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'i James Carroll Booker III (1939-1983) was classicalh trainecl. ;r child prodigy, and a virtuosic player whose performances combined eienenrs ol stride, blues, and classical styles. Booker was able *plal- anr rhing ir..m pop tunes to classical pieces to jazzstandards. The songsBir hrs rec.-,rcirnss include Chopins "Minute Waltz," "Eleanor Rigby," "King of the Road. '\1:i;rgi-ieha." "Goodnight, Irene" and "He's Got the Whole World in Hls Hanis Booker made his recording debut aL age 15. As a young man he recorded "ghost" piano tracks for Fats Domino. Booker was called br ::s :..rs "ihe piano prince of New Orleans." But he was a man of bi:ar:e e.;e :tncities whose life was a study in struggle. In re[rospect, he mar-ha.,-e :een :tentalh- i11. At some point he lost his left eye. There are vari.ous Sitr:eS :':r.-ui hori- this happened- a street fight, a prison brawl, or a dinr-neec.e H-: :-:; severe and cocaine, exhibited erraticlehavior, spent time in -\ng1-,,; P:-s.-:t..nd died emergency ward of Charity Hos'ffia|. Booker's version of "On the Sunny Side of the Street" fr..nr :.s -,:-::u "\eu' Livel" is Lypically virtuosic. First, note Booker's stride pattern in his left hand. He ..,-'ns:s:.n:,i :iars an octa\-e. an octave plus another interval, or a tenth on beats 1 and 3. Then he :.::'..- :-..:.s ::e ntrtes c'rr beats 1 and 3 with partial chords on the preceding upbeats. In the right hand he thickens the melody u-ith octaves. b,locii chu.rds spanning an octa\-e. and grace notes. Not only that, he elaborates on the melodr. Figure 5 sht-ru's rhe song! composed melody and how Booker elaborates on it in the first eight bars. He ct-,niinues in thts manner throughout the piece. o = I = O problems mth heroin ai the age of 43 in the Orleans Piano Wizard U, Figure 6 -Melodic cotnparison TRACK 6 Standard melodv \
