Anderson Meade Lewis (September 4, 1905 – June 7, 1964), known as Meade Lux Lewis, was an American pianist and composer, remembered for his playing in the

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 pi ...

style. His best-known work, "

Honky Tonk Train Blues "Honky Tonk Train Blues" is a song written by Meade Lux Lewis, and first recorded in 1927. A proto boogie-woogie song, it has many of the traits that would come to be identified with rock and roll. It is also the first recorded use of the term "h ...

", has been recorded by many artists.

Biography

Anderson Meade Lewis was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, though some sources state

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, on September 4, 1905 (September 3 and 13 have also been cited as his date of birth in sources). In his youth he was influenced by the pianist

Jimmy Yancey James Edwards Yancey (February 20, c. 1895 – September 17, 1951) was an American boogie-woogie pianist, composer, and lyricist. One reviewer described him as "one of the pioneers of this raucous, rapid-fire, eight-to-the-bar piano style". Bio ...

. His father, a guitarist who made two recordings of his own, introduced Meade to music and arranged for him to have violin lessons. He gave up the violin at age 16, shortly after his father's death, and switched to the piano. The nickname "Lux" was given to him by his boyhood friends. He would imitate a couple of characters from a popular comic strip in Chicago, ''

Alphonse and Gaston ''Alphonse and Gaston'' is an American comic strip by Frederick Burr Opper, featuring a bumbling pair of Frenchmen with a penchant for politeness. It first appeared in William Randolph Hearst's newspaper, the ''New York Journal'' on September 22 ...

'', and stroke an imaginary beard as part of the routine. His friends started calling him the

Duke of Luxembourg The territory of Luxembourg has been ruled successively by counts, dukes and grand dukes. It was part of the medieval Kingdom of Germany, and later the Holy Roman Empire until it became a sovereign state in 1815. Counts of Luxembourg House o ...

because of this, and the name stuck for the rest of his life. He became friends with

Albert Ammons Albert Clifton Ammons (March 1, 1907 – December 2, 1949) was an American pianist and player of boogie-woogie, a blues style popular from the late 1930s to the mid-1940s. Life and career Ammons was born in Chicago, Illinois. His parents were pi ...

during childhood, a friendship that would last throughout their lives. They went to the same school together briefly, and they practiced and learned the piano together on the Ammons family piano. A 1927 rendition of "

”, released by

Paramount Records Paramount Records was an American record label known for its recordings of jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey, Tommy Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson. Early years Paramount Records was formed in 1 ...

, marked his recording debut. He remade it for

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

in 1935 and for Victor in 1937, and a recording exists of a radio show, ''

Camel Caravan A camel train or caravan is a series of camels carrying passengers and goods on a regular or semi-regular service between points. Despite rarely travelling faster than human walking speed, for centuries camels' ability to withstand harsh condi ...

'', broadcast from New York City in 1939, which includes "Honky Tonk Train Blues”. His performance at John Hammond's historic ''

From Spirituals to Swing ''From Spirituals to Swing'' was the title of two concerts presented by John Hammond in Carnegie Hall on 23 December 1938 and 24 December 1939. The concerts included performances by Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Big Joe Turner and Pete Johnson, ...

'' concert at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built ...

in 1938 brought Lewis to public attention. Following the event, Lewis and two other performers from that concert,

and Pete Johnson, often appeared as a trio and became the leading boogie-woogie pianists of the day. They had an extended engagement at

Café Society Café society was the description of the "Beautiful People" and "Bright Young Things" who gathered in fashionable cafés and restaurants in New York, Paris and London beginning in the late 19th century. Maury Henry Biddle Paul is credited with ...

, toured as a trio, and inspired the formation of

Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. ...

in 1939. Their success led to a decade-long boogie-woogie craze, with big-band swing treatments by

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

, Will Bradley, and others; and numerous country boogie and early

rock-and-roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

songs. Lewis appeared in the movies ''

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

'' (1947) and ''

Nightmare A nightmare, also known as a bad dream, Retrieved 11 July 2016. is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong emotional response from the mind, typically fear but also despair, anxiety or great sadness. The dream may contain situations of ...

'' (1956). He also appeared, uncredited, in the movie ''

It's a Wonderful Life ''It's a Wonderful Life'' is a 1946 American Christmas fantasy drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra, based on the short story and booklet ''The Greatest Gift'', which Philip Van Doren Stern self-published in 1943 and is in turn loos ...

'' (1946), playing piano in the scene where George Bailey gets thrown out of Nick's Bar. Lewis was fond of the Minneapolis area, where a niece lived, and would visit as often as he could. He appeared annually at the White House Restaurant (no longer extant) in Golden Valley. He began a successful three-week engagement there in May 1964. Around 2 a.m. on Sunday, June 7, Lewis left the parking lot of the White House and headed east on

Olson Memorial Highway Olson may refer to: * Olson (surname), people with the name ''Olson'' * Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute * Olson (constructor), a former racing car constructor * Olson database, also known as ''zoneinfo database'' * "Olson", a song by Boards ...

, when his Chrysler Imperial was rear-ended by a vehicle driven by one Ronald Bates, who was traveling an estimated 80 mph. Lewis's car was pushed 400 feet and crashed into a tree; he was killed instantly. He was 58. Bates survived, but his passenger died the following day.

Legacy

Lewis' best-known work, "Honky Tonk Train Blues”, has been recorded in various contexts, often in a

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

arrangement. Early recordings of the piece by artists other than Lewis include performances by

Adrian Rollini Adrian Francis Rollini (June 28, 1903 – May 15, 1956) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist who played the bass saxophone, piano, vibraphone, and many other instruments. Rollini is also known for introducing the goofus in jazz music. ...

Frankie Trumbauer Orie Frank Trumbauer (May 30, 1901 – June 11, 1956) was an American jazz saxophonist of the 1920s and 1930s. His main instrument was the C-melody saxophone, a now-uncommon instrument between an alto and tenor saxophone in size and pitch. He a ...

, classical harpsichordist

Sylvia Marlowe Sylvia Sapira (September 26, 1908 in New York City – December 11, 1981) was an American harpsichordist who performed and recorded under the name Sylvia Marlowe. She performed both the Baroque repertoire as well as contemporary compositions by com ...

, theater organist

George Wright George Wright may refer to: Politics, law and government * George Wright (MP) (died 1557), MP for Bedford and Wallingford * George Wright (governor) (1779–1842), Canadian politician, lieutenant governor of Prince Edward Island * George Wright ...

(with drummer

Cozy Cole William Randolph "Cozy" Cole (October 17, 1909 – January 9, 1981) was an American jazz drummer who worked with Cab Calloway and Louis Armstrong among others and led his own groups. Life and career William Randolph Cole was born in East Or ...

, under the title "Organ Boogie"), and

Bob Zurke Bob Zurke (January 7, 1912 – February 16, 1944) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, composer and briefly a bandleader during the Swing era. Biography Born Boguslaw Albert Zukowski in Hamtramck, Michigan, United States, he was already using ...

with

Bob Crosby George Robert Crosby (August 23, 1913 – March 9, 1993) was an American jazz singer and bandleader, best known for his group the Bob-Cats, which formed around 1935. The Bob-Cats were a New Orleans Dixieland-style jazz octet. He was the young ...

's orchestra.

Keith Emerson Keith Noel Emerson (2 November 1944 – 11 March 2016) was an English keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. He played keyboards in a number of bands before finding his first commercial success with the Nice in the late 1960s. He becam ...

Emerson, Lake & Palmer Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards), Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitar, producer) and Carl Palmer (drums, percus ...

often included it in his repertoire and had a Top 30 hit with it in 1976. Lewis was mentioned in Chapter 81 of author

Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American writer known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and ...

's novel ''

Cat's Cradle Cat's cradle is a game involving the creation of various string figures between the fingers, either individually or by passing a loop of string back and forth between two or more players. The true origin of the name is debated, though the fir ...

''. Lewis is also mentioned in

Ross Macdonald Ross Macdonald was the main pseudonym used by the American-Canadian writer of crime fiction Kenneth Millar (; December 13, 1915 – July 11, 1983). He is best known for his series of hardboiled novels set in Southern California and featur ...

's novel '' The Moving Target'' and in

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

's autobiography ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy ...

''.

Discography

* 1941: ''

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 pi ...

'' (compilation),

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

C44 * 1955: ''Boogie Woogie Piano and Drums'', Clef * 1975: ''Tell Your Story'',

Oldie Blues Oldie Blues was a Dutch record label founded and owned by Martin van Olderen. History The label was founded in 1974 and focused primarily on piano blues, boogie-woogie and Delta blues, issuing 46 LPs and 13 CDs.Wynn, Neil, ''Cross the Water Blu ...

OL 2805 * 1982: ''Giant of Blues and Boogie Woogie 1905–1964'', Oldie Blues OL 2810 * 1984: ''Chicago Piano Blues and Boogie Woogie 1936–1951 Vol. 3'', Oldie Blues OL 2827

References

External links

Meade Lux Lewis biography on African American Registry
*
Meade 'Lux' Lewis discography at Rate Your Music
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Meade Lux 1905 births 1964 deaths 20th-century American composers 20th-century American pianists 20th-century jazz composers African-American jazz composers African-American jazz pianists American blues pianists American male pianists Blues musicians from Kentucky Blue Note Records artists Boogie-woogie pianists Jazz musicians from Kentucky Musicians from Louisville, Kentucky Paramount Records artists Parlophone artists Road incident deaths in Minnesota Sackbut players Victor Records artists American male jazz composers American jazz composers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century African-American musicians