Show 13: The Blues Piano Tradition
This is a piano show, plain and simple, but it is also a show about what the keyboard let blues players do. Barrelhouse thunder, rolling left hands, jazz harmony, and church memory all meet here in one long line of black-and-white keys.
I'm Ol' Mr. Read. Up first on our evening show, to fit along with our theme of Piano Blues, that is, songs whose oomph derives most clearly from the musicians' tinkles of the black and ivory keys, is Howlin' Wolf's "How Many More Years." Recorded in Memphis in 1951 by Sam Phillips, this track features Willie Johnson on guitar and, most notably, a young Ike Turner on the piano. Here it is.
This is a piano show, plain and simple, but it is also a show about what the keyboard let blues players do. Barrelhouse thunder, rolling left hands, jazz harmony, and church memory all meet here in one long line of black-and-white keys.
| Order | Track | Artist | Segment | Bridge | Story |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | How Many More Years | Howlin' Wolf | 1 | - | |
| 2 | Have You Ever Been to Nashville? | Memphis Slim and Willie Dixon with Pete Seeger | 1 | - | |
| 3 | I'm The Wolf | Howlin' Wolf | 1 | - | |
| 4 | Blue Monday | Fats Domino | 1 | - | |
| 5 | Hallelujah, I Love Her So | Ray Charles | 1 | - | |
| 6 | Well All Right | Big Joe Turner | 1 | - | |
| 7 | Sweet Home Chicago | Henry Townsend,Roosevelt Sykes | 1 | - | |
| 8 | 32-20 Blues | Roosevelt Sykes | 1 | Yes | - |
| 9 | The First Time I Met the Blues | Little Brother Montgomery | 2 | Yes | - |
| 10 | Red River Dam Blues | Washboard Sam | 2 | - | |
| 11 | Ain't Misbehavin' | Zutty Singleton,Fats Waller | 2 | - | |
| 12 | Fats Waller's Original E Flat Blues | Fats Waller | 2 | - | |
| 13 | Ain't Nobody's Business | Otis Spann | 2 | - | |
| 14 | Willow Weep for Me | The Johnny Watson Trio | 2 | - | |
| 15 | Original Jelly Roll Blues | Jelly Roll Morton | 2 | - | |
| 16 | Worried Life Blues | Big Maceo | 2 | Yes | - |
| 17 | Anna Lou Blues | Tampa Red | 3 | Yes | - |
| 18 | It Hurts Me Too | Tampa Red | 3 | Story | |
| 19 | My Man | Billie Holiday | 3 | - | |
| 20 | One For The Highway | James Booker | 3 | - | |
| 21 | How Long Blues | Speckled Red | 3 | - | |
| 22 | Someday (Acoustic) | Otis Spann | 3 | - | |
| 23 | Hard Feelings Blues | Champion Jack Dupree | 3 | - | |
| 24 | Stack-O-Lee | Champion Jack Dupree | 3 | - | |
| 25 | Papa's on the House Top | Leroy Carr | 3 | - | |
| 26 | Tipitina | Professor Longhair | 3 | Yes | - |
| 27 | Rockin' with Red | Piano Red | 4 | Yes | - |
| 28 | Five Long Years | Eddie Boyd | 4 | - | |
| 29 | Roll 'Em Pete | Big Joe Turner | 4 | - | |
| 30 | Just a Dream | Big Bill Broonzy | 4 | - | |
| 32 | Please Stop Playing These Blues | Jay McShann,Jimmy Witherspoon | 4 | - | |
| 33 | Sonny's Blue | Sonny Terry,Brownie McGhee | 4 | - | |
| 34 | Key to the Highway | Jazz Gillum,Memphis Slim | 4 | - | |
| 35 | Take It Easy | Pinetop Perkins | 4 | Yes | - |
| 37 | Eyesight To The Blind | Mose Allison | 5 | - | |
| 38 | Rhapsody in Blue | George Gershwin,Paul Whiteman Dance Band,Paul Whiteman | 5 | - | |
| Get Out Of My Life, Woman | Allen Toussaint | - | |||
| Somebody Changed the Lock | Dr. John | - |