Walker was a banjo player from Mercer County who spent much of his life in Glen Lyn, Virginia. He played the old clawhammer style, learned from his mother, uncle, and grandfather, who was born enslaved. Walker was one of the last Black Appalachian banjo players to carry on this tradition.

During the 1970s folk revival, he performed at festivals like the Vandalia Gathering and the Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife. He was featured in the films Morris Family Old-Time Music Festival (1972) and Banjo Man (1977).