Pinetop Perkins

Pictures

Listen to, buy or share

Buy

Buy on Amazon Amazon Expand purchase options
  • Digital download
  • Amazon Amazon
  • 7digital 7digital
  • iTunes iTunes
  • Physical media
  • Amazon Amazon Search
  • eBay eBay Search
  • 125,174
    scrobbles
  • 20,473
    listeners

Tags

Everyone’s tags

More tags

Biography

Pinetop Perkins (born Joe Willie Perkins on July 7, 1913-March 21, 2011) was an American blues musician.

Perkins was born in Belzoni, Mississippi. He began his career as a guitarist, but then injured the tendons in his left arm in a fight with a choirgirl in Helena, Arkansas. Unable to play guitar, Perkins switched to the piano, and also switched from Robert Nighthawk’s KFFA radio program to Sonny Boy Williamson’s King Biscuit Time. He continued working with Nighthawk, however, accompanying him on 1950’s “Jackson Town Gal”.

In the 1950s, Perkins joined Earl Hooker and began touring, stopping to record “Pinetop’s Boogie Woogie” (written by Pinetop Smith) at Sam Phillips’ studio in Memphis. (“They used to call me Pinetop,” he recalled, “because I played that song.”[1]) He then relocated to Illinois and left music until Hooker convinced him to record again in 1968.

When Otis Spann left the Muddy Waters band, Perkins was chosen to replace him. He stayed for more than a decade, then left with several other musicians to form the Legendary Blues Band, recording through the late 1970s, 80s and early 90s. Perkins performed concerts on his own and did some touring in 2006 at the age of 93.

Perkins was driving his auto in 2004 in La Porte, Indiana, when he was hit by a train. The car was totaled, but the 91-year-old driver was not seriously hurt.

Perkins now lives in Austin, Texas. He usually performs a couple of songs every Tuesday night at the legendary Texas country dance hall, The Broken Spoke.

In 2005, Perkins received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Read more… Edit bio

Featured tracks

Featured tracks

Top Albums

Listening Trend

20,473listeners all time
125,174scrobbles all time
Recent listeners trend:

Start scrobbling and track your listening history

Last.fm users scrobble the music they play in iTunes, Spotify, Rdio and over 200 other music players.

Create a Last.fm profile

Shoutbox

Leave a comment. Log in to Last.fm or sign up.

Listening Now

Top Listeners

Email Newsletter

Universal Music Group Get exclusive tour, release & promotion updates on Pinetop Perkins from Universal Music.