Celebrating the Birthday of Huey "Piano" Smith

R&B pianist and singer Huey Pierce Smith, known as Huey "Piano" Smith, was born in the Central City neighborhood of New Orleans on January 26, 1934. He wrote his first song on the piano at age eight, and began working in clubs and recording at 15 years old, signing a recording contract at 18. Influenced by the innovative work of Professor Longhair, Smith also incorporated boogie, jazz and rhythm-and-blues styles in his piano playing, and his sound was ultimately influential in the development of rock and roll.

Smith became the piano player with Little Richard's first band in 1955, and he also played piano on several studio sessions that resulted in hits for Earl King ("Those Lonely Lonely Nights") and Smiley Lewis ("I Hear You Knocking"). In 1957, he formed Huey "Piano" Smith and His Clowns, which hit the Billboard charts with several singles, including "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu", which sold over one million copies, achieving gold disc status. The Clowns' most famous single, "Don't You Just Know It", released in 1958, hit number 9 on the Billboard Pop chart and number 4 on the Rhythm and Blues chart. It was their second million seller.

In 1959, Ace Records erased Smith's vocal track from "Sea Cruise", the now-classic single Smith had composed, arranged and performed, and replaced it with a vocal track by the white singer Frankie Ford, which was a hit for Ford. Smith left Ace Records for Imperial Records, to record with noted producer Dave Bartholomew, but the hits did not follow, and Ace Records again overdubbed new vocals on another of Smith's unreleased tracks, to produce "Pop-Eye", the last hit single credited to Smith.

In the years following, Smith made several comebacks, and in 2000, he was honored with a Pioneer Award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. Smith became known for his shuffling right-handed break on the piano, and at the peak of his game, Smith epitomized New Orleans R&B at its most infectious and rollicking. Sadly, Smith died at his home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on February 13, 2023, aged 89. Huey “Piano” Smith was a New Orleans original and innovator, and on his birthday we celebrate his many contributions to music!

Photo: source & disclosure

Celebrating the Birthday of Jelly Roll Morton

Ragtime and early jazz pianist and composer Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe, known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was born in New Orleans on October 20, 1890 (though some say 1885). He was a pivotal figure in early jazz. He was the first arranger in this genre rooted in improvisation, proving that jazz could retain its essential characteristics and spirit even though notated. 

Morton learned to play piano at age 10, and within a few years he was playing in the red-light district bordellos, where he earned the nickname "Jelly Roll." Blending the styles of ragtime and minstrelsy with dance rhythms, he was at the forefront of a movement that would soon be known as "jazz." His composition "Jelly Roll Blues", published in 1915, was the first published jazz composition.

Jelly Roll Morton passed away on July 10, 1941, in Los Angeles, California. Whether or not Morton invented jazz, as he had claimed, he is regarded as one of its great innovators. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted him in 1998, and he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005.

Celebrating the Birthday of Jerry Lee Lewis

Singer songwriter and pianist Jerry Lee Lewis was born on September 29, 1935, in Ferriday, Louisiana. Known by his nickname, The Killer, Lewis has been described as "rock & roll's first great wild man.” His 1957 rock n roll hit "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" achieved worldwide fame for Lewis. Hits "Great Balls of Fire", "Breathless" and "High School Confidential" followed, but his career faltered in the years after his 1958 marriage to his third wife, Myra Gale Brown, his 13-year-old cousin. Lewis’ live performances became increasingly wild and energetic, and his 1964 live album Live at the Star Club, Hamburg, is regarded by many as one of the wildest and greatest live rock albums. In 1968, Lewis transitioned to country music, reigniting his career and resulting in chart-topping country-western hits. Lewis continues to release albums and tour worldwide. He has a dozen gold records in both rock and country, and has won several Grammy awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award. Lewis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. Sadly, Lewis died at his home on October 28, 2022, in Nesbit, Mississippi, at the age of 87.

By By photographer:Maurice Seymour, Chicago. (eBay item photo front photo back) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons - File:Jerry Lee Lewis 1950s.JPG, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47369105

Happy Birthday, Tom McDermott!

Pianist and composer Tom McDermott was born on September 24, 1957, in St. Louis, Missouri. He began studying piano at age seven, became a professional musician at 16, received a Master of Music degree from Washington University in St. Louis in 1982, and wrote about music for the morning paper. In 1984, inspired by his love of James Booker, Professor Longhair and Dr. John, he moved to New Orleans and became known for playing its styles of music, especially traditional jazz and New Orleans R&B. He was in the group "Dukes of Dixieland" through much of the 1990s, and in 1994 he co-founded and wrote arrangements for the innovative brass band the New Orleans Nightcrawlers, which took him to Europe, Asia, South America and all over the States.

He has released 17 CDs as a leader, which include 85 original tunes, and is known for his eclecticism, including a great love of Brazilian music. Since 2001, he has devoted much time traveling there to study and record choro music. In addition to Brazil, McDermott has visited all 50 states and six continents, and is a travel writer in addition to being a music journalist. In 2017, “Five Lines, No Waiting,” a book of his limericks and drawings, was published by Sagging Meniscus Press. Today let’s celebrate the birthday of this multi-talented New Orleanian. Happy Birthday, Tom!

Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans

Celebrating the Birthday of Henry Butler

Jazz and Blues pianist Henry Butler was born in New Orleans on September 21, 1948. Blinded by glaucoma at birth, at five years old he entered the Louisiana State School for the Blind. There was no piano in his home, so he memorized piano melodies until he found a piano to play. Butler was performing regularly by age 16, attending school during the day and playing, arranging and composing for the groups he played with at night. Butler not only played piano, he also learned drums and saxophone, and was successful both as a soloist and in groups in Los Angeles and New York City. A true Renaissance man, Butler earned a college degree and graduate degree and taught at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts. Sadly, Henry passed away on July 2, 2018, but his music lives on.

By Dezz - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=45049229

Celebrating the Birthday of Eddie Bo

Singer, pianist and songwriter Eddie Bo (Edwin Joseph Bocage) was born on September 20, 1929, in New Orleans, and grew up in Algiers and the Ninth Ward. Eddie, who was trained in jazz, was known for his blues, soul and funk recordings, and released more single records than anyone else in New Orleans other than Fats Domino. Eddie won two Lifetime Achievement awards from the South Louisiana Music Association and Music/Offbeat Best of the Beat. He was a veteran of the New Orleans music scene who has been sorely missed since his passing on March 18, 2009.

By Masahiro Sumori - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2066510