Albert Ammons

Albert C. Ammons (March 1, 1907 - December 2, 1949) was an American boogie-woogie pianist. Ammons formed his own band in 1934, and in 1938 performed in the Spirituals to Swing concert at Carnegie Hall, which among other achievements launched the boogie-woogie craze. He and two other performers at the concert, Meade Lux Lewis and Pete Johnson, became the leading boogie-woogie pianists of the day. The three worked together at Café Society and also toured and recorded as a trio. His biggest hit was "Swanee River Boogie". Ammons played the melody of "Old Folks at Home" over a boogie woogie bass. The recording was used as a theme song by pioneer rhythm and blues disk jockey Gene Nobles on WLAC radion in the 1950s. He worked steadily till his death in 1949; he played at Harry S. Truman's inauguration that year. He is the father of tenor saxophonist Gene Ammons. Ammons has had wide influence on countless pianists such as Dave Alexander, Dr. John, Hadda Brooks, Johnnie Johnson, Ray Bryant, Erroll Garner, Frank Muschalle, Katie Webster, Axel Zwingenberger, and another German pianist, Joerg Hegemann, who honoured Ammons on the occasion of his 100th birthday in 2007 with his album A Tribute To Albert Ammons.