Favorite
Van "Piano Man" Walls, R&B piano player. House pianist at Atlantic.
Born : August 24, 1918 in Middlesboro, Kentucky.
Died : February 24, 1999 in Charleston, West Virginia.
Walls grew up around piano as his mother was a piano instructor. Once a teen, Walls left home and hit the road with traveling carnivals and circuses.
In his mid-20s, he returned to Charleston to work in local clubs and on-air at WCHS-AM. In the early 1940s, he played first with Cal Greer then a combo he assembled himself in Columbus, Ohio. After taking the Atlantic staff position in 1949, Walls would play behind hitmakers Joe Turner, Ruth Brown, The Clovers and The Drifters while releasing some solo material as well. In 1954, Walls joined The Nite Riders. Matrimony in the early 1960s led to a move to Canada and formation of a new band. He remained active on the Canadian circuit through the 1970s particularly in Quebec Province.
After a decade of inactivity, a concert May 18, 1990 in Brooklyn Heights, New York, with his former student Dr. John would reinvigorate his touring schedule with the pair gigging together again at that year's Montreal International Jazz Festival.
He would go on to play at numerous other jazz and blues festivals over the rest of the decade. In 1997, Walls’s final CD was released and the man himself received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. He would die two years later of cancer.
A 2013 documentary Vann “Piano Man” Walls: The Spirit of R&B and a 2015 induction to the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame would honor his legacy.
1997
Les Disques Bros
CD, Album
1989
"Whiskey, Women, And ..."
LP, Mono
1956
1952
Atlantic
Shellac, 10"
1950
2021
Bear Family Records
16xCD + Box, Ltd, Num, w/
2021
Soul Jam Records
CD, Comp, RM
2016
Big3
3xCD, Comp, RM, Dig
2016
2015
Not On Label (Jordan Officer Self-released)
CD, Album
2015
2014
Green Power Records (2)
CD, Comp
2014
2011
2011
2010
Documents
10xCD, Comp
2008
Frémeaux & Associés
2xCD, Comp
2007
Saga
CD, Comp
2007
Borealis Records
2xCD, Album
2006
JSP Records
4xCD, Comp + Box
2005
Bear Family Records
CD, Comp, RM
2005
Eastlawn Records
CDr
2004
Classics (11)
CD, Comp
2004
2002
Warner Strategic Marketing United Kingdom
2xCD, Comp
2002
Weton-Wesgram
CD, Comp
2000
1998
1997
Rst Records
CDr, Comp
1997
Rst Records
CDr, Comp, RM
1997
1996
Flute International Ltd.
CD, Comp
1996
Edenways, Edenways, Edenways, Edenways, Edenways
4xCD, Comp
1994
Rhino Records (2)
3xCD, Comp
1994
EMI, EMI
4xCD, Comp
1994
1993
1993
1991
1991
1990
1989
1989
1988
Krazy Kat
LP, Album, Comp
1988
1987
1987
1987
1986
1986
1985
Ace
LP, Comp, Mono
1985
1985
1984
1982
Music For Pleasure, Music For Pleasure
LP, Comp
1982
Crown Prince Records
LP, Comp, Mono
1982
1981
1981
1980
1977
1976
Convoy (4)
7"
1976
1975
1974
1972
1971
1971
1969
1969
1969
1968
1966
Convoy (4)
7"
1965
Daryl
7"
1962
1962
1961
1960
Sue Records Inc.
7", Single
1960
1958
1957
1957
1957
1956
1956
1955
Teen (2)
7"
1955
1955
1954
1952
Atlantic
7", Single
1952
Atlantic
Shellac, 10"
1951
1951
1949
Atlantic
Shellac, 10"
Mex-Melody Records
7", Single, Promo
2023
Koko Mojo Records
CD, Comp
2022
Ambition
CD, Album, Comp, RM
Harry Van Walls
Harry Van Walls
Harry Van Walls
Harry Van Walls
Harry Van Walls
Harry Van Walls
Harry Van Walls
Harry Van Walls
Harry Van Walls
Harry Van Walls
Harry Van Walls
Harry Van Walls
Harry Van Walls
Harry Van Walls
Harry Van Walls
Harry Van Walls
Harry Van Walls
Harry Van Walls
Harry Van Walls
Harry Van Walls