Pinetop Smith facts for kids

Clarence Smith (born June 11, 1904 – died March 15, 1929), known as Pinetop Smith, was an American boogie-woogie style blues pianist. He became famous for his hit song "Pine Top's Boogie Woogie." This song was special because it used rhythmic "breaks" that were important in ragtime music. These breaks also hinted at the sound of rock and roll music that came later.

"Pine Top's Boogie Woogie" was the first time the term "boogie woogie" was used on a record. This helped make "boogie woogie" the official name for this exciting type of music.

Pinetop Smith's Music Career

Pinetop Smith was born in Troy, Alabama, and grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. He got his nickname "Pinetop" when he was a child because he loved climbing trees.

In 1920, he moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. There, he worked as an entertainer. He then toured with a group called the Theatre Owners Booking Association (T.O.B.A.). This was a vaudeville circuit, which means he performed in many different theaters. He sang, told jokes, and played the piano. For a while, he even played piano for the famous blues singer Ma Rainey.

In the mid-1920s, another musician named Cow Cow Davenport suggested Smith to Vocalion Records. In 1928, Pinetop moved to Chicago, Illinois, with his wife and young son to record music. For some time, he lived in the same house as other famous boogie-woogie pianists, Albert Ammons and Meade Lux Lewis.

The Hit Song "Pine Top's Boogie Woogie"

On December 29, 1928, Pinetop Smith recorded his very important song, "Pine Top's Boogie Woogie." This was one of the first boogie-woogie songs to become a hit. It also made the name "boogie woogie" popular for this style of music. It was the first song title to include the words 'boogie woogie'.

In the recording, Smith talks over the music, telling people how to dance to the song. He said he first played this song at a "house-rent party" in St. Louis, Missouri. These parties were held to help people earn money to pay their rent. Smith was the first to tell "the girl with the red dress on" to "not move a peg" until he told her to "shake that thing" and "mess around." You can hear similar words in many later songs, like "Mess Around" and "What'd I Say" by Ray Charles.

Pinetop Smith was supposed to record more songs for Vocalion in 1929. However, he sadly died the day before his next recording session. He passed away from a gunshot wound during a fight in a dance hall in Chicago. It's not clear if he was the person the bullet was meant for.

No pictures of Pinetop Smith are known to exist today.

Pinetop Smith's Recorded Songs

Here are some of the songs Pinetop Smith recorded for Vocalion Records:

Pinetop Smith's Influence on Music

Pinetop Smith was a big influence on other boogie-woogie pianists, like Albert Ammons and Pete Johnson. He became even more famous after his death when "Boogie Woogie" was arranged for a big band and recorded by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra in 1938. This version of "Boogie Woogie" became Dorsey's best-selling record, selling over five million copies! Other famous musicians like Bing Crosby and Count Basie also recorded their own versions of the song.

Later, in the 1950s, a pianist named Joe Willie Perkins became known as "Pinetop Perkins" because he recorded "Pinetop's Boogie Woogie." Perkins later became the pianist for the legendary blues musician Muddy Waters. When Pinetop Perkins was in his nineties, he even recorded a song in 2004 that played on the idea that people thought he had written "Pinetop's Boogie Woogie."

Ray Charles also used "Pine Top's Boogie Woogie" as inspiration for his song "Mess Around."

Awards and Honors

In 1991, Pinetop Smith was honored by being added to the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. This happened after his death, recognizing his important contributions to music.

See also

In Spanish: Pinetop Smith para niños