Huey "Piano" Smith's musical legacy stands alongside that of
fellow New Orleans legends Dr. John, Fats Domino, Ernie K-Doe, and
Allen Toussaint. His 1957 classic, "Rocking Pneumonia and the
Boogie Woogie Flu," made Billboard's top R&B singles chart, and
hundreds of artists including Aerosmith, the Grateful Dead, the
Beach Boys, Johnny Rivers, and Chubby Checker have recorded his
songs.
The first biography of the artist responsible for hits "Don't
You Just Know It," "High Blood Pressure," and "Sea Cruise," Huey
"Piano" Smith and the Rocking Pneumonia Blues follows the
musician's extraordinary life from his Depression-era childhood to
his teen years as a pianist for blues star Guitar Slim to his
mainstream success in the 1950s and '60s. Drawing from extensive
interviews and court records, author and journalist John Wirt also
provides new insights on Smith's professional disappointments and
financial struggles in the 1980s and '90s as he battled over
royalties from his most successful and profitable work.
An enigmatic and guarded personality in a profession of
extroverted performers, Smith made farreaching contributions to the
New Orleans music scene as a songwriter, pianist, and producer.
Wirt reveals that Smith's numerous collaborations with other
artists -- including the Clowns, the Pitter Pats, the Hueys, and
Shindig Smith and the Soul Shakers -- served as vehicles for his
creative vision rather than simply as an anonymous backup for a
leading front man.
Throughout this intimate account, Wirt details Smith's
significant impact on rock and roll history and underscores both
the longevity of his music -- which has entertained and inspired
for over five decades -- and the musician's personal endurance in
the face of hardship and opposition.
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