley and J.D. Miller's studio
-Mark Miller was in charge; New CD is about to come out; Recorded in South Carolina

13:35 - He toured to Sydney, Australia; Played at New Orleans Jazz Fest

Interview with Percy Walker:

17:00 - Born in Lafayette on July 17th, 1953; Melvin Walker was his dad
-His grandfather, Willie Walker, played accordion; French music
-Melvin and Willie would play at house parties--accordion and washboard; Playing drums on a cardboard box

19:30 - Didn't play any instruments in school; Drums were his first instrument
-Joe, his brother, taught him how to play; Joe convinced their dad to buy him a drums set

21:25 - End of the 1960s, they played "The Twist" and "Limbo Rock"
-Couldn't play zydeco back then
-Melvin played triple note and single note; He was in Joe's rock and roll band

23:00 - Joe, Darrell, Wade, and Percy all played with their dad
-Darrell and Wade were his younger brothers

25:15 - Marcel Dugas and Rockin' Dopsie were some of the only people playing zydeco
-He played with Rockin' Dopsie for a little while when he was 10

27:30 - Sat in with Clifton sometimes on drums; Joe would play guitar; They played with Marcel Dugas

28:45 - They didn't record their early stuff
-He played with Rockin' Sidney and Katy Webster in Lake Charles; His family moved there in 1966

30:50 - After the family band, he started playing accordion at house parties
-Eventually he made a band with Raymond "Toe" (guitar), Butch (tenor sax), Wade (Bass), John W. (drums)
-Joe wasn't in the band

32:20 - Played some zydeco mix with blues

33:00 - Cookie and the Cupcakes; He toured with Katy Webster in the 1970s
-Before, Katy was playing keys on the road with Otis Redding until he died

35:35 - Percy Walker and the House Rockers; They started in the early 1970s

37:15 - 1988 was first recording with Malcolm
-He bought Malcolm a little keyboard, then he started playing accordion; He played piano accordion

40:00 - He recorded one song "Going to the Country" on an independent label in the 1970s
-He never made an album; Mike Leger in Kinder

41:35 - He appeared on "Louisiana Red Hot Tribute to Clifton Chenier and Rockin' Sidney" a couple of years ago

44:40 - Conversation with Percy is over; Phone call with Rog

Media Type: 
Audio
Collection: 
Benicewicz, Larry
Subject: 
Music; Zydeco; Accordion; Rock
Creator: 
Larry Benicewicz
Informants: 
Lil' Malcolm Walker; Percy Walker
Publisher: 
Larry Benicewicz
Rights Usage: 
All rights reserved
Language: 
English
Meta Information
Duration: 
00:47:15
Cataloged Date: 
Tuesday, September 17, 2019
Digitized Date: 
Monday, October 15, 2007
Original Format: 
Audio--Cassette--90
Digital Format: 
Audio
Bit Depth: 
24 bit
Sampling Rate: 
96 kHz
Storage Location: 
Center for Louisiana Studies