Piney Brown

Columbus S. Perry (January 20, 1922 – February 5, 2009), better known as Piney Brown, was an American R&B and blues singer and songwriter, who has been described as a "fine, big-voiced shouter".

Life and career Perry was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Of the four songs that were recorded, only one was released, "That's Right, Little Girl", issued by Esquire Records in the UK several years later. Perry took the stage name Piney Brown from a club owner in Kansas City in the 1930s, who was immortalized in Big Joe Turner's "Piney Brown Blues" (1940).

An item in the Chicago Defender on February 7, 1948, reported that Brown was beginning a package tour the next month.

In the early 1960s, Brown returned to Birmingham to look after his mother, although he continued to tour more locally. By 1969, he signed a contract with Sound Stage 7 and released a couple of singles, including "One of These Days (You're Gonna Want Me)" backed with "Nashville Wimmin" (1970). Brown co-wrote the song "Popcorn" with James Brown. He performed on package tours with Ted Taylor, Chuck Berry, and Bo Diddley.

In 2000, after 48 years apart musically, Brown and Wiley reunited to perform at the Blues Estafette, in Utrecht, Netherlands. Brown's debut album, My Task, was issued in 2004. His last album, One of These Days, was issued by Bonedog Records, of McKeesport, Pennsylvania, in 2006. Brown supported its release by playing some local gigs. sometimes include Brown, but the authorship is unclear. In 1959, Little Walter recorded "Me and Piney Brown" on Checker Records No. 938.

He is not to be confused with the Piney Brown who was the manager of the Sunset nightclub in Kansas City in the 1930s. Big Joe Turner wrote "Piney Brown Blues" in that man's honor and sang it throughout his career.

Discography Albums Year Title Record label 2004 My Task Bonedog Records 2006 One of These Days Bonedog Records

Selected singles

Other sources Baumgartner, Brian. "Unheralded Legend of R&B and Still Singing the Blues: Piney Brown". Juke Blues, vol. 48, pp. 28–37.