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Booker T. Laury Proves Not All Musicians Are Driven To Be Stars

http://youtu.be/PX6rJa81eAI

Born in Memphis, Booker T. Laury played Blues, Barrelhouse, Boogie-woogie and Jazz and he was a pianist and vocalist. What he was not was a fame seeker.

The history of the Blues is rife with stories of the migration of Southern Blues artists to Chicago and stardom. Not for Laury, when asked to come north by Roosevelt Sykes with a promise of a recording contract and major success, he declined.

Booker T. Laury was born Lawrence Laury in 1914 and was influenced to play the piano by his mother. At age 6, he pumped the family organ when his mother played and soon started to learn to play himself. He grew up with close friend Memphis Slim who, of course, also became a top pianist. The new sound of barrelhouse piano was jointly developed by Laury, Slim, Roosevelt Sykes and Sunnyland Slim.

Booker T. Laury and Memphis Slim set out to play area clubs in the early 1930s and their style became quite popular. It was in 1935 that Roosevelt Sykes made his offer to both Slim and Laury to move to Chicago. Slim took him up on it while Laury chose to remain in Memphis and continue in the local scene.

Laury made a fine living for decades, mostly in and around Memphis, though he did branch out around the neighboring states. National recognition came late for Booker when he appeared in the film Great Balls of Fire! playing his signature “Big Legged Woman.” The result was the 1993 album Nothin' But the Blues, which I recommend as a fine record of the Memphis barrelhouse piano style that filled area clubs for many years.

http://youtu.be/M-MT3j-6Ff8

The passing of Booker T. Laury in 1995 was a loss to Memphis and the Blues. He stands as a prime example of the “working class” musicians who keep the Blues alive in the small clubs that made the Blues the treasure it is today.

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