Early Life
Walls was born in Middlesboro, Kentucky, and grew up in Charleston, West Virginia. His mother was a piano teacher. His stepfather was named Walls, so he took the name Van Walls (often written as Vann Walls). He left home as a teenager and toured the Southern United States with carnivals, circuses, and variety caravans. He returned to Charleston in his mid-20s and played as a solo pianist in local clubs and on WCHS (AM) radio.
In the early-1940s, he began playing in Cal Greer's band and later formed his own band based in Columbus, Ohio.
Read more about this topic: Van "Piano Man" Walls
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