Lawrence "Booker T." Laury (September 2, 1914 – September 23, 1995)^[2] was an Americanboogie-woogie,blues,gospel andjazz pianist and singer.^[1] Laury worked withMemphis Slim andMose Vinson but did not record his debut album until he was in his late sixties.^[3] He appeared in two films:Great Balls of Fire!, the biopic aboutJerry Lee Lewis' early career, and the documentaryDeep Blues: A Musical Pilgrimage to the Crossroads, in which musicologist, writer and blues producerRobert Palmer, along withDave Stewart from the band Eurythmics, interview and play with blues musicians from Memphis, Tennessee, and the North Hill Country of Mississippi.

Laury was born inMemphis, Tennessee, and grew up with his lifelong friendMemphis Slim.^[1] At the age of six, after helping his mother play the family'spump organ, Laury learned to play the keyboards. Hisbarrelhouse playing style, which he developed alongside Slim, was based on the influence of the Memphis performersRoosevelt Sykes,Sunnyland Slim, andSpeckled Red. In the early 1930s, and in the company of the youngerMose Vinson, Slim and Laury began playing in local clubs.^[4]

In 1935, Sykes suggested to Laury and Slim that they relocate to Chicago, with a view to obtaining arecording contract. Slim took the advice, but Laury remained in Memphis, where he played in gambling houses and clubs for decades. Laury had a large hand width, which enabled him to span ten keys. His playing dexterity was such that, after losing one finger on his left hand following an accident with acircular saw in the 1950s, he was still able to play well. Based aroundBeale Street in Memphis, as that area started to degenerate, Laury traveled aroundTennessee,Arkansas andMissouri. Despite differing fortunes, his friendship with Slim did not diminish over the years, up to Slim's death in 1988.^[4]

Laury recorded his debut album in his late sixties, entitledBooker T. Laury and Friends: Nothing but the Blues, released on the France-based record label Blue Silver in 1981.^[3] A 1980 Paris concert was released by Indigo Records in France in 1982.^[5]

The 1989Dennis Quaid filmGreat Balls of Fire! portrayed the youngJerry Lee Lewis andJimmy Swaggart looking into ajuke joint to see Laury playing "Big Legged Woman." The attention helped boost Laury's popularity.^[4]

In 1994,Bullseye Blues Records issuedNothin' but the Blues, an album of Laury's voice and piano, performing seven original compositions, two covers, and a story about how he got the nickname "Slop Jar" from his peers.^[1] The same year, the Austrian label Wolf Records released a live album, containing concert recordings made in 1987.^[6]

Laury died of cancer in September 1995, at the age of 81, in Memphis.^[4] He has a brass note on Beale Street's Walk of Fame.^[7]

^[8]

• List of blues musicians
• List of boogie woogie musicians
• List of gospel blues musicians
• List of Memphis blues musicians

• 1914 births
• 1995 deaths
• American blues pianists
• American male jazz pianists
• American jazz pianists
• American blues singers
• Boogie-woogie pianists
• Memphis blues musicians
• Gospel blues musicians
• Deaths from cancer in Tennessee
• 20th-century American singers
• 20th-century American pianists
• 20th-century American male singers
• Southland Records artists
• 20th-century American male pianists

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