- Professor Longhair
Infobox musical artist
Name = Professor Longhair
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Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Henry Roeland Byrd
Alias = Fess
Born = birth date|1918|12|19|mf=y
Died = death date and age|1980|1|30|1918|12|19|mf=y
Origin =New Orleans, Louisiana
Instrument =vocals ,piano
Genre =Blues , New Orleans
Occupation = musician, songwriter
Years_active = 1930s-1980
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URL = [http://www.professorlonghair.com professorlonghair.com]
Current_members =
Past_members =
Notable_instruments =Professor Longhair (born Henry Roeland Byrd, also known as Roy "Bald Head" Byrd and as Fess) (
December 19 ,1918 -January 30 ,1980 ) was aNew Orleans blues singer and pianist. He was born inBogalusa, Louisiana . He was noted for his unique piano style, which he described as "a combination of rumba, mambo, and Calypso", and his unusual, expressive voice, described once as "freak unique". He was called the Bach of Rock and Roll for the clarity, varied and extremely accurate and "funky" syncopation, and the beautiful tone of his piano playing.Fact|date=June 2008 Byrd is noteworthy for having been active in two distinct periods, both in the heyday of early rhythm and blues, and in the resurgence of interest in various forms of traditional jazz after theNew Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival was created. At that time Byrd became a New Orleans icon.Professor Longhair had only one national commercial hit, "Bald Head" in 1950, and he lacked the crossover appeal for the white audience of
Fats Domino . But his rollicking, idiosyncratic, rumba-based piano and exuberant singing made him one of New Orleans biggest rock stars. [cite web
url=http://www.history-of-rock.com/indx.html
title=Introduction
publisher=www.history-of-rock.com
accessdate=2008-06-23
last=
first=]Musical career
Professor Longhair began his career in
New Orleans near the end of the 1940s but was not well known outside of the city at that time. Throughout the 1950s he recorded forAtlantic Records ,Federal Records and other, local labels. In the 1960s his career faltered and he became a janitor and gambled. But he was rediscovered in 1969 as the large whiteblues audience began to appreciate him and he was referred to as the "Father of New Orleans R&B". During this period his albums, such as "Crawfish Fiesta " onAlligator Records and "New Orleans Piano " for Atlantic became readily available. In 1980, Professor Longhair died.cite book| last = Oliver (ed.)| first = Paul| title = The Blackwell Guide to Recorded Blues| publisher = Blackwell Publisher
date = 1989| location = Cambridge, MA| pages = pp. 280-281| isbn =0-631-18301-9 ]Discography
*"
New Orleans Piano " (1953)
*"House Party New Orleans Style"
*"Rock 'N' Roll Gumbo" (1974)
*"Crawfish Fiesta " (1980)
*"Fess: The Professor Longhair Anthology"
*"Fess' Gumbo"
*"The Last Mardi Gras"
*"Ball the Wall", a live album of solo piano
*"London Concert", a live album with conga playerAlfred "Uganda" Roberts
*"Collector's Choice", a greatest hits album
*"Piano Players Rarely Ever Play Together," award-winning 76-minute documentary featuring Fess, Tuts Washington, and Allen Toussaint (1982).Quotations
* "The best thing that ever happened to the piano in New Orleans."
James Booker
* "Professor Longhair put 'funk' into music; he's the father of the stuff."Dr. John
* "He's theSatchel Paige of the piano." Albert Goldman
* "He's the Bach of rock."Allen Toussaint
* "He's a seminal force, a guru, an original creator of the New Orleans piano style ... the teacher of great players likeFats Domino , Allen Toussaint, Mac Rebbenack, James Booker, andHuey Smith . All acknowledge him as The Great Master."Jerry Wexler Footnotes
External links
* http://www.professorlonghair.com
* [http://www.rockhall.com/hof/inductee.asp?id=173 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:ilu36jph71w0~T1 All Music Guide]
* [http://www.myspace.com/professorlonghair1 Professor Longhair At Myspace]
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=2703 Henry Roeland Byrd] at Find-A-Grave
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