Despite a fine set of chops and a career of over 30 years, organist Winston Walls didn't record his first session as a leader until 1993. A native of Charleston, WV, Walls was the son of Big Joe Turner's longtime pianist Harry Van Walls; he studied piano and drums as a teenager, and it was the latter that got him his first job, playing with Bill Doggett. Walls occasionally filled in for Doggett on the organ during the leader's breaks, and his career snowballed from there; he went on to play with artists as diverse as Sonny Stitt, Lou Donaldson, Ike & Tina Turner, Al Green, Dionne Warwick, Charley Pride, and the Pointer Sisters, and he was also an early backer of the young George Benson. Walls finally recorded his debut album, Boss of the B-3, in 1993 for Schoolkids Records. It captured a live performance in Detroit with longtime friend and good-natured rival Brother Jack McDuff, and Walls even took gospel-style vocals on a few tracks. ~ Steve Huey, Rovi
