Willie "The Lion" Smith

Willie "The Lion" Smith

William Henry Joseph Bonaparte Bertholoff Smith (23 November 1893 – 18 April 1973), a.k.a. "The Lion", was an American jazz pianist and one of the masters of the stride style, usually grouped with James P. Johnson and Thomas "Fats" Waller as the three greatest practitioners of the genre from its Golden Age, c. 1920–1943.

Read more about Willie "The Lion" Smith:  Early Life, Music Career, Personal Life, Legacy, Recordings

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