From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Sat Oct 19, 2002  2:05 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Piano Red
 
PIANO RED (By Jean-Marc Pezet)

Born Willie Perryman, 19 October 1911, Hampton, Georgia
Died 25 July 1985, Atlanta, Georgia

Willie Perryman was born to poor sharecropper parents in a small rural
place not far from Atlanta where the family (around 9 children) moved
when he was 6 years old. Though the Perryman family was not musically
inclined, Willie's brother Rufus, an almost-blind black albino (like Willie),
was also a well-known musician, better known as Speckled Red who had
records out in the 30s notably. But Rufus has not been a direct influence
on young Willie. With a 19-year age gap between the two, Rufus had already
left the house at the time when Willie would have been able to learn from him.
Anyway, Willie started messing with the piano his mother bought and by 18
had mastered the instrument enough to play house parties, juke joints and
barrelhouses in Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee. He worked with such
luminaries as Barbecue Bob, Blind Boy Fuller and Blind Willie McTell, a
friend of the family. It is with him that he cut two sessions for Vocalion in
1936, which sadly have been lost.
After divorcing his first wife, he moved back to Atlanta in 1941, and married
his second wife, Carrie Lou Bailey. He then took a day job in an upholstery
factory, despite his failing sight, and continued playing on weekends, until
he was "rediscovered" in 1950 by RCA's Steve Sholes.
The first RCA single, issued in late 1950, coupled "Rockin' With Red" with
"Red's Boogie" and was a double smash hit, peaking respectively at # 5 and
# 4 on the R&B charts. "Rockin With Red" (aka "She Knows How To Rock")
is well known through numerous covers, particularly Little Jimmy Dickens'
pre-rockabilly version on Columbia in 1953 and Little Richard's 1959 recording.
The second recording session yielded another #10 hit, "Right String Baby But
The Wrong Yo Yo", a mainstay of Memphis rockabilly through Carl Perkins'
cover on SUN.
Piano Red, as he was commonly known, continued recording for RCA, then for
Groove in 1954, and switched back to the parent company in 1957 when Groove
folded, having numerous singles and EP's released.
In 1958, his RCA contract was not renewed, but Red had steady jobs and a
daily radio show that kept him very busy. Further releases appeared on
Checker and Jax as Piano Red, until he changed his name to Dr Feelgood,
in 1962, following a song title. "Dr Feelgood"/ "Mister Moonlight" was out on
Okeh and made # 29 for 11 weeks on the Cash Box Hot 100 and # 66 on the
Billboard pop chart. Further singles and an LP were released on Okeh,
Columbia, Master Sound and 1-2-3.
The 60s and 70s were spent with steady work at the Muhlenbrink Club in
Atlanta, tours in Europe (UK, Germany, Switzerland, ...) where he appeared
before dedicated audiences until the early 1980s. He was inducted into the
Georgia Music Hall Of Fame in 1983 and was also presented with the Pioneer
Award by the Georgia Music Association.
Ironically he had his last chart entry in 1985 with a duet with country singer
Danny Shirley on "Right String But The Wrong Yo Yo", just a few months
before he passed away due to cancer.
Piano Red's music has stood the test of time and to these days, still makes
the listeners stomp their feet, smile and feel just plain good.

Recommended listening:
Piano Red - Doctor Feelgood "The Doctor's In" 4 CD Box Set (Bear Family
BCD 15685)