Walter Moorehead

New Orleans native Walter Moorehead, born in 1940, grew up in the heart of the Treme neighborhood. Like most kids, he was enthusiastic about music. At just 12 years old, he found himself in the studio with Dave Bartholomew at J&M Records. His duties were being the “wagon boy,” which meant he got all the treats from the grocery store for Dave and the band. For this, he was able to sit in on the sessions, quietly listen, and watch Dave create his magic—what we call rock & roll today.

He was there when Dave wrote and produced Fats Domino, Lloyd Price, Shirley & Lee, and mentored Allen Toussaintand Dr. John, just to name a few. It had such an impact on his life that Walter himself would turn out to be “the music man of the South” in his own right.

A man of many hats, in his twenties he turned to the business side of music. He was so influenced by Dave Bartholomew that he began working for Atlantic Records on June 28, 1968, in what was then called record promotions. His duties were to take recordings to radio stations for airplay. He worked with such stars as Aretha Franklin, Donny Hathaway, The Spinners, The Rolling Stones, The Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, The Allman Brothers, Jackson Browne, J. Geils Band, Roberta Flack, Bette Midler, Chic, Led Zeppelin, ABBA, Crosby, Stills & Nash, a young Betty Wright, Alice Cooper, and Luther Vandross.

In 1992, Walter discovered and produced DJ Jimi and Juvenile, and released what’s considered to be one of the first bounce songs: “Where They At” and “Bounce for the Juvenile.” Both singles had major local success and put bounce music on the map.

In 1995, Walter found himself yet again producing—this time boy band E-la-te’ from New Orleans. Their song “Drop Down to My Knees” was a local hit and favorite.

Today, Walter does conferences, mentors the youth, and is working on his life story book—which is quite fascinating, spanning from rock & roll to bounce and everything in between.