Pinetop Perkins was born in Belzoni, Mississippi in 1913. As a young boy he witnessed the legendary Blind Lemon Jefferson perform at his school. Pinetop started as a guitar player and after being cut with a knife in his arm he switched over to piano. Like many Delta musicians he migrated to Chicago where he was fortunate to join Muddy Waters’ band. He and Guitar Gabriel ran into each other at a blues festival and they were both happy to see one another as they used to play together in the 50s down on Maxwell Street in Chicago. His annual homecoming show is held at Hopson Plantation in Clarksdale, Mississippi.