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The Real Dr Feelgood

Piano Red The Real Dr FeelgoodPeople say to me, "but surely MerseyBeat was just a scouse version of US Rock 'n' Roll". No,no, no, somehow there was a special feeling for the music. OK, we stole the American tunes, but our renditions were unique and hugely different. When did the sound emerge? Well we talked before about the early bands such as Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes and Karl Terry & The Cruisers. These bands were true to the Rock 'n' Roll spirit but for me the first really "Ouch" sound came to me one day in 1960 (could have been 61) at Butlins Holiday Camp in Pwhelli  in North Wales about 100 miles from Liverpool. The song was a little blues number called Dr Feelgood played by upcoming Liverpool band Rory Storm and the Hurricanes.  Penned by William "Willie" Lee Perryman who was usually known professionally as "Piano Red" and later in life as Dr. Feelgood, was an American blues musician, the first to hit the pop music charts. He was a self-taught pianist who played in the barrelhouse blues style (a loud percussive type of blues piano suitable for noisy bars or taverns). His performing and recording careers emerged during the period of transition between completely segregated "race music" and "rhythm and blues," which was marketed to white audiences. Some music historians credit Perryman's 1950 recording "Rocking With Red" for the Rory Storm and the Hurricanespopularisation of the term rock and roll in Atlanta. His simple, hard-pounding left hand and his percussive right hand, coupled with his cheerful shout brought him considerable success over three decades. I don't know where Rory Storm first heard the song, but its ironic that the roots of the term Rock 'n' Roll were also tied to the roots of the musical genre we now know as MerseyBeat. Here's the Doctor's original and Rory's great version later covered by a band called Dr Feelgood. Now there was a MerseyBeat covers band, if ever there was one!!!

Piano Red "Dr Feelgood"

Rory Storm & The Hurricanes "Dr Feelgood"