Perkins knocked around Memphis, St. Louis, and Cairo, Illinois throughout the '50s. While in Memphis, he taught Ike Turner to play piano. He also recorded on a session with Earl Hooker for Sun Records. While there, he recorded “Pinetop's Boogie Woogie,” which was originally recorded by Clarence “Pinetop” Smith. The song meant so much to Perkins that he donned the nickname himself, becoming even more famous than its originator.
He moved to Chicago in the '60s. While there, he played on Earl Hooker's Two Bugs and a Roach album. In 1969, he was asked to join Muddy Waters' band after Waters' longtime piano player Otis Spann finally left to go solo. Spann died in April the next year. Perkins and Spann probably did more to define and develop blues piano than any other players in the history of the genre.
For the next 11 years, Water played in Muddy's band and the two became good friends as well as musical partners. He and the other members of Waters' band – Bob Margolin, Calvin “Fuzz” Jones, and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith – began a career as the Legendary Blues Band after parting with Waters in a dispute over finances. Waters died in 1983. In 1988, at age 75, Pinetop recorded his first solo album, After Hours.
The '90s were a tough decade for Perkins, personally. He was placed under house arrest in 1994 after being stopped for multiple DUIs. There aren't many men still driving in their 80s. Perkins was not only driving, he was being busted for driving under the influence. That's probably not the path to longevity, but the fact that he lived through the experience is remarkable. The court ordered him into rehab, and in 1995 he gave up drinking at age 82. His tour in 1996 was his first time out on the road since giving up the bottle. The second half of the decade was better for Perkins as his next two albums were nominated for Grammys. In 2005, he received a Lifetime Achievement award from the Grammys.
Perkins may have given up drinking but according to some of the tour companions interviewed in this documentary, he hasn't exactly embraced healthful living. Willie “Big Eyes” Smith said Perkins' lungs are cleaner than his own despite the fact that he doesn't smoke and Perkins has been a smoker for the better part of 75 years.
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