Henry Gray (born in Kenner, Louisiana, on 19 January 1925; died 17 February 2020) was an American blues piano player and singer. He played for more than seven decades and performed with many artists, including Robert Lockwood, Jr., Billy Boy Arnold, Morris Pejoe, the Rolling Stones, Muddy Waters, and Howlin' Wolf. He amassed more than 58 albums to his credit, including recordings for Chess Records. He is credited as helping to create the distinctive sound of the Chicago blues piano. In 2017, he ...
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Henry Gray (born in Kenner, Louisiana, on 19 January 1925; died 17 February 2020) was an American blues piano player and singer. He played for more than seven decades and performed with many artists, including Robert Lockwood, Jr., Billy Boy Arnold, Morris Pejoe, the Rolling Stones, Muddy Waters, and Howlin' Wolf. He amassed more than 58 albums to his credit, including recordings for Chess Records. He is credited as helping to create the distinctive sound of the Chicago blues piano. In 2017, he was inducted in to the Blues Hall of Fame. Although born in Kenner, LA, an outskirt of New Orleans, within months his family moved up river to Alsen, LA which is about 10 miles north of Baton Rouge. Gray's family had a piano in their home. He began tinkering with piano around 8 years old. His first teacher was Mrs. White. Gray would hear her playing as he either walked by or rode his bicycle by her house. Gray was interested in the blues so she agreed to teach to him what she knew. The family's piano was only for gospel not blues to be played in the house. Gray played gospel as well but he loved the blues, jumps and boogie-woogies. After serving in WWII, Gray moved to Chicago in 1946 where he met pianist Big Maceo Merriwether who became his mentor. Gray remained in Chicago for thirty years. Gray is most famous as Howlin' Wolf's pianist from around 1956-1970 or so. Some of the other artists Gray worked with as well are Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Jimmy Reed, Jimmy Rogers, Elmore James, Robert Jr. Lockwood, Morris Pejoe, Henry Strom, Billy Boy Arnold, Hubert Sumlin, Snooky Pryor, Buddy Guy, Smokey Smothers, Sam Lay, Chuck Berry, Slim Harpo, Junior Wells, James Cotton, Koko Taylor and others. Gray returned to Baton Rouge around 1968-70 due to his father's illness. After his father passed he remained in Baton Rouge to be near his mother and resides there still. He continued to perform and record with his own band Henry Gray & the Cats. In 2006, Gray received an NEA National Heritage Fellowship award, the top honor for a folk artist in our nation. In 2005, Gray participated in "Legends of the Blues," the first blues concert in the history of the Lincoln Center in New Your city. He was nominated for a Grammy in 1998 for his collaborative work with Taj Mahal, Hubert Sumlin, Kenny Neal and others on TELARC Record's " A Tribute to Howlin Wolf." Gray continued to tour as a soloist and with his band Henry Gray and the Cats. He appeared in the 2015 documentary film I Am the Blues. In June 2017, Gray went into Dockside Studio with his great grandson DeAndre Tate and The Creole Cats band (Paul "Lil' Buck" Sinegal, Danny Williams, Stan Chambers, and Oreun Joubert) to record 92, aptly titled after his age. That same year, he was inducted in to the Blues Hall of Fame. More at www.henrygray.com.
