“If you’re going to steal,” Fahey once said, “steal from obscure sources.” Walter Hawkins ranks high on any list of blues obscurities, though perhaps higher on a scale of originality. The Arkansas ragtime/blues guitarist, who made a handful of recordings in the late ‘20s, somehow absorbed elements of flamenco into his music, perhaps from a stint in Europe during World War I. His A Rag (Fahey’s point of departure here) was liberally spiced with ragtime flamenco! (From the sleeve notes for John Fahey's God, Time and Causality. The Fahey track in question is Lion).
Obscure. File under: Charley Patton's associates
In the music library: Charley Patton Complete Recordings: 1929-1934: Snatch It & Grab It; A Rag Blues; How Come Mama Blues; Voice Throwin' Blues