James carroll booker iii biography of rory allen

In a region glutted with flamboyant musicians, James Booker's reputation as both a genius and a flake reached legendary proportions. On-stage he was quite a sight. Wearing a chrome-studded patch over his left eye and donning a funky brocaded military coat or cape, he performed with an improvisational frenzy that made lesser musicians run for cover.

John and personally tutored Harry Connick Jr. Booker best described his free-flowing stride piano style as "Spiders on the Keys. By contrast, his right hand creations contained seamless classical allusions and jazz-drenched boogie phrases. Yet for all his gifts, the eccentric Booker experienced limited commercial success, and drugs and alcohol blunted his talent before extinguishing his life.

James carroll booker iii biography of rory allen: Bayou Maharajah: The Tragic

Booker was the son of a Baptist minister—his mother sang in the choir. Booker and his sister Betty Jean were sent to live with a relative in St. Louis while he was still a baby. A child prodigy, he began taking classical instruction on the piano at age six and according to legend began to outpace his instructors on the instrument. At age ten he was severely injured when he was struck by a speeding ambulance and lost his left eye.