‘Boogie' Pianist Killed

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30511, 5 August 1964, Page 8

‘Boogie' Pianist Killed

Meade Lux Lewis, the veteran “boogie” pianist whose “Honky Tonk Train Blues,” was one of the classic jazz records of the 1930’s was killed recently in a road accident His car was pulling away from the night club at which he was working when it was struck by another travelling at 85 miles an hour. Lewis was born in Louiville. Kentucky, in 1905. He first recorded “Honky Honky Train” in 1929. but remained in obscurity for some years afterwards. John Hammond, the recording executive who helped to establish Benny Goodman and Count Basie as national figures, heard the record and started a search for Lewis. Hammond found him washing cars in a Chicago garage, and took him to New York for the famous jazz concerts in Carnegie Hall in 1938-39. Lewis gained wide popularity in the early 1940’5.

The season of History plays at Stratford-upon-Avon, marking Shakespeare’s four hundredth anniversary year, has so far broken every attendance record at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, the “Financial Times” reported. During the first 10 weeks of the season to June 20, 120,000 people paid £98,000 into the box office, representing virtually 100 per cent of the Theatre’s capacity. This was 15,000 more tickets sold than over the same period last year.