If you lived in Atlanta or were going to college anywhere along the east coast in the 1950s and 60s, you probably heard Piano Red. Red - also known as Dr. Feelgood and the Interns. Piano Red played a rollicking kind of piano that had you tapping your feet as soon as the music started. Red died 25 years ago, and his style of music was lost. Now, a new CD is bringing his barrel house blues back to a new generation of partyers.
More from Philip Graitcer
Blind Willie McTell lives on in Thomason
(00:04:07)
From: Philip Graitcer
Bluesman Blind Willie McTell travelled throughout the South, but he made frequent stops in Thomson, Georgia where he was born. Now the city celebrates its favorite musical ...
Chopsticks - Made in America
(00:03:02)
From: Philip Graitcer
Coals to Newcastle: Chopsticks made in Georgia are being exported to China
The Hidden History of a One Room School
(00:05:14)
From: Philip Graitcer
When the tiny African American community on Georgia's St Simon's Island set out to save its one-room schoolhouse, it didn't realize that the building was a link to an ...
Delta Deli Blues
(00:04:26)
From: Philip Graitcer
Greenville, Mississippi is singing the blues about the corned beef luncheon.
The Day the Music Died
(00:04:42)
From: Philip Graitcer
Nancy Faust, Chicago White Sox ballpark organist for 41 seasons, is retiring at the end of this season, bringing to an end an era of baseball organ music.
Braves Organist Tweets a New Tradition
(00:04:15)
From: Philip Graitcer
At Atlanta's Turner Field, the Braves organist is twittering a new baseball tradition
Is Our Town Our Town?
(00:03:21)
From: Philip Graitcer
Thornton Wilder's Our Town is the most produced play in America, but does it need an update for today's America?
Power of Half
(00:03:34)
From: Philip Graitcer
It sounded like a goofy, crazy downsizing plan. The Salwen family downsized - moving from a 7-bedroom mansion into a smaller house and giving the proceeds to charity. But ...
How Coca Cola Became Kosher
(00:04:30)
From: Philip Graitcer
The story of how one rabbi got Coca Cola to become kosher
The Art of Field Recording
(00:07:58)
From: Philip Graitcer
Folk music is still being played by the "folk."
Related Pieces
Piece Description
If you lived in Atlanta or were going to college anywhere along the east coast in the 1950s and 60s, you probably heard Piano Red. Red - also known as Dr. Feelgood and the Interns. Piano Red played a rollicking kind of piano that had you tapping your feet as soon as the music started. Red died 25 years ago, and his style of music was lost. Now, a new CD is bringing his barrel house blues back to a new generation of partyers.
Broadcast History
WABE (Atlanta) August, 2010
Transcript
Willie Lee Perryman – Piano Red – was born in 1911 and grew up in Hampton, about 30 miles south of Atlanta. He taught himself piano by trying to imitate stride piano players like James P. Johnson and Fats Waller.
David Fulmer, an Atlanta blues writer and novelist, says Piano Red’s musical style was a blend of barrelhouse and necessity.
[rocking with red]
Fulmer: "It was very heavy on the percussive end, the left hand."
[music up]
"On top of that, because of the places he had to play, these juke joints, and theaters and rent parties, he had to play loud and he also had to sing loud and that became his signature."
[music up]
Red had to shout so his music could be heard over the partyers. Roy Lee Johnson, who played guitar in Red’s band, says Red had a commanding stage presence, too.
Roylee: "He had the biggest hands, Aw, man, he was big. And he was an albino person. He would al...
Read the full transcript
Timing and Cues
TRT 4:00
VO 3:29
Intro and Outro
INTRO:See long description
OUTRO:I'm Philip Graitcer
Musical Works
| Title | Artist | Album | Label | Year | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rocking With Red | Piano Red | The Lost Atlanta Tapes. | Landslide | 2010 | 00:14 |
| Low Down Dirty Dog | Piano Red | The Lost Atlanta Tapes. | Landslide | 2010 | 00:35 |
