Emboldened and encouraged by Mayall, Trout began his solo career in 1989. He was immediately embraced by European audiences and released his first album, Life in the Jungle that same year. Despite his prolific recording schedule, Trout's first U.S. release was 1998's critically heralded Walter Trout, which immediately established him as a staple of the American blues scene as well. And the rest is, quite literally, blues and rock history still in the making.

"In a sense, I've almost created my own genre," Trout says. "I've assimilated so many styles and so many influences from the great adventure of American music. I love Jeff Beck just as much as I love B.B. King. I believe in telling stories and honesty and searching for truth. And I have no interest in stifling my creativity. If I have a song in my head or I'm playing a solo and it gets a little outside of the box or off the beaten path, I'm going to let it flow and come out, or take me where it leads me. My quest in all of this is that I'd really love to be able to do it all."