Pinetop
Perkins was born in 1913 near Belzoni in Humphreys County Mississippi.
He began his musical life playing guitar. However, under the
influence of Leroy Carr, Henry Greenwood and John Wesley, Perkins
became a pianist. He became the primary inspiration and teacher
for the teenaged Ike Turner. Perkins joined Sonny Boy Williamson's
King Biscuit Entertainers in the mid-1940s. He recorded with
Robert Nighthawk for Aristocrat Records in 1950 and with Earl
Hooker for Sun Records in 1953. Perkins replaced the great Otis
Spann in Muddy Waters' great band in 1969. Twenty years later,
leaders of Belzoni, MS named October 24 Pinetop Perkins Day.
Most recently, he was featured in Clint Eastwood's entry in
Martin Scorcese's blues film series, "Piano Blues."
Otis Rush was born in Philadelphia, Mississippi in 1934. After
moving to Chicago, he set the blues world afire with his recordings
on the Cobra and Chess labels. Recording his own compositions,
Rush has been credited with influencing, among others, well-known
musicians Eric Clapton and John Mayall. His later recordings
for Vanguard, Cotillion, Capitol, Mercury and others continue
to display his greatness as a guitarist, a vocalist and a composer
and have earned him many Grammy and Handy Awards.
The King Biscuit Blues Festival has been promoting blues performance
in the Delta since 1986. The festival is named in honor of bluesman
Sonny Boy Williamson. Along with Robert Lockwood, Jr. Williamson
was a founding performer on the King Biscuit Time radio show
on KFFA radio in 1941. In addition, King Biscuit Flour sponsored
Sonny Boy's live show. This year the festival hosted 100,000
visitors. Organizers continue to remain true to the festival's
original mission: "To bring to Helena the Blues as performed
by the musicians that were directly or indirectly influenced
by Sonny Boy and his contemporaries."
The Peavine Awards are produced by and for the Robert Johnson
Memorial Scholarship Fund at Delta State University. The Peavine
Awards are coordinated through The Delta Center for Culture
and Learning at Delta State. For more information, contact Dr.
Luther Brown, 662.846.4311 or email: lbrown@deltastat.edu