Walter Roland

Walter Roland (possibly December 20, 1902 – October 12, 1972) was an American blues and boogie-woogie pianist, guitarist and singer, noted for his association with Lucille Bogan, Josh White and Sonny Scott. The music journalist Gérard Herzhaft stated that Roland was "a great piano player... as comfortable in boogie-woogies as in slow blues," adding that "Roland – with his manner of playing and his singing – was direct and rural."

Birth and Death Data: Died October 12, 1972

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1933 - 1935

Roles Represented in DAHR: piano, vocalist, guitar, speaker

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 1-25 of 135 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
ARC 13548 10-in. 7/17/1933 Red Cross man Bessie Jackson Female vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
ARC 13549 10-in. 7/17/1933 T&NO blues Bessie Jackson Female vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
ARC 13550 10-in. 7/17/1933 Red Cross blues Walter Roland Male vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
ARC 13551 10-in. 7/17/1933 Red Cross blues no. 2 Walter Roland Male vocal solo, with guitar instrumentalist, guitar  
ARC 13552 10-in. 7/17/1933 T model blues Walter Roland Male vocal solo, with guitar instrumentalist, guitar  
ARC 13557 10-in. 7/18/1933 Man, man, man Walter Roland ; Sonny Scott Male vocal duet, with 2 guitars instrumentalist, guitar  
ARC 13560 10-in. 7/18/1933 No good bidde Walter Roland ; Sonny Scott Male vocal solo, with 2 guitars instrumentalist, guitar  
ARC 13561 10-in. 7/18/1933 My baby come back Bessie Jackson Female vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
ARC 13562 10-in. 7/18/1933 4200 blues Bessie Jackson Female vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
ARC 13563 10-in. 7/18/1933 Walkin' blues Bessie Jackson Female vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
ARC 13564 10-in. 7/18/1933 House top blues Bessie Jackson Female vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
ARC 13567 10-in. 7/18/1933 I'm gonna have my way Bessie Jackson Female vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
ARC 13568 10-in. 7/18/1933 You gonna need me Alabama Sam Male vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano, vocalist  
ARC 13569 10-in. 7/18/1933 Baking powder blues Bessie Jackson Female vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
ARC 13570 10-in. 7/18/1933 Slavin' blues Walter Roland Male vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
ARC 13571 10-in. 7/18/1933 Last year blues Walter Roland Male vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
ARC 13578 10-in. 7/18/1933 Hard luck man Sonny Scott Male vocal solo, with guitars instrumentalist, guitar  
ARC 13579 10-in. 7/19/1933 Early this morning (Just about break of day) Sonny Scott Male vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
ARC 13580 10-in. 7/19/1933 Working man's moan Sonny Scott Male vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
ARC 13581 10-in. 7/19/1933 Rolling water blues Sonny Scott Male vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
ARC 13582 10-in. 7/19/1933 Jookit jookit Jolly Jivers Male vocal duet, with guitar  
ARC 13583 10-in. 7/19/1933 Piano stomp Jolly Jivers Male vocal duet (spoken), with piano speaker, instrumentalist, piano  
ARC 13584 10-in. 7/19/1933 Back door blues Walter Roland Male vocal solo, with piano instrumentalist, piano  
ARC 13585 10-in. 7/19/1933 Guitar stomp Jolly Two Guitar duet instrumentalist, guitar  
ARC 13586 10-in. 7/19/1933 Railroad stomp Jolly Two Guitar duet instrumentalist, guitar  
(Results 1-25 of 135 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Roland, Walter," accessed January 5, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/402094.

Roland, Walter. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 5, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/402094.

"Roland, Walter." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 5 January 2026.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/402094

External Sources

Discogs: Walter Roland

Allmusic: Walter Roland

Linked Open Data Sources

LCNAR: Roland, Walter - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no96035527

Wikidata: Walter Roland - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q6077188

VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/6210103

MusicBrainz: Walter Roland - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/b3a042d5-f154-4aa2-a55d-7d7e98f0f2ab

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