Roosevelt Sykes, one of the most famous and prolific blues pianists, was born in Helena, Arkansas on January 31, 1906. He moved to St. Louis when he was 15, where he began to blend St. Louis ragtime with the rural blues he'd heard all his life, creating his own style.

In 1929, he landed a recording contract in New York. His first record for the Okeh label ("44 Blues") was a hit and he moved to Chicago a rising young star. He formed a band and throughout the thirties and Forties toured and recorded constantly.

There were big hits and high times until mid-Fifties when the public lost interest in the blues. Roosevelt disbanded his "Honeydrippers" big band and decided to go it alone. In 1962, he moved to New Orleans and continued to play festivals and club dates until his death in 1983. His Blind Pig album, The Original Honeydripper (now out of print), was recorded live at the Blind Pig Cafe in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1977. The cuts on Blue Ivory are from this recording.

The photograph shown above captures Sykes (on right) with Boogie Woogie Red.