Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis Jr. was born on May 27, 1935, in Chicago to Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis and Pauline Lewis. He grew up in the
Cabrini–Green Homes Housing Projects, an area native to soul singers
Curtis Mayfield and
Jerry Butler. Both of his parents came from the Deep South. His father was a church choir director who encouraged him to study music. Thus, Lewis began taking piano lessons at the age of four with Ernestine Bruce, the church pianist and organist. When he was 11, Bruce recommended he study with Dorothy Mendelssohn at the
Chicago Musical College. Mendelssohn taught him classical technique with the philosophy that "it freed the performer from the thinking about the notes so he could concentrate on the music." Lewis realized what she meant when he saw
Wynton Kelly with the
Miles Davis group, Kelly asked him to play something, and Kelly complimented him by saying "Boy, I wish I had technique." As a young man, Lewis played with a number of local ensembles, such as
Edward Virgil Abner's Knights of Music. Lewis would eventually join a jazz group called the Clefs. He later formed the
Ramsey Lewis Trio with drummer
Isaac "Redd" Holt and bassist
Eldee Young. In 1956, the trio released their debut album,
Ramsey Lewis and his Gentle-men of Swing. Following their 1965 hit, "
The 'In' Crowd" (the single reached No. 5 on the pop charts, and the album No. 2), they concentrated more on pop material. Young and Holt left in 1966 to form
Young-Holt Unlimited and were replaced by
Cleveland Eaton and
Maurice White. By 1966, Lewis was one of the nation's most successful jazz pianists, having had hits with "The In Crowd", "
Hang On Sloopy", and "
Wade in the Water." All three singles each sold over one million copies and were awarded
gold discs. In the 1970s, Lewis often played
electric piano, although by later in the decade he was sticking to acoustic piano and using an additional keyboardist in his groups. In addition to recording and performing, Lewis hosted the weekly syndicated radio program
Legends of Jazz, created in 1990, syndicated by
United Stations Radio Networks. He also hosted the
Ramsey Lewis Morning Show on Chicago "
smooth jazz" radio station
WNUA (95.5 FM). In December 2006, this morning show became part of Broadcast Architecture's
Smooth Jazz Network, simulcasting on other smooth jazz stations across the country until its cancellation in May 2009, when WNUA switched over to a Spanish format. Ramsey founded the Ramsey Lewis Foundation, which promoted musical instrument education to children, in 2005. In 2006, a well-received 13-episode
Legends of Jazz television series hosted by Lewis was broadcast on public TV nationwide and featured live performances by a variety of jazz artists including
Larry Gray,
Dr. Lonnie Smith,
Joey Defrancesco,
Dave Brubeck,
Chick Corea,
Kurt Elling,
Benny Golson,
Pat Metheny and
Tony Bennett. Lewis was artistic director of Jazz at Ravinia (an annual feature at the
Ravinia Festival in
Highland Park, Illinois) and helped organize Ravinia's Jazz Mentor Program. Ramsey also served on the board of trustees for the Merit School of Music and The
Chicago High School for the Arts. == Distinctions, honors, awards ==