Ernest Ray Lane (March 16, 1931 – July 8, 2012) was an American blues pianist. He played various blues musicians and bands, including with

Pinetop Perkins Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins (July 7, 1913 – March 21, 2011) was an American blues pianist. He played with some of the most influential blues and rock-and-roll performers of his time and received numerous honors, including a Grammy Life ...

Robert Nighthawk Robert Lee McCollum (November 30, 1909 – November 5, 1967) was an American blues musician who played and recorded under the pseudonyms Robert Lee McCoy and Robert Nighthawk. He was the father of the blues musician Sam Carr. Nighthawk was in ...

Ike Turner Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scout. An early pioneer of 1950s rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and 1 ...

George "Harmonica" Smith George "Harmonica" Smith (born Allen George Smith, April 22, 1924 – October 2, 1983) was an American electric blues harmonica player. Apart from his solo recordings, Smith is best known for his work backing both Muddy Waters and Big Mama Thornt ...

, and

Canned Heat Canned Heat is an American band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1965. The group is noted for its efforts to promote interest in blues music and its original artists and rock music. It was founded by two blues enthusiasts Alan Wilson and Bob ...

. Lane also released singles and album as a solo artist.

Life and career

Lane was born on March 16, 1931, in

Clarksdale, Mississippi Clarksdale is a city in and the county seat of Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. It is located along the Sunflower River. Clarksdale is named after John Clark, a settler who founded the city in the mid-19th century when he establishe ...

. Lane and his siblings, three sisters and two brothers, lived with his mother Ethel Thomas in Clarksdale. His father, John Lane, was a painter in a part of town called Overtown. Lane and his childhood friend

spent time living with Lane's father who also played

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott ...

piano. One day, Lane and Turner heard blues pianist

playing

boogie-woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, developed in African-American communities since 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually extended from pian ...

at his father's house. His playing piqued their interest, and Perkins taught them how to play piano. Lane lied about his age to join the Army; he soon returned to Clarksdale. In 1949, Lane accompanied guitarist Robert Nighthawk on piano during a session that produced " Black Angel Blues (Sweet Black Angel)" and "Annie Lee Blues" for

Aristocrat Records Aristocrat Records, sometimes billed as the Aristocrat of Records, was founded in April 1947 by Charles and Evelyn Aron, together with their partners Fred and Mildred Brount and Art Spiegel. By September Leonard Chess had invested in the young rec ...

. The recordings were released under the name The Nighthawks, who were Nighthawk, Lane, and bassist

Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...

. The single "Annie Lee Blues" reached #13 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart on December 31, 1949. In 1952, Lane released his first single under his own name, "What's Wrong, Baby?" on Blues & Rhythm Records, which was a short lived label founded and run by Saul Bihari. Lane relocated to California in 1956 where he performed with Jimmy Nolen and George "Harmonica" Smith. He joined the Ike & Tina Turner Revue in the early 1960s, resulting in the release of his single "What's That You've Got" on Turner's Sony label in 1963. Lane performed with Earl Hooker and Houston Stackhouse on the

Chitlin Circuit The Chitlin' Circuit was a collection of performance venues throughout the eastern, southern, and upper Midwest areas of the United States that provided commercial and cultural acceptance for African American musicians, comedians, and other enterta ...

. He relocated to California in 1956 where he performed with

Jimmy Nolen Jimmy Nolen (April 3, 1934 – December 18, 1983)
- accessed November 13, 2011 was an American

and

. Lane joined the Ike & Tina Turner Revue in the early 1960s, resulting in his single "What's That You've Got" / "Need My Help" released on Turner's Sony label in 1963. He later recorded with

the Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conc ...

and

. Lane retired from the music industry for years until he joined his childhood friend Ike Turner for his musical comeback in the late 1990s. As a part of the

Kings of Rhythm The Kings of Rhythm are an American music group formed in the late 1940s in Clarksdale, Mississippi and led by Ike Turner through to his death in 2007. Turner would retain the name of the band throughout his career, although the group has underg ...

, Lane played piano on Turner's Grammy-nominated album ''Here And Now'' (2001) and the Grammy-winning album ''Risin' With The Blues'' (2006). Lane led the band at Turner's funeral in 2007, performing his classics songs. Lane released three solo under his own name, ''The Blues Is Back!'' (2004), ''Born with the Blues'' (2008), and ''72 Miles From Memphis'' (2011). Lane died at Brotman Hospital in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most d ...

on July 8, 2012. He is buried at

Riverside National Cemetery Riverside National Cemetery (RNC) is a cemetery located in Riverside, California, dedicated to the interment of United States military personnel. The cemetery covers , making it the largest cemetery managed by the National Cemetery Administration ...

Discography

Singles

* 1963: "What's That You've Got" / "Need My Help" (

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

114) * 1984: "Doggin' No More" / "Little Girl" (Rooster Blues R 50)

Singles as a sideman

* 1949: "Annie Lee Blues"/"

Black Angel Blues "Black Angel Blues", also known as "Sweet Black Angel" or "Sweet Little Angel", is a blues standard that has been recorded by numerous blues and other artists. The song was first recorded in 1930 by Lucille Bogan, one of the classic female blues ...

" (Aristocrat 2301) – The Nighthawks

Albums

* 2004: ''The Blues Is Back!'' (Acoustic Music Records) * 2008: ''Born with the Blues'' (

Evejim Records Evejim Records was an American independent record label founded in the 1980s by Leon Haywood and based in Los Angeles, California. The label released various soul, blues, hip hop and electro recordings, as well as re-recordings of some of Leon Hayw ...

) * 2011: ''72 Miles From Memphis'' (Acoustic Music Records)

Albums as a sideman

* 1969: ''Hallelujah'' – Canned Heat * 1970: '' Future Blues'' – Canned Heat * 1972 ''Sneakin' Around'' – Canned Heat * 2001: ''Here And Now'' – Ike Turner & The Kings of Rhythm * 2006: ''Risin' With The Blues'' – Ike Turner * 2012: ''Ike Turner Studio Productions New Orleans And Los Angeles 1963-1965'' * 2012: ''Trouble Up The Road: The Recordings 1961'' – Ike Turner

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lane, Ernest 1931 births 2012 deaths African-American pianists American blues pianists American male pianists Rhythm and blues pianists American blues singers Blues musicians from Mississippi Musicians from Clarksdale, Mississippi Ike & Tina Turner members Kings of Rhythm members