Huey 'Piano' Smith
Huey "Piano" Smith was an important part of the great New Orleans piano tradition, following in the footsteps of Professor Longhair and Fats Domino to take his place among the Crescent City's R&B elite. He was also one of R&B's great comedians, his best singles matching the Coasters for genial, good-time humor, although his taste often ran more toward nonsense lyrics. Smith's sound was too earthy to match the pop crossover appeal of Domino or the Coasters, which limited his exposure, and he couldn't match the latter's amazing consistency, lacking their reliable supply of material. But at the peak of his game, Smith epitomized New Orleans R&B at its most infectious and rollicking, as showcased on his classic signature tune "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu."
Huey Smith was born in New Orleans on January 26, 1934, and began playing the piano at age 15. At the dawn of the '50s, Smith backed New Orleans guitar legends Earl King and Guitar Slim, and quickly became a popular session pianist, playing on records by the cream of the New Orleans R&B scene: Smiley Lewis (the classic "I Hear You Knockin'"), Lloyd Price, and Little Richard. During the mid-'50s, Smith began leading his own band, the Clowns, which usually featured popular local blues singer and female impersonator Bobby Marchan on lead vocals. Smith & the Clowns signed with the Ace label and scored a breakout Top Five R&B hit in 1957 with "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu" which, despite becoming a classic rock & roll standard, didn't even make the pop Top 40, thanks to reticent white radio programmers. The following year, Smith scored his biggest hit with the double-sided smash "Don't You Just Know It"/"High Blood Pressure," which reached the pop Top Ten and the R&B Top Five. In 1959, Smith cut the original tune "Sea Cruise," and seeking pop radio airplay, Ace had white teenage R&B singer Frankie Ford overdub his own vocal onto Smith's backing track; the result became a nationwide hit.
Smith cut a few novelty numbers in an attempt to duplicate the success of "Rockin' Pneumonia," some even using the same type of illness joke ("Tu-Ber-Cu-Lucas and the Sinus Blues," for example). It didn't work, and Marchan left the Clowns after scoring a solo hit with "There Is Something on Your Mind" in 1960; he was replaced by female singer Gerry Hall and male vocalist Curley Moore. Smith switched briefly to the Imperial label, then returned to Ace for one last chart single in 1962, "Pop Eye." Smith spent part of the '60s recording for Instant and touring not only with the Clowns, but alternate groups the Hueys and the Pitter Pats as well. Unable to return to the charts, he eventually converted to the Jehovah's Witnesses and left the music industry permanently. Huey "Piano" Smith died in his sleep at his home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on February 13, 2023. He was 89 years of age.
© Steve Huey /TiVo
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Discography
16 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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'Twas the Night Before Christmas
Huey 'Piano' Smith, His Clowns
Christmas Music - Released by UNIDISC MUSIC INC. on Jan 1, 1962
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
High Blood Pressure / Don't You Just Know It? (Digital 45)
Huey 'Piano' Smith, The Clowns
Soul - Released by Essential Media Group on Sep 6, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
This Is... Huey 'Piano' Smith
Rock - Released by UNIDISC MUSIC INC. on Jan 1, 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rockin' Pneumonia & The Boogie Woogie Flu
Rock - Released by HHO on Jun 20, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Walk Right in / Don't You Just Know It
The Moments, Huey 'Piano' Smith
Funk - Released by Janus Records on Feb 10, 1978
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rockin' Pneumonia & The Boogie Woogie Flu / Don't You Just Know It - Single
Huey 'Piano' Smith, His Clowns
Soul - Released by Essential Media Group on Apr 13, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rockin' Pneumonia & The Boogie Woogie Flu (Digital 45)
Huey 'Piano' Smith, The Clowns
Soul - Released by Essential Media Group on Jun 20, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sea Cruise
Frankie Ford, Huey 'Piano' Smith, Huey Smith Orchestra
Rock - Released by Good Time Records on Mar 25, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
That'll Get It (Even More of the Best)
Pop - Released by UNIDISC MUSIC INC. on Jan 1, 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Huey Smith & Friends - Pitta Pattin'
Huey 'Piano' Smith, Shindig Smith & The Soul Shakers (Huey 'Piano' Smith), The Pitter Pats, Jesse Young
Soul - Released by Charly on Jul 25, 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Huey 'Piano' Smith - It Do Me Good
Soul - Released by Charly | Banashak & Sansu on Oct 1, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Don’t You Just Know It (Sansu Version)
Huey 'Piano' Smith, The Clowns
Rock - Released by Sansu - Prime on Jan 25, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Young Blood
R&B - Released by Jukebox Entertainment on Apr 22, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Don't You Just Know It (Sansu Session)
R&B - Released by Delta on Nov 6, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rockin' Pneumonia (45 Rpm)
Pop - Released by Fuel Records on Oct 6, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Whatcha Call 'Em (Extended Version)
Rock - Released by GCM - Prime on Feb 17, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo