Barrelhouse Chuck's blues piano playing is filled with heartfelt soul, high energy, and low down greasy blues. His loyalty to carry on the works of legendary players, like his mentors Little Brother Montgomery and Sunnyland Slim, contribute to his style. On this disc, Chuck plays four classic Leroy Carr songs and two tunes by Sunnyland Slim, and he sings Little Brother's masterpiece on the title track. Each cover performance is fresh and exciting. This disc also includes three duets with Erwin Helfer, another Chicago blues piano master. Erwin and Chuck's duets are spontaneous and thrilling like a live performance. Barrelhouse Chuck is keeping the blues piano tradition alive and has earned his own place among the masters.
(inside cover notes below)
Chuck Goering, better known as Barrelhouse Chuck, is a self-taught blues pianist who plays with an authentic and unique style. His personalized sound is filled with heartfelt soul, high energy, and low down greasy blues. Barrelhouse Chuck is a dedicated piano master who is carrying on the Chicago blues tradition for current and future generations to enjoy.
Chuck was born July 10, 1958, orphaned, and then raised in Ohio by a loving, adoptive family. He knows little about his biological parents except that his background is half Cherokee Indian. He started playing drums and listening to blues, specifically Muddy Waters, at nine. His adoptive parents moved the family to Florida in 1972.
In Gainesville, Florida, Chuck played in a band called "The Red Rooster Band" with his friends Red Childs and Right-Handed Frank. They played in hundreds of bars in the south. During this time, he first heard pianist Jim Mckaba and harmonica player Little Joe Berson and was blown away by their playing. The band would also follow Muddy Waters around from town to town, and they became known as "Mud heads". Chuck speaks fondly of his days following and befriending his favorite blues man Muddy Waters. Eventually, Muddy let Chuck open for him. Later some of the band members teamed up with singer Blind Robert Hunter and formed another band called "Red House". One of their gigs was opening for B.B. King, and they often jammed with Bo Diddley.
In 1979, Barrelhouse Chuck left his Florida home and traveled to Chicago to meet and learn from his heroes: Little Brother Montgomery, Sunnyland Slim, and Pinetop Perkins. Chuck would show up at their gigs, sit-in and socialize with them. He not only trained with these musicians, he would also chauffeur them, live with them, and ultimately care for them. He became their family. His recollection of special times with Little Brother and Sunnyland are vivid, hilarious, and at times bittersweet. According to Chuck's wife Betsy, they are also slightly embellished.
Barrelhouse Chuck has paid his dues as a musician. He has played professionally for over twenty-five years; touring across the U.S., playing in 35 states, and across Europe, playing in 15 countries. He has played on over 50 recording sessions on sixteen different labels including Big Boy, Black Magic, Blue Loon, Cross Cut, Delmark, Earwig, Evidence, and Tone-Cool. He was recently recorded on the historic blues piano compilation "8 Hands On 88 Keys" on The Sirens Records with Erwin Helfer, Detroit Junior, and Pinetop Perkins.
Barrelhouse Chuck creates his own sound by using his incredible memory for piano licks and lyrics, and combining that gift with his deep sensitivity for the meanings of songs. His loyalty to carry on the works of legendary players of the past also contributes to his style. Chuck doesn't read music, but he has an incredible ear that enables him to listen to most pianists and then repeat what he hears. He listens predominantly to blues pianists such as Sunnyland Slim, Little Brother, Leroy Carr, Big Maceo, Otis Spann, Johnny Jones, Memphis Slim, Pinetop Perkins, Detroit Junior, and Erwin Helfer. You can hear their influence in his piano playing and singing style. He is also a huge fan of the musician Stevie Winwood.
On this disc, Barrelhouse Chuck plays a variety of boogies and blues pieces. While "Double D" represents a high-energy boogie influenced by Sunnyland Slim, pieces like "Tin Pan Alley", "Hard Times", and "Rooster's Blues" demonstrate Chuck's passion for the slow blues. Since Chuck considers himself a blues band pianist first, his solo version of Howlin Wolf's "Sitting On Top of the World" is also included on this disc. Chuck performs four Leroy Carr songs, "My Own Lonesome Blues", "Mean Mistreater Mama", "Straight Alky Blues", and "Barrelhouse Woman", like no other pianist and allows Chuck to show his strong appreciation for the composing skills of the blues piano pioneer.
The disc also includes three duets with Erwin Helfer, another Chicago blues piano master who recently released a solo CD on The Sirens entitled "I'm Not Hungry But I Like To Eat - Blues". Erwin Helfer is also included on two piano compilations released by The Sirens: "Heavy Timbre" and "8 Hands On 88 Keys". Chuck first met Erwin at the Cornell Lounge on the south side, where Erwin was playing, soon after Chuck arrived in Chicago. Since then Erwin and Chuck have become great friends and have played many gigs together (and still continue to do so). Together, they put on a great show, and it's a joy to watch them encourage each other at the keyboard.
On the title track "Prescription for the Blues," Erwin provides a classic accompaniment to a Little Brother tune that Chuck had asked Erwin to learn for this disc. Despite Erwin's incredible interpretation, the listener's attention will focus on Chuck's vocals. His singing on this track is both haunting and beautiful. You feel the blues deep down to your bones, because Chuck conveys his feelings towards his mentor, while soulfully singing the common blues theme of lost love. Chuck and Erwin's performance of this blues masterpiece certainly would make the composer proud.
After listening to this disc, you'll agree that Barrelhouse Chuck has truly learned from the masters and has now earned his own place among them.
Prescription for the Blues