In 1940 I came across a record by Jimmy Yancey. I can't say how important that record is. From then on, all I wanted to do was play the blues.
I also like the banging piano - that old good-time piano.
If you can play the blues, you can do anything.
I like the blues a lot. I grew up on it.
Yeah, I don't like, um, I'm not interested in rock 'n' roll piano. I find it a little grating.
So yeah, I am definitely a blues man at heart.
The music I listened to when I was a kid was Sonny Boy Williams and Pinetop Perkins. He was the one who had the most influence on my playing. I saw him through a window playing piano and I thought it was unbelievable somebody could move their fingers that fast. And this is how I got interested in piano.
