10 Facts About Walter Vinson

Walter Vinson was an American Memphis blues guitarist, singer and songwriter.

Walter Vinson was a member of the Mississippi Sheiks, worked with Bo Chatmon and his brothers, and co-wrote the blues standard "Sitting on Top of the World".

Walter Vinson is erroneously known as Walter Vincson or Walter Vincent.

Walter Vinson sometimes recorded as Walter Jacobs, using his mother's maiden name.

Walter Vinson rarely performed on his own but was regularly part of a duet, trio or group.

Walter Vinson worked with Son Spand, Rubin Lacey and Papa Charlie McCoy in the early to mid-1920s.

Walter Vinson claimed to have composed "Sitting on Top of the World" one morning, after playing at a white dance in Greenwood, Mississippi.

Walter Vinson moved from Jackson, Mississippi, to New Orleans and ultimately to Chicago.

Walter Vinson played at music festivals and recorded further tracks over the next decade, before the onset of hardening of the arteries curtailed his public appearances.

Walter Vinson was interred at the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois, in a grave that remained unmarked until 2009.