RIP Henry Gray

Henry Gray at the 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

Just got word that blues pianist and singer Henry Gray passed away at the age of 95. The Louisiana native was part of the vibrant Chicago blues scene from the late 1940s to 1968 including spending 12 years as pianist with Howlin' Wolf. In addition to the Wolf, Gray worked and recorded with such other artists as morris Pejoe, Jimmy Rogers, Junior Wells, and Jimmy Reed.

In 1968, he returned to Louisiana where he became part of the Baton Rouge blues scene. He had recorded while in Chicago, but after returning to Louisiana, he recorded a number of songs and albums under his own name. I believe his first recordings after his return to Louisiana were as part of a Louisiana Blues anthology for Arhoolie records. This would lead to a number of recordings for a variety of labels.

In 2015, reviewing a Henry Gray album that Bob Corritore put together I wrote:

"Gray has been overshadowed by Pinetop Perkins amongst his contemporaries in general recognition, and while folks might argue on who is the stronger pianist, Gray, although an untrained singer, is more forceful and displays more personality, as reflected on his impassioned singing on the title track (most associated with Jimmy Rogers). But he certainly captures the spirit of shouter Grant Jones’ “Let’s Get High” and Hot Lips Page “They Raided The Joint.” On several tracks, he provides strong support behind some legendary figures including Robert Lockwood, Jr. on “Ramblin’ On My Mind,” and Nappy Brown on a superb rendition of “Worried Life Blues” that was a signature song of Gray’s major piano influence, Big Maceo. Dave Riley tackled “Ride With Your Daddy Tonight” while John Brim sings “That Ain’t Right.” Lowell Fulson’s “Trouble Blues” features one of Gray’s top vocals here with Bob Margolin adding slide guitar while Tail Dragger adds some color commentary to the rollicking “Boogie Woogie Ball.”"

Here is a link to an obituary for Henry Gray. Here is a video of Henry performing with Kid Ramos and others in a video celebrating the late Floyd Dixon.