David T. Walker

David T. Walker (born June 25, 1941) is an American guitarist born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to numerous session musician duties since the early 1970s, Walker has issued fifteen albums in his own name.

David Tyrone Walker was born to a Native American mother and African American father. He attended David Starr Jordan High School in the Watts area of Los Angeles.He has recorded fifteen solo albums since his debut release, The Sidewalk, in 1967.He has also been a sessionrhythm and lead guitarist, appearing on numerous soul, funk, and jazz releases. His backup work was featured on several notable albums of the early 1970s, including Stevie Wonder's Innervisions; Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On and I Want You;Carole King's Rhymes & Reasons and Fantasy; The Jackson 5's Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5, ABC, and Maybe Tomorrow; Michael Jackson's Ben; and Quincy Jones's Body Heat. He also played with the combo Afrique on its 1973 Afro funk release Soul Makossa.

Other musicians Walker has worked with over the years include James Brown, Ray Charles, Etta James, Aretha Franklin, Smokey Robinson, Martha and the Vandellas, Four Tops, Diana Ross, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Billy Preston, Bobby Womack, Barry White, Hampton Hawes, Herbie Hancock, Lou Rawls, Willie Hutch, Jeffrey Osborne, Johnny Bristol, Solomon Burke, Cannonball Adderley, B.B. King, Pharoah Sanders, Donald Byrd, The Crusaders, Joe Sample, Sarah Vaughan, Sérgio Mendes, Freddie Hubbard, Stanley Turrentine, Gerald Levert, and Boz Scaggs.

His song "On Love" was sampled on the breakbeat compilation album Tribe Vibes Vol. 2 by the group A Tribe Called Quest. His guitar riff on Joe Sample's "In All My Wildest Dreams" (from Rainbow Seeker) was sampled on Tupac Shakur's song "Dear Mama".

Walker played in Bill Cosby's all-star band at the 2008 Playboy Jazz Festival.

Recently he has gained popularity in Japan for playing guitar for the pop music group Dreams Come True, and on band member Miwa Yoshida's solo albums, and has also performed live with them. He also leads his group on tours of Japan each year. He recently toured Japan with Marlena Shaw, Larry Carlton and a Brazilian artist Ed Motta. His earlier albums have found new life by being reissued in Japanese editions, along with "best of" collections. An album titled Thoughts was released in Japan in 2008. A holiday album titled Wear My Love was released in Japan in 2009. For All Time was released in 2010.

As Leader

• The Sidewalk (1967) Revue RS-7207
• Going Up! (1969) Revue RS-7211
• Plum Happy (1970) Zea ZLP-1000
• David T. Walker (1971) Ode Ode SP-77011
• Press On (1973) Ode SP-77020
• On Love (1976) Ode SP-77035
• Swing Street Cafe (with Joe Sample, 1981) Crusaders/MCA CRP-16004; Crusaders/MCA CRPD-5785
• Y-Ence (1987) The Baked Potato BPL-28005; Half Moon 28XE-3; Alfa Moon 32XM-35
• With A Smile (1988) The Baked Potato BPL-28006; Half Moon 28XE-4; Alfa Moon 32XM-69
• Ahimsa (1989) Half Moon 28XE-2
• Soul Food Cafe (with Soul Food Cafe, 1989) Invitation VDR-1636
• ...From My Heart (1993) Edoya EDCP-602; BMG BVCM-35165
• Dream Catcher (1994) Edoya EDCP-701; BMG BVCM-35166
• Beloved (1995) Edoya EDCP-25005; BMG BVCM-35167
• David T. Walker 1971-1976: Best of Best (2008) Video Arts Music VACZ-1365 (Japan)
• Thoughts (2008) DCT Records UPCH-20113 (Japan)
• Wear My Love (Christmas album, 2009) DCT Records UPCH-20176 (Japan)
• For All Time (2010) DCT Records XQJS-1002 (Japan)
• @ Billboard Live, Tokyo (with Larry Carlton, 2015) 335 Records 335-1507
• Music For Your Heart: Best of David T. Walker (2017) Universal Music UCCR-1064 (Japan)

As sideman

With Etta James

• Etta James Rocks the House (Argo, 1963)

With Martha & The Vandellas

• Martha & The Vandellas LIVE (Gordy, 1967)

With Stevie Wonder

• Where I'm Coming From (Tamla, 1971)
• Innervisions (Tamla, 1973)

With The Jackson 5

• Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5 (Motown, 1969)
• ABC (Motown, 1970)
• Third Album (Motown, 1970)
• The Jackson 5 Christmas Album (Motown, 1970)
• Maybe Tomorrow (Motown, 1971)
• Lookin' Through the Windows (Motown, 1972)
• Skywriter (Motown, 1973)
• G.I.T.: Get It Together (Motown, 1973)
• Dancing Machine (Motown, 1974)
• Joyful Jukebox Music (Motown, 1976)

With Marvin Gaye

• Trouble Man (Tamla, 1972)
• Let's Get It On (Tamla, 1973)
• Marvin Gaye Live! (Tamla, 1974)
• I Want You (Tamla, 1976)

With Cannonball Adderley

• The Happy People (Capitol, 1970)

With Donald Byrd

• Ethiopian Knights (Blue Note, 1971)
• Black Byrd (Blue Note, 1972)
• Street Lady (Blue Note, 1973)
• Stepping into Tomorrow (Blue Note, 1974)
• Caricatures (Blue Note, 1976)

With Herbie Hancock

• Man-Child (Columbia, 1975)

With Richard "Groove" Holmes

• Six Million Dollar Man,(RCA/Flying Dutchman, 1975)

With Freddie Hubbard

• Bundle of Joy (Columbia, 1977)
• Splash (Fantasy, 1981)

With Bobbi Humphrey

• Blacks and Blues (Blue Note, 1973)

With Yōsui Inoue

• Nishoku no Koma (Polydor, 1974)

With Quincy Jones

• Dollar$ (Reprise, 1971)
• Body Heat (A&M, 1974)
• Roots (A&M, 1977)

With Blue Mitchell

• Stratosonic Nuances (RCA, 1975)

With Alphonse Mouzon

• The Man Incognito (Blue Note, 1975)

With Jeffrey Osborne

• Jeffrey Osborne (A&M, 1982)

With Marlena Shaw

• Who Is This Bitch, Anyway? (Blue Note, 1974)

With Stanley Turrentine

• Pieces of Dreams (Fantasy, 1974)
• In the Pocket (Fantasy, 1975)
• Have You Ever Seen the Rain (Fantasy, 1975)
• Betcha (Elektra, 1979)
• La Place (Blue Note, 1989)

With Vulfpeck

• Christmas in L.A. (Single) (Vulf Records, 2014)
• Thrill of the Arts (Vulf Records, 2015)
• Game Winner (Vulf Records, 2016)
• Running Away (Vulf Records, 2017)
• Grandma (Vulf Records, 2017)

With Dee Dee Bridgewater

• Just Family (Elektra, 1977)