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 chorus girl 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. He recorded "Pinetop's Boogie Woogie" (written by Pinetop Smith) at Sam Phillips' studio in Memphis, Tennessee. ("They used to call me Pinetop," he recalled, "because I played that song.") However, Perkins was only 15 years old in 1928, when Smith originally recorded "Pinetop's Boogie Woogie".
Perkins then relocated to Illinois and left the music business until Hooker convinced him to record again in 1968. Perkins replaced Otis Spann when he left the Muddy Waters band in 1969.[3] After ten years with that organization, he formed The Legendary Blues Band with Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, recording through the late 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s.
Perkins played a brief musical cameo on the street outside Aretha's Soul Food Cafe in the 1980 movie The Blues Brothers, having an argument with John Lee Hooker over who wrote "Boom Boom." He also appeared in the 1987 movie Angel Heart as a member of guitarist Toots Sweet's band.
Although he appeared as a sideman on countless recordings, Perkins never had an album devoted solely to his artistry, until the release of After Hours on Blind Pig Records in 1988. The tour in support of the album also featured Jimmy Rogers and guitarist Hubert Sumlin. In 1998 Perkins released the album Legends featuring Sumlin.
Perkins was driving his automobile in 2004 in La Porte, Indiana when he was hit by a train. The car was wrecked but the 91-year-old driver was not seriously hurt. Until his death, Perkins lived in Austin, Texas. He usually performed a couple of nights a week at Nuno's on Sixth Street. In 2005, Perkins received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 2008, Perkins received a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album for Last of the Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen: Live In Dallas together with Henry James Townsend, Robert Lockwood, Jr. and David Honeyboy Edwards. He was also nominated in the same category for his solo album, Pinetop Perkins on the 88's: Live in Chicago.
The song "Hey Mr. Pinetop Perkins", performed by Perkins and Angela Strehli, played on the common misconception that Perkins wrote "Pinetop's Boogie Woogie":
Hey Mr. Pinetop Perkins
I got a question for you
How'd you write that first boogie woogie
The one they named after you
At the age of 97, he won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album for Joined at the Hip, an album he recorded with Willie "Big Eyes" Smith. Perkins thus became the oldest-ever Grammy winner, edging out comedian George Burns who had won in the spoken word category 21 years earlier (Perkins had tied with Burns, at the age of 90, in 2004).
A little more than a month later, Perkins died on 21 March 2011 at his home in Austin. At the time of his death, the musician had more than 20 performances booked for 2011. Shortly before that, while discussing his late career resurgence with an interviewer, he conceded, "I can't play piano like I used to either. I used to have bass rolling like thunder. I can't do that no more. But I ask the Lord, please forgive me for the stuff I done trying to make a nickel." Along with David "Honeyboy" Edwards, he was one of the last two original Mississippi Delta blues musicians, and also one of the last to have a personal knowledge of, and friendship with, Robert Johnson.
Selected discography
1976: Boogie Woogie King (recorded 1976, released 1992)
1977: Hard Again (Muddy Waters)
1988: After Hours
1992: Pinetop Perkins with the Blue Ice Band
1992: On Top
1993: Portrait of a Delta Bluesman
1995: Live Top (with the Blue Flames)
1996: Eye to Eye (with Ronnie Earl, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith and Calvin "Fuzz" Jones)[9]
1997: Born in the Delta
1998: Sweet Black Angel
1998: Legends (with Hubert Sumlin)
1998: Down In Mississippi
1999: Live at 85! (with George Kilby Jr)
2000: Back On Top
2003: Heritage of the Blues: The Complete Hightone Sessions
2003: All Star Blues Jam (with Bob Margolin et al.)
2003: 8 Hands on 88 Keys - Chicago Blues Piano Masters The Sirens Records
2004: Ladies Man
2007: 10 Days Out: Blues From The Backroads (with Kenny Wayne Shepherd and the Muddy Waters Band—Live)
2008: Pinetop Perkins and Friends
2010: Joined At the Hip (with Willie "Big Eyes" Smith)
2012: Heaven (with Willie "Big Eyes" Smith on one track and liner notes by Justin O'Brien)
Chains Of Love
Pinetop Perkins Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Has tied my heart to you
Chains of love
Have made me feel so blue
Well, now I'm your prisoner
Tell me what you're gonna do
Are you gonna leave me
Are you gonna love me
Are you gonna make me cry
These chains of blues gonna haunt me
Until the day I die.
Well, if you're gonna leave me
Please won't you set me free
Well, if you're gonna leave me
Please won't you set me free
I can't stay here with these chains
Less'n you stay on here with me
Well, three 'o clock in the morning
Baby the moon is shining bright
Yeah, three 'o clock in the morning
The moon is shining bright
I'm just sitting here wondering
Where can you be tonight.
The lyrics of Pinetop Perkins's song Chains of Love explore the theme of being trapped in a relationship which is causing mental anguish. The singer is expressing his longing for his partner to release him from the "chains of love" that are binding him to her. He questions whether she will leave him, make him cry, or love him, but ultimately, he knows that he will be haunted by these "chains of blues" until the day he dies. The song contains an air of desperation and loneliness, as clearly depicted in the verse where he is sitting alone at night, wondering where his partner is.
This song could be interpreted as a commentary on the devastating effects of being in a toxic relationship. The symbolic chains represent the emotional ties that keep the singer bound to a relationship that is causing him pain. Despite his awareness of these chains, he seems unable to remove them without the help of his partner. This song lends itself to a feeling of despair, and it highlights the dangerous consequences of allowing oneself to be trapped in an unhappy relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Chains of love
The strong attachment of love
Has tied my heart to you
I am completely devoted to you
Have made me feel so blue
My heart aches with sadness and sorrow
Well, now I'm your prisoner
I am trapped in your love and cannot escape
Tell me what you're gonna do
What are your intentions for our future?
Are you gonna leave me
Will you abandon me?
Are you gonna make me cry
Will you cause me pain and heartbreak?
Are you gonna love me
Will you reciprocate my love?
These chains of blues gonna haunt me
The burden of my love for you will stay with me forever
Until the day I die.
My love for you will last until I pass away
Please won't you set me free
Release me from the pain of our love
I can't stay here with these chains
The weight of our love is too heavy for me to bear
Less'n you stay on here with me
I need you to be by my side, to help me carry this burden of love
Well, three 'o clock in the morning
Late at night when darkness is all around me
Baby the moon is shining bright
The moonlight brings the only comfort
I'm just sitting here wondering
I am lost in thought and uncertainty
Where can you be tonight.
I am longing for your presence and wondering where you are
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc
Written by: AHMET ERTEGUN, HARRY VAN WALLS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
John Benn
Wonderful version of a real blues gem. They all rock along so nicely. Very enjoyable--well done
Stefan Marinov
невероятна музика и изпълнение... обожавам я!
DianeKY
Gotta love those blues! Thanks for posting
Wilson Jaime G.
Hermoso!!! Hermoso!!! por Dios el BLUES es tu música!!!!
Thevk1nf
Had the pleasure of sitting on the floor at Newfoundland's Memorial University Thompson Student Centre, a few feet away from this incredible musician during a Muddy Waters concert many many years ago. Had absolutely no idea who he was...we were there to see Muddy. He noticed my wife and I kinda grooving along to his piano work...made solid eye contact with us, then ripped off an incredible piano run, with the widest grin I've ever seen on a human face, and a huge wink at us...kept doing it all thru the show. Made our night - I can barely remember Muddy's performance, but I'll never forget Pinetop that night...
MALDUN1
Fabulous, real pedigree!
Katica BLAŽOK
Predobro, opuštajuće i za ples, naročito za mlade i zaljubljene, malo i zabrinute
Mizé Fernandes
LOVE THE BLUES !! THX
Lucian Duran
Cred ca se apropie de jazz.Perfect!
Andy Antoniou
love pinetop...!!!!!