Ramsey Lewis (1935–2022), Grammy-winning jazz pianist
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2 min readRamsey Lewis was a legendary jazz pianist who had a hit in 1965 with “The In Crowd.”
- Died: September 12, 2022 (Who else died on September 12?)
- Details of death: Died at his home in Chicago at the age of 87.
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Chicago jazzman
After playing the piano since he was four years old, Lewis formed the Ramsey Lewis Trio in the 1950s. Band members included Maurice White (1941–2016), who later left to form Earth, Wind & Fire. Their 1965 hit “The In Crowd” climbed to No. 5 on the Hot 100, a rare feat for a jazz act. The song also won Lewis and his band a Grammy Award, the first of three for the trio. They followed the success of “The In Crowd” with their popular covers of “Hang On Sloopy,” "Wade in the Water," and “A Hard Day’s Night.” The trio broke up not long after their chart-topping success, but Lewis continued making music all his life, releasing dozens of albums until his most recent, 2021’s Manha de Carnaval. He hosted the Ramsey Lewis Morning Show on Chicago’s WNUA radio station, which was syndicated nationwide. Lewis also hosted the limited TV series “Legends of Jazz,” and he was the artistic director of Jazz at Ravinia at the acclaimed Chicago-area music venue Ravinia Festival. In 2007, Lewis was honored by the National Endowment for the Arts when they named him a Jazz Master.
Lewis on his early days as a musician
“What was so wonderful about music back then, people danced to jazz. They danced to Charlie Parker, to George Gershwin, to the blues. When you’d go out on a date, you’d listen to jazz. In those days, the records would only whet the appetite. It was the spontaneity coming off the live band that drew the audiences to the clubs. We were there to entertain.” —from a 2007 interview for Smooth Views
Tributes to Ramsey Lewis
Full obituary: The New York Times
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