Early years Smith was born in the
Central City neighborhood of New Orleans. He was influenced by the innovative work of
Professor Longhair. He became known for his shuffling right-handed break on the piano that influenced other Southern players. Smith wrote his first song "Robertson Street Boogie", named after the street where he lived, on the piano, when he was eight years old. He performed the tune with a friend Percy Anderson, with the two billing themselves as Slick and Doc. Smith attended Walter L. Cohen High School in New Orleans. In 1955, Smith became the piano player with
Little Richard's first band in sessions for
Specialty Records. The Rhythm Aces consisted of vocalists Dave Dixon, Roland Cook, and Issacher "Izzycoo" Gordon. Mac Rebennack, also known as
Dr. John, said, "And Huey was catching the real second line on 'Little Liza Jane'. Of course he had the right cats doing it, but he had that instinct for getting it. And with Dave Dixon and Izzycoo (Gordon) singing on it, man, he couldn't get no better." recorded Smith's Latin-tinged "Blow Wind Blow" under the name "Junior" Gordon in 1956. and signed a long-term contract with
Ace Records, represented by former Specialty
record producer Johnny Vincent. In 1958, Vin Records, a
subsidiary of Ace Records, released a popular single, "Little Chickee Wah Wah", with Clowns singer
Gerri Hall, under the billing of Huey and Jerry. (This song is sometimes confused with the similarly titled 1956 single "Chickie Wah Wah", by Bobby Marchan, which has entirely different lyrics, tempo, chord structure and melody; the Vincent-Smith composition is built around the melody of the old black children's play song "Little Sally Walker.") Meanwhile, Ace Records released several more singles by Huey "Piano" Smith and His Clowns, including "We Like Birdland", "Well I'll Be John Brown", and "Don't You Know Yockomo" (a
cover version of which, recorded by the New Zealand artist
Dinah Lee, reached number 1 in both New Zealand and Australia in 1964). The Clowns' most famous single, released in 1958, was "Don't You Just Know It" backed with "High Blood Pressure." This hit number 9 on the
Billboard Pop chart and number 4 on the Rhythm and Blues chart. (Smith's original version of the song was eventually released.) Smith left Ace Records for
Imperial Records, to record with
Fats Domino's noted producer (and fellow Louisianan)
Dave Bartholomew, but the national hits did not follow. It had been recorded along with remakes "High Blood Pressure", "Don’t You Just Know It", and "We Like Mambo" in 1970. Williams by this time had become a chief of the Apache Hunters Mardi Gras Indian tribe, and "We Like Mambo" contained Indian references. Huey "Piano" Smith and the Clowns also appeared at Tipitina's in New Orleans and New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 1981, but they did not perform after these two shows. In his acceptance speech he said, "Actually you might not believe it, but this is a debut for me. It was Huey Smith and the Clowns, men like Curley Moore, Bobby Marchan, Roosevelt Wright, and John Williams." When the Louisiana Blues Hall of Fame honored Smith a year later, he said humbly that the honor mainly belonged to the Clowns. "I had the group the Pitter Pats and also the Hueys, but, now, very important is the members of the Clowns ---- Bobby Marchan, Curley Moore, John 'Scarface' Williams, and Gerri Hall". Steve Huey of
AllMusic noted that "At the peak of his game, Smith epitomized
New Orleans R&B at its most infectious and rollicking, as showcased on his classic
signature tune, "
Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu". == Discography ==