Song of the Day: Liberace, “Boogie Woogie”

Song of the Day 1 Minute

Virtuoso pianist and consummate entertainer Wladziu Valentino Liberace, known only as Liberace, was born in West Allis, Wisconsin (just outside Milwaukee) on this day in 1919. He was flamboyant with lots of flair and showmanship, but strip all that away and he was an incredible pianist. This clip is from his TV show in 1969, where he demostrates boogie-woogie piano playing both 8 and 16 to the bar.

Published by John Holton

Internet disc jockey, lover of old TV (especially the commercials), inveterate wise guy.

Published

18 thoughts on “Song of the Day: Liberace, “Boogie Woogie””

  1. Pingback: The International Tea Day Week That Was – The Sound of One Hand Typing

  3. I remember being a kid a rolling my eyes when he came on and complaining. My dad loved him and always claimed we were related to him…cousins. one day I have to find out. He said we were related to Gene Krupa also. Anyway, he was in one of his big capes( secretly I loved it) he got rid of his cape, sat down and played the piano. I never heard anything like it before. He is a virtuoso and I just say and watched. My dad said he is a true showman but also an excellent pianist. He was right

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    1. He was a tremendous pianist and, maybe more importantly, a man who loved what he did and the people for whom he did it, and people loved him back. Everybody knew his lifestyle, even before anyone ever talked about it, but it didn’t matter: he made them happy. Sometimes, that’s enough.

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