Heath was born in
Wilmington, North Carolina, United States, and spent his childhood in
Philadelphia. but saw no combat. After moving to New York in the late 1940s, Percy and Jimmy Heath found work with
Dizzy Gillespie's groups. In 1989, he received an Honorary Doctorate of Music from
Berklee College of Music. In 2003, at the age of 80, Heath released his first album as a leader through the Daddy Jazz label. Percy Heath died, after a second bout with
bone cancer, two days short of his 82nd birthday, in
Southampton, New York. The month after his death, bassist
William Parker recorded the tribute album
For Percy Heath. Heath was an avid striped bass fisherman, and surfcaster, who could be found on many a day, along the surf line of his beloved
Montauk Point. He was well respected by the community, and his fellow fishermen. He also relished time away from the stage on his fishing boat, appropriately named "The Fiddler", kept in Montauk as well. On May 27, 2006, a plaque was set into a 5,000lb stone, at Turtle Cove, at Montauk Point, as a memorial. The ceremony was attended by his wife, June, and three sons. ==Discography==