Shaking hands with a living legend

Pinetop Perkins - Living Legend

Our trip to the States has been full of amazing happenstance – being in the right place at the right time on an amazing number of occasions. (Or in the case of this morning, the wrong place, as a plane crashed into a building here in Austin a few blocks away!!!)

But last night, we wandered into Nuno’s on the famous 6th. street, and found ourselves sitting next to Pinetop Perkins who, at 96 years young, is pretty much the oldest living bona fide Delta bluesman. I introduced myself, and shook his hand. It was akin to touching history. Here was a man who was there at the beginning, played Piano for Muddy Waters, Sonny boy Williamson, BB King, the list is endless.  I bought a CD, Pinetop Perkins and friends, recorded with the likes of Eric Clapton, and amnazingly, recorded when Pinetop was 94!  – and he kindly signed it for me. 

But more amazing than that, he took to the stage last night. That grand old man of the blues, joined the house band and proceeded to take us back in time with half a dozen classics, such as Down in Mississippi, and Pinetop Boogie.   I leaned over to Miki and whispered, “We are so privileged to witness this.”

My respect and affection for this man knew no bounds. The term ‘living legend’ is bandied about with vulgar regularity in this shallow era, but here was a man who embodied it.

Who would have thought, when I signed the guitar in Helena at the studios of King Biscuit time, and noticed Pinetop’s signature, that I would meet him some weeks later?  Life, as I had often suspected, is amazing.

Kev Moore