She came to prominence during the '60s as a piano player on The Lawrence Welk Show, but Jo Ann Castle was singing at the age of three. By the age of 13, she had appeared on both Tex Williams' and Spade Cooley's radio/television shows, playing piano and singing country songs. Castle later joined Lawrence Welk's variety show, but left in 1969 to... [+] Read More

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Reginald Robinson certainly stands out in his generation for this young black man performs ragtime piano; in addition, he has composed dozens of rags. He started on piano at 13 and dropped out of school the following year to devote himself to his music, memorizing rags by ear because he had not yet learned to read music. Robinson began serious... [+] Read More

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This remarkable group, put together in 1994 by the American Federation of Jazz Societies, featured veteran jazz players, all of whom were at least 65 yet still in their musical prime. Most notable among the personnel were 87-year-old violinist Claude Williams and Benny Waters who, at age 93, proved to still be a powerful altoist. ~ Scott Yanow,... [+] Read More

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