Huey 'Piano' Smith – born in New Orleans, Louisiana on January 26, 1934 - was an R&B pianist whose work in the 1950s left a significant mark on the development of rock and roll. He wrote his first song, “Robertson Street Boogie”, on the piano aged just eight, and at 15 he began working in clubs and recording alongside Eddie Jones (later known as Guitar Slim). Thanks to his performances backing Jones and Earl King, Huey ‘Piano’ Smith became a sought-after session pianist and appeared on tracks by the likes of Little Richard, Smiley Lewis, and Lloyd Price. By the mid-1950s, he was leading his own band, The Clowns, fronted by Bobby Marchan. His group landed a deal with Ace and scored a number of Billboard chart hits, most notably “Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu,” which topped a million sales and went gold. The band had their biggest hit in 1958 with the double A-side “Don't You Just Know It” b/w “High Blood Pressure,” reaching the R&B Top 5 and the national Top 10. He issued his only proper album, Having a Good Time with Huey ‘Piano’ Smith and His Clowns, in 1959. He wrote and recorded the song “Sea Cruise” with His Clowns, but then used the same backing track and brought in Frankie Ford to sing lead vocals. Ford’s version of the song was a hit, reaching Number 14 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Singles chart. Huey ‘Piano’ Smith briefly moved over to Imperial before shifting back to Ace for a final chart single, 1962's “Pop Eye.” He continued to record and tour through the '60s, both with The Clowns and with The Hueys and The Pitter Pats, but never broke into the charts again. He ultimately became a Jehovah's Witness and left the industry altogether, though in 2000, he was given a Pioneer Award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. His recorded legacy has been reissued several times on compilations over the years including Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu (1965), This Is… Huey ‘Piano’ Smith (1998), and Don't You Just Know It: The Very Best of 1956-1962 Singles As & Bs (2016). Huey ‘Piano’ Smith died on February 13, 2023, at the age of 89.
