Professor Longhair was an American blues and R&B pianist and singer born Henry Roeland Byrd on December 19, 1918, in Bogalusa, Louisiana, and raised in New Orleans. After learning piano informally as a child, he began performing professionally in the late 1940s and took the Professor Longhair name while playing New Orleans clubs. In 1949, he recorded with the Shuffling Hungarians, including an early version of “Mardi Gras in New Orleans,” then reached his only national R&B hit in 1950 with “Bald Head,” released as Roy Byrd and His Blues Jumpers. Through the 1950s and 1960s, Professor Longhair recorded for labels including Mercury, Atlantic, Federal and Ron, building a local repertoire around “Tipitina,” “Go to the Mardi Gras,” “In the Night” and “Big Chief.” His syncopated piano style blended blues, boogie-woogie, rumba, mambo, Caribbean rhythm and New Orleans parade beats, making him a major influence on later New Orleans musicians such as Dr. John, Allen Toussaint and Fats Domino. After a quieter period, he returned to wider attention through the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in the 1970s and released albums including New Orleans Piano, Rock ’n’ Roll Gumbo and Live on the Queen Mary. His final studio album, Crawfish Fiesta, was recorded in 1979 and released shortly after his death on January 30, 1980, in New Orleans. Professor Longhair was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1981 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, while House Party New Orleans Style won a posthumous Grammy Award in 1987.
