Henry Gray – Lucky Man

The lustrous Chicago blues scene of the 1950s was predominated by great pianists, and Henry Gray was one of the finest.  His rolling two-fisted keyboard work graced countless Chicago blues recordings during the '50s for leading labels like Chess and Vee Jay.  He recorded on classic sides by Jimmy Reed, Bo Diddley, Little Walter, and Jimmy Rogers, among others. Starting in 1956, Henry spent twelve years as pianist for the legendary Howlin' Wolf.  The sessions for Lucky Man, his first solo American album, were recorded in 1988, and marked something of a comeback for Henry, who had recorded only sporadically in the previous two decades.  Audio magazine said that on the album, "Gray performs as if the heyday of Chicago blues never ended."

Track Listing: 
1. My Girl Josephine - 2:42   2. Cold Chills - 3:09   3. Gray's Bounce - 2:54   4. Out On The Road - 3:10   5. Lucky, Lucky Man - 2:55   6. I'll Be Up Again Someday - 2:51   7. Mojo Boogie - 2:59   8. Mean Old World - 3:45   9. I'm Talkin' About You - 2:02   10. It Ain't No Use - 2:39   11. Boogie In The Dark - 2:51   12. Finger Snappin' Boogie - 3:10

Personnel: 
Henry Gray (paino, vocals) , Steve Freund (guitar) , Bob Stroger (bass) , Andy Cornett (bass on 5,10) , Willie Smith (drums)

Reviews:

1. Living Blues 
" No aficionado of postwar blues piano will want to miss this one."