Pinetop Perkins
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Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins
(Born July 7, 1913. Pinetop Perkins will never die.)
At 96, Pinetop Perkins is regarded as one of the last two remaining
'original' Bluesmen, a title he shares with Honeyboy Edwards.
Born in Belzoni, in the heart of Mississippi Delta, he began playing guitar.
However, his guitar career was cut short when, as Pinetop puts it, he was
stabbed in the arm by an irate choir girl in a case of mistaken identity.
It was because of this that he began playing piano, and in 1943 was invited
to play with Robert Nighthawk. After playing jukes, clubs, and parties in
nighthawk's band, he was enlisted by
Sonny Boy Williamson (II) to play
the "King Biscuit Radio Time" (find more information on King Biscuit in
The blues Dictionary)
in Helena, Arkansas. He stayed with King Biscuit for five years before
moving to Memphis, where he recorded the Pine Top Smith song "Pinetop's Boogie"
for the legendary Blues & early Rock record label
Sun Records, the same label
that found both Howlin' Wolf and Elvis Presley.
His version of the song was so popular that he was taken with the
same nicknaname as the song's predecessor: "Pinetop".
He played with John Lee Hooker's cousin and extrmely talented slide guitarist Earl Hooker for a spell, before splitting time between the delta, Saint Louis, and Chicago until 1969, when he took Otis Spann's place as Muddy Water's piano player! He can be heard on many of Muddy's tracks of this time, including King Bee. He toured and recorded for over a decade with Muddy, both in Europe and the United States before leaving to form The Legendary Blues Band, which he recorded with on and off for the better part of 3 decades. Interestingly, Pinetop had a roughly fifty year career in the Blues before releasing his own album, After Hours, in 1988, for famous contemporary Blues label Blind Pig Records (outside link). Pinetop entered semi-retirement in the 1980s, but continues to tour regularly. His tour dates can be found on his website below! We at Bluescentric will adamantly vouch, he's worth watching, no matter where he is. At 96, Pinetop is still an enthusiastic, energetic musician and entertainer.
Notable songs by Pinetop Perkins
Pinetop's Boogie Woogie
Notable websites on Pinetop Perkins
Pinetop Perkin's Official Website
