Barrelhouse Chuck

Life and career Goering was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, and learned to play the drums by the age of six. He formed his own bands in his teenage years, including the Red Rooster Band, Red House, and Barrelhouse Chuck & the Blue Lights, and followed Muddy Waters around the South, trying to pick up playing tips from Waters's pianist, Pinetop Perkins. In 1979, he drove from Florida to Chicago to introduce himself to Sunnyland Slim. Barrelhouse Chuck spent the next decade and a half studying his playing, along with that of other Chicago blues musicians, including Blind John Davis, Little Brother Montgomery, and Erwin Helfer. In the company of Montgomery for a long time, Barrelhouse Chuck later remarked, "Little Brother was like a grandfather to me".

Barrelhouse Chuck played or recorded with Jimmy Rogers, Eddie Taylor, Hubert Sumlin, Otis Rush, Buddy Guy, and Otis "Big Smokey" Smothers. It was reissued in 2005. The follow-up was Prescription for the Blues (2002), with Erwin Helfer playing on three tracks.

In February 2008, Wilson asked Barrelhouse Chuck to assist in recording the soundtrack for the film Cadillac Records. On February 24, 2012, Barrelhouse Chuck played at the "Howlin' for Hubert" concert at the Apollo Theater.

In 2013 and 2014, Barrelhouse Chuck was nominated for a Blues Music Award in the category Pinetop Perkins Piano Player. In 2014 Drifting from Town to Town was nominated for a Blues Music Award in the category Traditional Blues Album of the Year.

On December 12, 2016, Barrelhouse Chuck died after a long battle with prostate cancer, at the age of 58.

Discography YearTitleRecord label 1999 Salute to Sunnyland Slim Blue Loon Records 2000 25 Years of Chicago Blues Piano, vol. 1 Viola Records 2002 Prescription for the Blues The Sirens Records 2002 8 Hands on 88 Keys The Sirens Records 2006 Slowdown Sundown Viola Records 2006 25 Years of Chicago Blues Piano, vol. 2 Viola Records 2006 Got My Eyes on You The Sirens Records 2008 25 Years of Chicago Blues Piano, vol. 3 Viola Records 2008 25 Years of Chicago Blues Piano, vol. 4 Viola Records 2008 25 Years of Chicago Blues Piano, vol. 5 Viola Records 2010 Combo Classics Viola Records 2011 Blues Calling Viola Records 2012 Son of the Seventh Sonwith Mud MorganfieldSevern Records 2013 Drifting from Town to Town The Sirens Records 2013 35 Years of Chicago Blues Piano, vols. 1 & 2 Viola Records 2014 For Pops (A Tribute To Muddy Waters)with Mud Morganfield & Kim WilsonSevern Records 2016 Remembering The Masters The Sirens Records