Ain't nothin' but…

I never knew Pinetop Perkins, if fact, I had not heard of him until he died recently. He was 97, which is a cracking age for anyone, but particularly impressive with his background and lifestyle.

Old Pinetop was a bluesman, who played with people Muddy Waters and Sonny Boy Williamson, and had clearly lived the life musicians do. But what most caught my eye about Pinetop was what his agent said about him. “Two cheeseburgers, apple pie, a cigarette and a pretty girl were all he wanted.” No mention of a pension then. Or, in his case as he was American – a 401(k) or an IRA. Pinetop was clearly a man who knew what he wanted and it was all fairly simple stuff. The reason he kept playing long after the normal retirement date was either because he enjoyed it or could not afford to sto...