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Hammond B-3 and Leslie organs. My mother was an exceptional office worker. She always bragged
about being the fastest typist in her high school. Neither of them went to college. The only music I
heard early on in my life was in the radio in the car, and whatever was on variety shows such as
Ed Sullivan. We didn’t even have a record player until I was about 10 years old! I guess I always
needed music in my life, even if I didn’t understand the urge at the time. At around 4 years old I

told my mother I wanted a piano. Kind of a crazy request, when most kids would ask for a bicycle
or baseball glove! My grandmother, who lived with us part of the year, bought me an Emenee
Organ for Christmas. I started picking out simple melodies that I heard in church … and making
stuff up! A few years later when I was around 6 or 7, they finally got me an old upright piano, and
put it in the basement of our house. That’s when I started taking piano lessons. After a year or so

the piano teacher said, “maybe you should get this kid a decent piano.” My mother went out and
bought me a brand-new Kimball Baby Grand piano. She paid $4.00 a week for it! I loved that
piano. I polished it every day! My parents had to ask
me to stop practicing, as I was literally at the piano
every waking moment. I was in my first “rock” band
in 7th grade. It was called Danger High Voltage! It was
there that I started to learn from records; Beatles,

Doors, Strawberry Alarm Clock … bands that were
popular in the mid-late 1960’s. Even without really
knowing about blues I was drawn to that sound. I first
heard “Back Door Man” (Dixon) on a Doors record. As I
started hanging out with more musicians I learned

about Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Otis Spann … all Gods
from Mt. Olympus!

LL: How did a piano player in his early 20’s wind up
playing for all those name acts?

AG: Well after practicing for years and getting my feet

wet playing in bands I befriended a guitarist at my high school named Ed Cherry. He was I think,
the only African American student at my school. His family had a big record collection; Count
Basie, Duke Ellington, and some blues, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, B.B. King. One afternoon Ed
played me the Chicago Bound (Chess) record by Jimmy Rogers. That record literally turned my life
around. I knew immediately that was the music I wanted to play, and the sound I wanted to

emulate. Jimmy Rogers was my roommate on the road about 10 years later! Ed Cherry has turned
out to be one of the premier jazz guitarists in America! He played with Dizzy Gillespie for years
until Dizzy’s passing.

While I was at the Berklee College of Music in Boston in the mid 1970’s I joined a band from New
Hampshire called The John Wardwell Blues Band. We did a few gigs backing up John Lee Hooker,
and one with Big Mama Thornton. She threw the whole band off the band stand and just looked at

me and said, “… except for that piano picker. He stays.” She went behind the drums, pulled out a
harmonica, sang and played the entire show from behind the drums! I think she only had a “B”
harmonica, so I played the entire set in “F#”! They got the gig opening up for Muddy Waters for a
whole week at the famous Paul’s Mall in Boston. I had seen Muddy and his great band many times
already, but never talked to him or anyone in the band. I think the first time I saw Muddy,

Hollywood Fats was in the band. Pinetop Perkins, Willie Smith and Calvin Jones were always the

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