3/16/07  Update from David Jones regarding Joe Louis Walker: Joe Louis Walker (JLW)  is still recuperating while gradually increasing his tour dates over the next three months.Because of the in creditable help by the Fan Donations, Soul Fixin' Foundation and the MusiCares Foundation in addition to being in a position to pay some of the St. Thomas medical bills, we have been able to also make arrangements for JLW to have medical tests to determine his overall state of health. Since Joe has no health care insurance at this time the donations from everyone have been vital to JLW's ability to pay for some of the medical bills in St Thomas as well as the ability to have medical testing and pay for ongoing medication. Again JLW wants to thank everyone who has provided their help and prayers for him during this difficult time.

3/11/7 Below is Chip Eagle's column from the April/May issue of Blues Revue, which talks about Joe Louis Walker and also the Soul Fixin' Foundation.

From the Heart
Sometimes the coolest things in the blues world don¹t involve the music; instead, they¹re about the people. And while one of the coolest things you can do in the blues is to participate in the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, sometimes what happens on the ship is bigger than the music. And that proves what I keep saying in this column: The blues is a tribe, a community of people who not only care about the music that joins us together, but who care about the other people in the tribe.
In January, while plundering the Caribbean with fellow cruisers, one of our own fell. I¹m not talking about the not-so-uncommon scenario of having one too many piña coladas on the pool deck. I¹m talking about a real-deal, life-affecting problem. It happened while we were on St. Thomas, where many of us took advantage of blues festival promoter Steve Simon¹s hospitality at his local event on the nearby island of St. John. While we were there, blues legend Joe Louis Walker was suddenly confronted with overwhelming medical circumstances. The details are not important to this story, though as of this writing more than a week later, Joe is still in a hospital on the island waiting for his health to stabilize so he can return home to California.
What is important to this story is what happened among the tribe, though I¹m confident that it¹s not as ³cruise-specific² as it is ³blues-specific.² Upon hearing the news, Head Blues Cruiser Roger Naber and his crew were on top of the situation, making certain Joe was in good hands and receiving the best medical attention available on St. Thomas. Roger immediately began working to raise funds for our fallen comrade. Boxes were set up on the ship so that people could chip in to help Joe. Since members of the Blues Foundation¹s Board of Directors were onboard ‹ including its president, Paul Benjamin ‹ discussions were quickly held with Shirley Mae Owens, who works with the Foundation¹s HART Fund, helping blues artists cover emergency medical expenses. The founders of the Soul Fixin¹ Foundation, including Michael Widmer and Rocky Allison (Luther Allison¹s widow), were also onboard and provided money for Joe¹s medical expenses.
But it wasn¹t just the machinery of the blues that went into motion; it was the people who answered the call. Hats were passed at shows, benefits were discussed, and concern was everywhere. One of our own had fallen.
One of my proudest moments was getting to emcee Watermelon Slim & the Workers¹ last show on the ship. Slim immediately brought Joe¹s plight to the stage and asked for those in attendance to help. He told them, in no uncertain terms and as only Slim can, how important their assistance was. He asked us to go to our cabins and bring back money to help Joe. I had tears in my eyes as I walked the room over and over again. People just kept giving.
When I went down the hall to count the money afterward, I was so damn proud of our tribe that I couldn¹t keep those tears back. During a brief, 75-minute set, that single show raised nearly $1,400 for Joe. There were no strings attached, just love for a member of our tribe who needed us. Over the hours that followed, as I walked around the ship, I was handed cash from cruisers that I later turned over to Todd Sharpeville, a close friend of Joe¹s. I couldn¹t have been prouder of us all.
I¹ve said it before, and I¹ll say it again: The blues is a great tribe, and the meetings are excellent. You never fail to amaze me with your love and generosity. That¹s why we continue to send $. Good blues to ya! Chip

To find out how you can help Joe Louis Walker with his emergency medical expenses, please contact the Soul Fixin¹ Foundation at www.soul-fixin.com or 254/642-3857.

Updated 2/8/7: Joe Louis Walker is back home in California. The test results he received from St. Thomas were negative so he is consulting doctors in the San Francisco area.  He is working a little and trying to regain his strength.  Joe can not put into words his appreciation for what everyone has done to help him in his time of need. It really does show how special the Artists and Cruisers are who sail on the Blues Cruise and everyone else whose thoughts and prayers have been with Joe Louis.

 Special Thanks go to Kim Wilson, Watermelon Slim, and Todd Sharpville for all their extraordinary efforts in raising funds for Joe Louis.