Albert Ammons
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Albert Ammons (1907-1949) 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 was the father of tenor saxophonist Gene Ammons.
External links
- http://www.geocities.com/shakin_stacks/albertammons.txt
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/jazz/profiles/albert_ammons.shtml
- http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6720705de:Albert Ammons
es:Albert Ammons fr:Albert Ammons nl:Albert Ammons
