Professor Longhair (born Henry Roeland Byrd, also known as Roy "Bald Head" Byrd and as Fess) (December 19, 1918 - January 30, 1980) was a legendary New Orleans blues musician. He was born in Bogalusa, 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. 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 the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival was created. At that time Byrd and his compositions achieved a well deserved iconic status. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (400x601, 33 KB)source: http://www. ... is the 353rd day of the year (354th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Nickname: Location in the State of Louisiana and the United States Coordinates: , Country United States State Louisiana Parish Orleans Founded 1718 Government  - Mayor Ray Nagin (D) Area  - City  350. ... January 30 is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of music based on the use of the blue notes and a repetitive pattern that most often follows a twelve-bar structure. ... This article is under construction. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... In music a singer or vocalist is a type of musician who sings, i. ... A short grand piano, with the top up. ... is the 353rd day of the year (354th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... January 30 is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... New Orleans is the largest city in the state of Louisiana, United States of America. ... Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of music based on the use of the blue notes and a repetitive pattern that most often follows a twelve-bar structure. ... Bogalusa is a city in Washington Parish, Louisiana, United States. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ... Mambo is a Cuban musical form and dance style. ... Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music which originated in Trinidad at about the start of the 20th century. ... New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (aka Jazz Fest) is an annual celebration of the music and culture of New Orleans and Louisiana. ...

His career in music began in the 1930s, dancing for tips. "The very first instrument I played was the bottom of my feet, working out rhythms, tap dancing. We used to dance all up and down Bourbon Street."

He learned guitar and piano and began to take music seriously when he found he could get out of work by playing piano for his fellow members of the Civilian Conservation Corps. He also worked as a boxer, cook, and professional card player. CCC workers on road construction, Camp Euclid, Ohio 1936 The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a work relief program for young men from unemployed families established on March 19, 1933 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his first hundred days. ... Professional boxing bout featuring Ricardo Domínguez (left, throwing a left uppercut) versus Rafael Ortiz Boxing, also referred to as prizefighting, the noble art, the sweet science, and pugilism is a combat sport in which two participants of similar weight fight each other with their fists in a series of...

In the late 1940s, he sat in on piano at the Caledonia Club while Dave Bartholomew's band was taking a break. He was an immediate hit and Bartholomew, later famous as Fats Domino's bandleader and collaborator, was fired. The band all had long hair and were dubbed Professor Longhair and the Four Hairs. Dave Bartholomew (born 24 December 1920, Edgard, Louisiana, United States of America) is a musician, band leader, composer, and arranger, prominent in the music of New Orleans throughout the second half of the 20th century. ... Antoine Dominique Fats Domino (born February 26, 1928) is a classic R&B and rock and roll singer, songwriter and pianist. ...

He began recording the following year. His signature song, "Mardi Gras in New Orleans" (still the theme song of New Orleans Mardi Gras) was recorded in 1949 under the name Professor Longhair and the Shuffling Hungarians. "I had one Hindu in the band, but there weren't no Hungarians," he explained. Revelers, Frenchmen Street, Faubourg Marigny. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ...

Longhair's only national R&B hit was 1950's "Bald Head". In the early 1950s, he released several more minor hits, including "Tipitina" and "Ball the Wall". Year 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... The Tipitinas Foundation, executive produced by Bill Taylor, is a not-for-profit charity organization in the United States in place to encourage the city of New Orleans to continue its musical heritage, in particular in the wake of the citys tragedy, Hurricane Katrina. ...

He appeared under many names, including Roy Byrd and his Blues Jumpers, Roy "Bald Head" Byrd, Roland Byrd, Professor Longhair and his Blues Scholars, and Professor Longhair and the Clippers. These name changes were often related to problems with recording contracts.

His career greatly slowed down in the 1960s, with "Big Chief" his biggest hit. He returned to card playing and even worked as a janitor in a record store until located by Allison Miner, Parker Dinkins and Quint Davis, who rehabilitated him and prepared him for a performance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. The 1971 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival marked a comeback, and he began making a series of critically acclaimed albums throughout the 1970s. Dr. John (Mac Rebennack) was an important booster. He also appeared in the documentary Piano Players Rarely Ever Play Together with Allen Toussaint, and Tuts Washington, three generations of New Orleans keyboard men. The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. ... The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, often known as Jazz Fest, is an annual celebration of the music and culture of New Orleans and Louisiana. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979. ... Dr. John is the stage name of Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. ... Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to document reality. ... Paul Shaffer (L) and Allen Toussaint on the September 7, 2005 show of The Late Show with David Letterman Allen Toussaint (born January 14, 1938) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer and one of the most influential figures in New Orleans R&B. In the 1960s and 1970s... This page may meet Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ...

He was the headliner at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1973, and in 1975, Paul McCartney flew him to play a private party on the Queen Mary. The Montreux Jazz Festival is the best-known music festival in Switzerland. ... Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942) is an Academy Award- and Grammy Award-winning English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who first gained worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles. ... types/51 sh/sh liner/36 qma/qma. ...

He died of a heart attack in 1980, and was subsequently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The famed New Orleans night spot, Tipitina's, is named after one of his songs. Albert Goldman recorded Longhair at Tipitina's in 1978. Acute myocardial infarction (AMI or MI), more commonly known as a heart attack, is a disease state that occurs when the blood supply to a part of the heart is interrupted. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at sunset. ... The Tipitinas Foundation is a not-for-profit charity organization in the United States in place to encourage the city of New Orleans to continue its musical heritage, in particular in the wake of the citys tragedy, Hurricane Katrina. ... Albert Harry Goldman (crazy jew) (April 15, 1927 – March 28, 1994) was an American professor and author. ...

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." "The Picasso of keyboard funk." Dr. John
• "He's the Satchel 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 like Fats Domino, Allen Toussaint, Mac Rebbenack, James Booker, and Huey Smith. All acknowledge him as The Great Master." Jerry Wexler

Apart from joining Earl King on his 1965 recording of New Orleans Mardi Gras classic "Big Chief", Professor Longhair dropped out of sight and by 1970 was presumed to have either disappeared or died. This was the year that three New Orleanians in their late teens, Allison Miner, Parker Dinkins and Quint Davis, set out to find Fess to put him in their first New Orleans music festival. James Booker James Booker - Pianist, Vocalist, Recording Artist (December 17, 1939 - November 8, 1983) // James Carroll Booker III was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on December 17, 1939, son and grandson of Baptist ministers, both of whom played the piano. ... Dr. John is the stage name of Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. ... Leroy Robert Satchel Paige (July 7, 1906–June 8, 1982)[1] was an American baseball player who pitched in several different Negro Leagues and in Major League Baseball. ... Bach in a 1748 portrait by Haussmann Places in which Bach resided throughout his life Johann Sebastian Bach (pronounced ) (21 March 1685 O.S. – 28 July 1750 N.S.) was a prolific German composer and organist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra and solo instruments drew together the... Paul Shaffer (L) and Allen Toussaint on the September 7, 2005 show of The Late Show with David Letterman Allen Toussaint (born January 14, 1938) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer and one of the most influential figures in New Orleans R&B. In the 1960s and 1970s... Antoine Dominique Fats Domino (born February 26, 1928) is a classic R&B and rock and roll singer, songwriter and pianist. ... Huey Piano Smith (born 26 January 1934 in New Orleans) is an American rhythm and blues pianist whose sound was influential in rock n roll. ... Jerome Jerry Wexler (born 10 January 1917) is a music journalist turned highly influential music producer, and is regarded as one of the major record industry players behind 1960s soul music. ...

They didn't find him in time for the first festival in Congo Square but in 1971 Davis tracked him down to the One Stop record store on Rampart Street where the now 52 year old Byrd swept the floor, packed goods and made deliveries as well as his limp and labored breathing would allow. Through depressing disillusionment and abject poverty, he hadn't touched a keyboard in years. He said "I got a piano sitting up in the corner that I can't even work because I can't (afford to) get it fixed". So Davis, Dinkins and Miner got it fixed for him, fixed his health and got him ready for the second New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

Professor Longhair's return to the stage was literally a show stopper. As he played, the entire festival audience, the food vendors and even the musicians playing on other stages stopped what they were doing and came over to listen. The festival came to a complete standstill and Professor Longhair began what was to become the most fertile, recognized and rewarding years of his career.

(Grant Morris)

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 player Alfred "Uganda" Roberts
• Collector's Choice, a greatest hits album

New Orleans Piano is a 1972 album by Professor Longhair. ...

Notes

• His song "Big Chief" was used as a sample in Lily Allen's song, "Knock 'em out" on the album Alright Still.

Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born May 2, 1985) is an English singer-songwriter known for songs such as Smile and LDN. She is the daughter of actor/musician Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. ...

External links

• http://www.professorlonghair.com
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• All Music Guide
• Professor Longhair At Myspace