The Real St. Louis Blues

• Track Listing

Influenced by Roosevelt Sykes and Lonnie Johnson, Henry Townsend was adept on both piano and guitar. During the '20s and '30s, Townsend was one of the musicians who helped make St. Louis one of the blues centers of America, and he also originated the "St. Louis sound." This CD features Henry laying down some wonderful blues in St. Louis in 1979, singing and playing guitar, piano and harpsichord - he plays a variety of pianos, from a 9-foot Baldwin grand to uprights, and you'll hear perhaps the only boogie-woogie blues played on a harpsichord. Henry is one of the few original blues greats alive and well and still playing concerts at the age of 93.