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Henry Gray

Photo by Jeff Gatesman

"When my father saw that I could make money playing the blues, he liked that all right!"

Henry Gray was born on January 19, 1925 in Kenner, Louisiana, an outskirt of New Orleans. Within a few years his family moved to a small farm in Alsen, Louisiana a few miles north of Baton Rouge. It was here that Henry Gray began to demonstrate his talent on the piano at the age of eight. A woman in his neighborhood, Mrs. White, recognized Henry's interest and gave him lessons. At the age of sixteen, Henry was asked to play with a band at a club near his home. It was this event, that gave birth to Henry Gray's remarkable sixty year career in the history of the Blues. During World War II, Henry Gray served in the army and entertained troops with a piano and his singing. 1946 Henry Gray went to Chicago and met Big Maceo Merriwether, who is considered one of the best blues and barrel house piano players in history. Big Maceo Merriwether mentored Henry Gray and showed him the ropes in the blues scene in Chicago. In 1956, Howlin' Wolf asked Henry to join his band. Henry did and remained Howlin Wolf's main piano player until 1968. The following is a list of blues artists that Henry Gray has worked and/or recorded with in his career: Robert Lockwood Jr., Billy Boy Arnold, Morris Pejoe, Muddy Waters, Johnny Shines, Abe Locke, Hubert Sumlin, Lazy Lester, "Little" Walter Jacobs, Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller), Homesick James, Jimmy Reed, Jimmy Rogers, Elmore James (with him the night he died), Snooky Pryor, Koko Taylor, Otis Rush, Little Milton, James Cotton, Buddy Guy, Raful Neal, Kenny Neal, Taj Mahal, BB King, Tabby Thomas, Larry Garner, Washboard Sam, and Guitar Slim. This list in not complete but it gives one the idea of the prolific and vital history of Henry Gray's accomplishments. Henry left Howlin Wolf's band and Chicago in 1968 to return to Alsen, due to the death of his father and to assist his mother with a family fish market business. During the last thirty years, Henry Gray has been performed at all great festivals in USA and travelled to Europe to play festivals and concerts. More recently, Henry Gray received a Grammy nomination for his work on TelArc Records' 1998 release A Tribute to Howlin' Wolf. Also, Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones paid homage to Henry Gray by having him play at Jagger's 55th birthday bash in Paris in 1998 along with a few other blues legends. In the summer of 1999, Henry Gray joined Marva Wright and her band for a 30-day Louisiana music European tour produced by Blue House Records.

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Home → Overview → Blues Artists → Henry Gray