When Otis Span left Muddy Waters’ blues band in 1969, he left some pretty big shoes to fill. Joe Willie “Pinetop” Perkins stepped in and never looked back. After a decade playing with Muddy, and another ten with his Legendary Blues Band; Pinetop finally got around to cutting his first solo album After Hours in 1988. He spent the next 23 years sealing his legacy with solo albums, culminating in last month’s Grammy award winning Joined at the Hip- cut w/ harmonica legend Willie “Big Eyes” Smith. At 97 years old, Pine became the oldest living recipient of the award.

In the end, Pinetop goes down as arguably the greatest blues pianist of all time, with work spanning eight decades. The man was friends with Robert Johnson, played with Muddy Waters, toured with Ike Turner and won a Grammy in 2011. Not bad for a guy who only wanted “Two Cheeseburgers, Apple Pie, a cigarette and a pretty girl”.

R.I.P. Pinetop Perkins – One of the last great Mississippi bluesmen.