AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Huey "Piano" Smith & His Clowns

Artist:Huey "Piano" Smith & His Clowns f/Bobby Marchan
Song:Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu Part 1
Album:The Best Of Huey "Piano" Smith & His Clowns



Huey "Piano" Smith is a forgotten legend of New Orleans R & B. Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu was one of his two big late 50s hits. He was also the victim of racism in the radio industry as stations didn't want to play black artists. He was born Jan. 26, 1934 in New Orleans and Smith's piano style was heavily influenced by the legendary Roy "Professor Longhair" Byrd. He backed up Earl King and Guitar Slim in the early 50s and became a popular session pianist. Smith played piano on the Smiley Lewis classic I Hear You Knockin' and plenty of other hits. Smith formed The Clowns in the mid-50s and signed with Johnny Vincent's Ace Records. Vincent was a producer at Specialty Records and knew Smith from his work with Little Richard. The lead singer of The Clowns was the very flamboyant Bobby Marchan. He was known in New Orleans as a female impersonator and I'm sure he reminded Smith and Vincent of Little Richard. Other members were Lee Allen and Red Tyler on sax and Charles Williams on drums. Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu was originally recorded as an instrumental. But Vincent added words and the instrumental version was Part 2 on the flip side. It reached #4 on the R & B Singles chart and hit the pop charts as well in 1958. It should have been a bigger hit but many radio stations wouldn't play black artists. Johnny Rivers would have a hit with his cover of Rockin' Pneumonia in 1972. Don't You Just Know It did even better and was a top ten pop hit. Smith wrote and recorded Sea Cruise in 1959. When radio stations refused to play it, Vincent brought in white singer Frankie Ford to dub vocals on Smith's backing track and the song was a big hit. Bobby Marchan left The Clowns in 1960 and was replaced by Gerry Hall and Curley Moore. Marchan had a solo hit in 1960 with There Is Something On Your Mind. Smith left Ace for Imperial but didn't have the same success. You can get all his Ace hits on this comp. Huey "Piano" Smith continued to perform and record into the 70s. He left the music business and became a Jehovah's Witness. He was honoured with a Pioneer Award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 2000. Here's a video of Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu by Huey "Piano" Smith & His Clowns.