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

Happy Birthday, Frank Ocean!

Singer songwriter, rapper, record producer and photographer Frank Ocean (Christopher Breaux) was born in New Orleans on October 28, 1987. He is known for his idiosyncratic musical style, introspective and elliptical songwriting, unconventional production techniques, and wide vocal range. Music critics have credited him with revitalizing R&B, with his distinctive sound and style influencing numerous artists of various music genres.

Ocean began his musical career as a ghostwriter, and joined hip hop collective Odd Future in 2010. He released his debut mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra, achieving critical success, with the single "Novacane" peaking on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 82, and later achieving platinum certification. In 2012, Def Jam Recordings signed Ocean to a recording contract., and in July of that year, he released his debut studio album Channel Orange. It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and was soon certified platinum. The album received universal acclaim from critics and won Ocean his first Grammy Award, for Best Urban Contemporary Album. 

Ocean’s second album, Blonde, was released in 2016 as was his visual project Endless. Blonde debuted at number one in several countries and was also highly acclaimed by critics. In 2017, he was featured on the Calvin Harris single "Slide", opposite Migos, which became Ocean's highest charting song in the US, peaking at number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100. Happy Birthday to a true NOLA original talent!

Photo by: Rory - https://www.flickr.com/photos/73714450@N08/9280513387

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 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

Celebrating the Birthday of Clifton Chenier (Copy)

Accordionist Clifton Chenier was born on June 25, 1925, in Leonville, Louisiana, and was known as the King of Zydeco, and also as the King of the South. A French-speaking native, he was an eminent performer and recording artist of zydeco, which arose from Cajun and Creole music, with R&B, jazz, and blues influences. Chenier began his recording career in 1954, and garnered his first national hit in 1955 with "Ay-Tete Fi" (Hey, Little Girl) (a cover of Professor Longhair's song). The national success of the release led to numerous tours with popular rhythm and blues performers such as Ray Charles, Etta James, and Lowell Fulson. Chenier is credited with redesigning the wood and crimped tin washboard into the vest frottoir, an instrument that would easily hang from the shoulders.

In 1976, Chenier reached a national audience when he appeared on the premiere season of the PBS music program Austin City Limits. Three years later in 1979 he returned to the show with his Red Hot Louisiana Band. Chenier's popularity peaked in the 1980s, and he and his band traveled throughout the world. Chenier was recognized with a Grammy Award in 1983 for his album I'm Here. He was only the second Louisiana Creole to win a Grammy, following Queen Ida. He was a recipient of a 1984 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts.

Sadly, Chenier died of diabetes-related kidney disease in December 12, 1987 in Lafayette, Louisiana. Since then, his son C. J. Chenier has carried on the zydeco tradition by touring with Chenier's band and recording albums. Today we celebrate the birthday and amazing legacy of a true Louisiana original!

Happy Birthday, Deacon John!

Bandleader, singer, guitarist, Blues, R&B, and Rock n Roll musician Deacon John Moore was born in New Orleans on June 23, 1941, and grew up in the 8th Ward. Moore was active on the New Orleans R&B scene since his teens, and was a session player on many hit recordings of the late 1950s and the 1960s, including those by Allen Toussaint, Irma Thomas, Lee Dorsey, Ernie K-Doe, and others. His band The Ivories at New Orleans' Dew Drop Inn attracted an enthusiastic following, sometimes upstaging visiting national acts Moore was hired to open for. While highly regarded locally and by his fellow musicians, lack of hit records under his own name kept him from the national fame achieved by a number of his peers. Regardless, in 2000 Moore was inducted into the Louisiana Blues Hall of Fame. Moore has acted in films and television, and was featured in the documentary segment Going Back to New Orleans: The Deacon John Film and the concert CD, Deacon John's Jump Blues (2003). On July 25, 2006 Moore became president of the local branch of the American Federation of Musicians. Deacon John remains a local favorite on the New Orleans music scene. If you have the chance, be sure to catch one of his fantastic shows!

Photo by Mobilus In Mobili - https://www.flickr.com/photos/mobili/21498536583/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44363359