If any one person defined blues piano it was Joseph William Perkins, also known as Pinetop Perkins. Born on July 7, 1913 he played piano right up until his death last week at the age of 97 1/2. One of the original Mississippi bluesmen he started out as a guitar player but lost the flexibility in his left arm as the result of a fight. In the beginning he worked with Robert Nighthawk and Sonny Boy Williamson. During the 1950′s he toured with Earl Hooker and recorded his famous ”
Perkins became well-known with a new generation of blues lovers in 1969 when he joined Muddy Waters’ band. After 10 years with this group he formed the Legendary Blues Band with Willie “Big Eyes ” Smith. This lasted well into the 1990′s.
Until his death, Perkins lived in Austin, Texas and performed a couple of nights a week at Nuno’s on Sixth Street. In 2005, Perkins also received Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He died on March 21, 2011.
A Blues legend !
In 2004, when he was 91, Perkins miraculously survived a car wreck in which his automobile was hit by an oncoming train; and….he continued to perform! in fact, he had more than 20 scheduled shows at the time of his death. A great!