Little Walter (song)
Encyclopedia
"Little Walter" is the title of the debut single by Tony! Toni! Toné!
. Taken as the lead single from the R&B band's debut album, Who
, the hit song spent one week at number one on the U.S. R&B chart. It also peaked at forty-seven on the Billboard Hot 100
. The melody is taken from the instrumentation on the spiritual
tune, "Wade in the Water
."
The narrator in the song describes a roommate by the name of Walter who makes money from an undisclosed job, and rather than pay rent, he spends his money on a lavish lifestyle. The narrator has enough of this, and decides to confront Walter about it only for both to break into an argument that lasts "half the night". When the argument was finished "there was a knock at the door and when Walter went to open it he was blown to the floor" meaning he may have been shot dead (according to the video for the song). Walter was portrayed by comedian Sinbad
in the video.
Tony! Toni! Toné!
Tony! Toni! Toné! is an American Soul/R&B group from Oakland, California, popular during the late 1980s and early to mid 1990s. During the band's heyday, it was composed of D'wayne Wiggins on lead vocals and guitar, his brother Raphael Saadiq on lead vocals and bass, and their cousin Timothy...
. Taken as the lead single from the R&B band's debut album, Who
Who? (album)
Who? is the debut album of American R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!. It was released on October 25, 1988 by Wing Records and was produced by Thomas McElroy and Denzil Foster. The album charted for 44 weeks on the US Billboard Top Pop Albums chart, peaking at number 69. It produced four singles,...
, the hit song spent one week at number one on the U.S. R&B chart. It also peaked at forty-seven on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. The melody is taken from the instrumentation on the spiritual
Spiritual (music)
Spirituals are religious songs which were created by enslaved African people in America.-Terminology and origin:...
tune, "Wade in the Water
Wade in the water
"Wade in the Water" is the name of an African-American spiritual first published in New Jubilee Songs as Sung by the Fisk Jubilee Singers by John Wesley Work II and his brother, Frederick J...
."
The narrator in the song describes a roommate by the name of Walter who makes money from an undisclosed job, and rather than pay rent, he spends his money on a lavish lifestyle. The narrator has enough of this, and decides to confront Walter about it only for both to break into an argument that lasts "half the night". When the argument was finished "there was a knock at the door and when Walter went to open it he was blown to the floor" meaning he may have been shot dead (according to the video for the song). Walter was portrayed by comedian Sinbad
Sinbad (entertainer)
David Adkins better known by his professional name of Sinbad, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He became well known in the 1990s from being featured on his own HBO specials, appearing on several television series, and starring in the films Necessary Roughness, Houseguest, First Kid,...
in the video.
External links
- [ Song review] on Allmusic