Pinetop Perkins – Born In The Honey. The Pinetop Perkins Story (Vizztone).
93 year old Pinetop Perkins is one of the last remaining golden generation bluesmen. This 60 minute documentary, narrated by Chuck Dodson, tells his story and shows what a great showman he is. He was born Joe Willie Perkins in Belzoni, Mississippi on the Honey Island Plantation, hence the DVD’s title. His parents split up when he was young and he left home at the age of 16 after a particularly bad beating from his grandmother. After a very short Gospel career he met guitarist Robert Nighthawk and started playing with him, in between making moonshine and working on cotton farms. Around this time he started calling himself Pinetop, after Clarence Pinetop Smith. He continued to work in the cotton fields, playing guitar and piano at night before he met another who would be a long time colleague, guitarist Earl Hooker. Pinetop’s next adventure came in 1941 when Robert Nighthawk invited him to play with him on the King Biscuit radio show. This was the first show to feature live blues and led to Sonny Boy Williamson asking him to join his band, The King Biscuit Entertainers, in 1943.
Other notable achievements include teaching Ike Turner how to play piano. The DVD also features some live footage that shows the he, even in his advanced years, can still belt out a tune. His career has not been without its lows, one of which was when a chorus girl attacked him with a knife, severing a tendon in his left arm and nearly ended his career. There were no black hospitals and he had to depend on the radio station owner and sponsor to take him to be treated. Perkins says that his left arm don’t work too well ever since.
At the end of the 40s he was back with Nighthawk and Earl Hooker. He moved up to Memphis and then Cairo, Illinois in 1949. Cairo was midway between the Delta and Chicago and became an important staging post for blues musicians. Pinetop worked as a car mechanic during the day and played piano at night. By 1950, Nighthawk had moved on to Chicago and invited Pinetop to record with him. Again, he was unlucky with injuries and ruptured his eardrum one night when sitting too close to Hooker’s amplifier – his hearing went down to 50%. He went on to play in Ike Turner’s band and even had to fill in on drums occasionally. Perkins moved back to Cairo in 1953 before going up to Memphis to record at the legendary Sun Studios. It was there that he recorded one of his most famous songs, Pinetop’s Boogie Woogie. He was off on his travels again in the late 50s and his latest destination was St Louis where he joined Johnny O’Neill and The Houndogs. He finally made it to Chicago during the 1960s blues boom and it was here that he had his most fortuitous meeting. In 1969, Otis Spann left the Muddy Waters Band to go solo and Waters asked Pinetop to replace him. Despite a lasting friendship with Waters, Pinetop left with the rest of the band to form The Legendary Blues Band. Unfortunately, Waters died 3 years later and Perkins says that the reason was that the band had left him.
Perkins finally went solo and released his first album in 1988. he tells of his raucous whisky drinking days and how he gave it up at the ripe old age of 82 when he could not be bothered being arrested every time he stepped out his front door anymore. It all worked because he became a Grammy nominee and won a Lifetime Achievement award in 2005. By then, he had made his final, so far, move to Austin and was given the keys to the city on his 92nd birthday.
Apart from the great concert footage, one of the enduring memories is that of Pinetop being driven up to McDonalds in his Rolls Royce and ordering 2 double cheeseburgers and 4 apple pies. Seemingly, that is all he regularly eats. There are many interviews where some of the best blues musicians give their memories of Pinetop. Those interviewed were Sam Carr (Robert Nighthawk’s son), Willie ‘Big Eyes’ Smith, Bubba Sullivan, Ike Turner, Bobby Rush, Dr John, Lonnie Brooks, Mitch Woods, Paul Oscher, Hubert Sumlin, Taj Mahal, Ann Rabson, Marcia Ball, Kim Wilson, Koko Taylor, Bernard Allison and Eddie Clearwater.
Pinetop Perkins is one of the greatest bluesmen ever and a man of great humility. His answer to the final question of ‘if you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing’ was that he did not know what he would be doing, probably in the poor house. Also included is a bonus 10 track CD with some of his greatest songs. This DVD package is a must for those interested in blues history.
http://www.vizztone.com/
http://www.pinetopperkins.com/
David Blue.
93 year old Pinetop Perkins is one of the last remaining golden generation bluesmen. This 60 minute documentary, narrated by Chuck Dodson, tells his story and shows what a great showman he is. He was born Joe Willie Perkins in Belzoni, Mississippi on the Honey Island Plantation, hence the DVD’s title. His parents split up when he was young and he left home at the age of 16 after a particularly bad beating from his grandmother. After a very short Gospel career he met guitarist Robert Nighthawk and started playing with him, in between making moonshine and working on cotton farms. Around this time he started calling himself Pinetop, after Clarence Pinetop Smith. He continued to work in the cotton fields, playing guitar and piano at night before he met another who would be a long time colleague, guitarist Earl Hooker. Pinetop’s next adventure came in 1941 when Robert Nighthawk invited him to play with him on the King Biscuit radio show. This was the first show to feature live blues and led to Sonny Boy Williamson asking him to join his band, The King Biscuit Entertainers, in 1943.
Other notable achievements include teaching Ike Turner how to play piano. The DVD also features some live footage that shows the he, even in his advanced years, can still belt out a tune. His career has not been without its lows, one of which was when a chorus girl attacked him with a knife, severing a tendon in his left arm and nearly ended his career. There were no black hospitals and he had to depend on the radio station owner and sponsor to take him to be treated. Perkins says that his left arm don’t work too well ever since.
At the end of the 40s he was back with Nighthawk and Earl Hooker. He moved up to Memphis and then Cairo, Illinois in 1949. Cairo was midway between the Delta and Chicago and became an important staging post for blues musicians. Pinetop worked as a car mechanic during the day and played piano at night. By 1950, Nighthawk had moved on to Chicago and invited Pinetop to record with him. Again, he was unlucky with injuries and ruptured his eardrum one night when sitting too close to Hooker’s amplifier – his hearing went down to 50%. He went on to play in Ike Turner’s band and even had to fill in on drums occasionally. Perkins moved back to Cairo in 1953 before going up to Memphis to record at the legendary Sun Studios. It was there that he recorded one of his most famous songs, Pinetop’s Boogie Woogie. He was off on his travels again in the late 50s and his latest destination was St Louis where he joined Johnny O’Neill and The Houndogs. He finally made it to Chicago during the 1960s blues boom and it was here that he had his most fortuitous meeting. In 1969, Otis Spann left the Muddy Waters Band to go solo and Waters asked Pinetop to replace him. Despite a lasting friendship with Waters, Pinetop left with the rest of the band to form The Legendary Blues Band. Unfortunately, Waters died 3 years later and Perkins says that the reason was that the band had left him.
Perkins finally went solo and released his first album in 1988. he tells of his raucous whisky drinking days and how he gave it up at the ripe old age of 82 when he could not be bothered being arrested every time he stepped out his front door anymore. It all worked because he became a Grammy nominee and won a Lifetime Achievement award in 2005. By then, he had made his final, so far, move to Austin and was given the keys to the city on his 92nd birthday.
Apart from the great concert footage, one of the enduring memories is that of Pinetop being driven up to McDonalds in his Rolls Royce and ordering 2 double cheeseburgers and 4 apple pies. Seemingly, that is all he regularly eats. There are many interviews where some of the best blues musicians give their memories of Pinetop. Those interviewed were Sam Carr (Robert Nighthawk’s son), Willie ‘Big Eyes’ Smith, Bubba Sullivan, Ike Turner, Bobby Rush, Dr John, Lonnie Brooks, Mitch Woods, Paul Oscher, Hubert Sumlin, Taj Mahal, Ann Rabson, Marcia Ball, Kim Wilson, Koko Taylor, Bernard Allison and Eddie Clearwater.
Pinetop Perkins is one of the greatest bluesmen ever and a man of great humility. His answer to the final question of ‘if you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing’ was that he did not know what he would be doing, probably in the poor house. Also included is a bonus 10 track CD with some of his greatest songs. This DVD package is a must for those interested in blues history.
http://www.vizztone.com/
http://www.pinetopperkins.com/
David Blue.
No comments:
Post a Comment