Mr. Q was born in 1913. He is an old hep-cat whose music just makes you have to smile. A self-taught pianist, he has fashioned his own sound by mixing the piano styles of Art Tatum, Earl Hines and Oscar Peterson interspersed with songs by the Ink Spots.

He graduated from North Carolina, A&T in the 30s. He started his career when he left school to travel with Blanche Calloway’s Orchestra as a singer. They performed as far away as Mexico, traveling back through Texas he took off on his own and hustled a job as a singer in a local saloon. Returning home six months later his parents were upset. Mr. Q appeased them by giving his mother $500 he earned in tips, all in change. He soon migrated to Harlem, and got a job, playing harmonica with the Savoy Sultans, the house band at the Savoy ballroom. He sang at tables at local. He went to all night jam sessions where he witnessed the legends of the day perform such as Oscar Peterson, Art Tatum and Teddy Wilson. Mr. Q returned to Winston-Salem in 1963 and became a fixture performing at piano bars.