Pinetop Perkins & Willie "Big Eyes" Smith: Joined at the Hip

"In 1969 in Buffalo, N.Y., a wiry, middle-aged chain smoker sat in on piano during a jam session and earned a spot in the band of legendary bluesman Muddy Waters. By then, Pinetop Perkins had already performed with the likes of Sonny Boy Williamson and slide guitarist Robert Nighthawk. ... 'Muddy came by, and heard him jamming, and he liked what he heard. The rest is history,' said Willie 'Big Eyes' Smith, who was a drummer in the band. By the time he and Waters hooked up, Pinetop was in his 50s and 'had more energy than us younger folks did,' Smith said. That verve kept him playing the blues and collecting Grammy Awards until shortly before his death from cardiac arrest Monday at his Austin, Texas, home. He was 97. ... Perkins won a Grammy in February for best traditional blues album for 'Joined at the Hip: Pinetop Perkins & Willie "Big Eyes" Smith.' That win made Perkins the oldest Grammy winner, edging out late comedian George Burns, who was 95" (Shelia Byrd and Jim Vertuno, "Pinetop Perkins Dead," Huffington Post, 3/21/11).
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