Mastering a skill’s a lifelong journey.
Tommy Johnson, otherwise known as the “Boogie Man,” has been performing wonderful, technically-proficient piano music for decades.
No, he’s not here to scare you… He’s here to wow you.
You see, Tommy specializes in boogie-woogie piano music. He has little to no relation to the fictitious Boogeyman, often portrayed in horror.
But what’s boogie-woogie? Well, chances are you’ve heard it before, many, many times.
Often, people associate the classical styles of Beethoven, Mozart, and even Chopin with piano music proper. But not all piano music is completely classical and European.
In fact, some of the great piano trends of the last century and a half developed in black, African American communities.
Boogie-woogie grew out of the blues, taking firm shape in the early 20th century. From the 1920s until around 1945, boogie-woogie was a major American genre, particularly popular within African American communities in cities like Detroit, Chicago, and New York.
Although generally focusing on rhythm as opposed to conventional melodies, boogie-woogie can be extremely technically rigorous.
Enter Tommy Johnson.
Tommy’s been everywhere, playing for churches, bars, and even cruises. He even releases recordings of his masterful playing.
One particular performance begins with him turning to the audience and camera before stating,
“I’m the real Boogie Man. And this boogie might scare you. So fasten your seatbelts – here we go.”
He turns back to the piano, placing both hands across the keys. Then… magic.
He’s got some undeniably hot hands.
Tommy begins to play an incredibly rigorous, bouncing boogie-woogie piece. About a minute and a half goes by before two audience members step up to the piano pleading,
“Faster! Faster!”
Without as much as a pause, Tommy turns to see what all the commotion’s about.
Loud and clear.
Inevitably, Johnny picks up the pace, his hands moving faster and faster.
He hunches over, as if an unseen gravitational pull draws him closer to the keys.
Tommy descends into an unconscious groove, taken away by the music.
He clearly loves what he does – and people. On his Facebook page, Tommy states,
“My intention is to take people of all ages on a magical musical tour where they can forget their everyday troubles and woes and find happiness for an hour or two either in concert or with my CD’s. I am eternally grateful for the gift given to me and I want to share it with you.”
Tommy proceeds to play some chords, emphatically.
The audience members approach the piano yet again. They want more,
FASTER!!! FASTER!!!
No problem.
Tommy picks up the pace yet again. It’s like he has an unlimited amount of gears. His hands turn to a blur.
He clearly has decades and decades of piano playing under his belt. I wonder who his musical heroes are? Perhaps acclaimed boogie-woogie piano prodigy Frankie ‘Sugar Chile’ Robinson.
His performance comes to a hasty halt after pounding out a few chords and sliding his hands across the entire keyboard.
He then turns to the camera, panting.
If that were me, I would have probably passed out minutes ago.
Fortunately, Tommy has much more endurance and finger dexterity than I do.
Tommy’s boogie-woogie performance was nothing short of amazing.
Tommy has a pretty amazing story. He began playing piano at age four, which is right about the same age most of history’s prodigies started, including Mozart and Beethoven. He even performed on the Horace Heidt Show at age seven.
“It brings a giant smile to my face to know that I can make somebody’s day a little brighter with the simple things that I enjoy. I love to hear from you all, no matter how big or small your comments are… they all mean so much to me.”
Well Tommy, you surely are bringing a smile to the world and whoever has the pleasure of hearing your amazing work. As it stands, his “Boogie Woogie Piano Tommy Johnson” video has over six million views on YouTube.
Much thanks, Tommy. Mozart, Beethoven, and Albert Ammons would be beyond proud. These days, we need your music now more than ever.
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