NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans music legend Walter “Wolfman” Washington, a cornerstone of the city’s musical nightlife for decades, has died of cancer, just days after turning 79.

Washington died Dec. 22 at Passages Hospice, The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate  https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/music/walter-wolfman-washington-new-orleans-guitarist-has-died/article_25976a9a-82f9-11ed-87a8-1fa673c95eec.html" rel="nofollow - reported.

Funeral services are scheduled for Jan. 4. at 2 p.m. at Jacob Schoen & Son Funeral Home. A benefit concert to help with medical and funeral expenses is planned for Jan. 8 at the Tipitina’s music venue.

Washington and his band, the Roadmasters, mixed blues, R&B, funk and soul, punctuating songs with his trademark howl, the newspaper reported. In director Michael Murphy’s 2005 New Orleans music documentary “Make It Funky!,” Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards bows down to Washington in tribute to his guitar style and tone, the newspaper reported.

Washington started his career backing New Orleans musical legends Irma Thomas, Lee Dorsey and Johnny Adams, who ultimately became a mentor and close friend.

“Johnny taught me a whole lot,” Washington recalled in 1999. “He’d say, ‘If you want to sing high notes, you’ve got to pay attention to how you go up there. Take your time. Don’t rush yourself. Once you get used to going up there, it will come easy.’ He played guitar, too. He’d show me how to hit notes and how to run from one note to another and pay attention to why that note fits there. He was like a dad. I could talk to him about anything.”

from https://apnews.com