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All Music Guide:
He admittedly wasn't the originator of the seminal piano piece "Pinetop's Boogie Woogie," but it's a safe bet that more people associate it nowadays with Pinetop Perkins than with the man who devised it in the first place, Clarence "Pinetop" Smith. Although it seems as though he was around Chicago forever, the Mississippi native actually got a relatively late start on his path to Windy City immortality. It was only when Muddy Waters took him on to replace Otis Spann in 1969 that Perkins' rolling mastery of the ivories began to assume outsized proportions.
Perkins began his blues existence primarily as a guitarist, but a mid-'40s encounter with an outraged chorus girl toting a knife at a Helena, Arkansas nightspot left him with severed tendons in his left arm. That dashed his guitar aspirations, but Joe Willie Perkins came back strong from the injury, concentrating solely on piano from that point on. Perkins had traveled to Helena with Robert Nighthawk in 1943, playing with the elegant slide guitarist on Nighthawk's KFFA radio program. Perkins soon switched over to rival Sonny Boy Williamson's beloved King Biscuit Time radio show in Helena, where he remained for an extended period. Perkins accompanied Nighthawk on a 1950 session for the Chess brothers that produced "Jackson Town Gal," but Chicago couldn't hold him at the time.
Nighthawk disciple Earl Hooker recruited Perkins during the early '50s. They hit the road, pausing at Sam Phillips' studios in Memphis long enough for Perkins to wax his first version of "Pinetop's Boogie Woogie" in 1953. He settled in downstate Illinois for a spell, then relocated to Chicago. Music gradually was relegated to the back burner until Hooker coaxed him into working on an LP for Arhoolie in 1968. When Spann split from Muddy Waters, the stage was set for Pinetop Perkins' re-emergence.
After more than a decade with the Man, Perkins and his bandmates left en masse to form the Legendary Blues Band. Their early Rounder albums (Life of Ease, Red Hot 'n' Blue) prominently spotlighted Perkins' rippling 88s and rich vocals. He had previously waxed an album for the French Black & Blue logo in 1976 and four fine cuts for Alligator's Living Chicago Blues anthologies in 1978. Finally, in 1988, he cut his first domestic album for Blind Pig, After Hours. After that, Pinetop Perkins made up for precious lost time in the studio. Discs for Antone's, Omega (Portrait of a Delta Bluesman, a solo outing that includes fascinating interview segments), Deluge, Earwig, and several other firms ensured that his boogie legacy wouldn't be forgotten in the decades to come. In 2010 he collaborated with harmonica whiz Willie "Big Eyes" Smith for the album Joined at the Hip, which won a Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album -- giving Perkins the status of oldest Grammy winner ever. On March 21, 2011, just over a month after the award ceremony, the legendary bluesman died from a heart attack at his home in Austin, Texas. Pinetop Perkins was 97 years old.
Wikipedia:
China Anne McClain (born August 25, 1998) is an American teen actress, singer, and songwriter. Her father and mother are singer producers. She has two sisters, Sierra and Lauryn, forming the group McClain Sisters. As of August 2011, China has amassed more than $600,000 throughout her career. China's career began in 2005 when she was seven years old acting in the movie The Gospel. However, she became nationally known after 2007, when she joined the cast of the series Tyler Perry's House of Payne as Jazmine Payne, and internationally as Chyna Parks, the star of the Disney Channel Original A.N.T. Farm.
Disney released the soundtrack of the television series ANT Farm on October 11, 2011. McClain sings six songs and two solos with her sisters on the soundtrack, which debuted in the Billboard 200 at number 29 with 14,000 copies sold in its first week. The release containing the hit song Calling All the Monsters that reached the eighty-sixth spot on the Billboard Hot 100. There are plans to release an album with her siblings in 2012 published by Hollywood Records under the moniker The McClain Sisters.
Career
2005–10: Early work and Tyler Perry's House of Payne
McClain was discovered in 2005 by a music executive who heard her sing and encouraged director Rob Hardy to audition her for his 2005 feature film The Gospel alongside Boris Kodjoe and Idris Elba. Her role caught the attention of Tyler Perry, who cast her as Jazmine Payne in the television series Tyler Perry's House of Payne.
She appears in the movie Daddy's Little Girls with her real-life sisters, Sierra and Lauryn who are also actresses, play her older sisters in the film. Her father, Michael McClain, is a music producer. Her mother, Shontell, is a songwriter. McClain appeared in and guest starred in various other shows and movies such as Hannah Montana with Sierra McCormick, NCIS and the 2009 film Hurricane Season. She also appeared in the movie Grown Ups as Charlotte McKenzie. In the same year when she landed a recurring role as Kiara on Jonas L.A. and was featured on the Jonas L.A. soundtrack.
2011–present: A.N.T. Farm, McClain Sisters and music career
McClain appeared on the Disney Channel series Wizards of Waverly Place in 2011 as Tina in one episode entitled "Wizards vs. Angels". In 2011, McClain was cast as the lead role in the Disney Channel series A.N.T. Farm with Sierra McCormick from Hannah Montana and Jake Short, along with Carlon Jeffery, and Stefanie Scott. For the show, McClain recorded a cover of Taio Cruz's "Dynamite". She also sings the series theme song, "Exceptional". China Anne's first music video, for "Dynamite", premiered on July 23, 2011 on Disney Channel. After less than a week, more than 1 million views on YouTube were reported. She has appeared in an episode of PrankStars. She also appeared in the Chiddy Bang Opposite Of Adults music video. For the Disney Channel Halloween special in 2011, she performed the song, "Calling All The Monsters".
As of June 14, 2011 the McClain Sisters was signed with Hollywood Records. The A.N.T. Farm soundtrack was released on October 11, 2011, featuring China Anne's version of "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz. On September 28, 2011, China Anne released "Calling All The Monsters" to iTunes. "Calling All The Monsters" charted number 100 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. On November 24, 2011, China preformed her song "Unstoppable" in the 85th Macy's Thanksgiving Parade.
McClain Sisters performed a new song called "Rise" at the Mall of America on March 11, 2012. It will be the lead single off their upcoming album, as well as the Disneynature film Chimpanzee. The song premiered on the iTunes Store on March 23, 2012, with the music video premiering on March 26. The video premiered during an episode of Austin & Ally and was uploaded onto Youtube the next day. It will also be featured as a Disney Friends For Change anthem.
Personal life
McClain was born in Atlanta, Georgia. She enjoys singing with her sisters Lauryn and Sierra McClain. She also has a little brother who appeared on the A.N.T. Farm episode where Paisley and Lexi fight over who is going to be the entertainment for a child's party. Her little brother plays Greg on the show.
