美国国家公共电台 NPR--New Orleans R&B great Huey 'Piano' Smith dies at 89

New Orleans R&B great Huey 'Piano' Smith dies at 89

Transcript¹

Huey "Piano" Smith, who died earlier this month, recorded many influential² singles including "Rockin' Pneumonia³ and the Boogie Woogie Flu." He wrote the Freddie Ford⁴ hit "Sea Cruise."

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

OK. Let's take a moment to appreciate a great New Orleans bandleader.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DON'T YOU JUST KNOW IT")

HUEY "PIANO" SMITH & HIS CLOWNS: (Singing) I can't lose with the stuff I use. Don't you just know it? Baby, don't believe I wear two left shoes. Don't you just know it? Ah, ha, ha, ha. Ah, ha, ha, ha. Hey, yo. Hey, yo.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

In the mid- to late-'50s, Huey "Piano" Smith & His Clowns churned out classics like "Don't You Just Know It." That put Smith, who died last week, at the forefront of the New Orleans R&B sound that would heavily influence rock 'n' roll.

INSKEEP: A big influence, even though the record industry was not kind. Smith was routinely cheated out of royalties⁵. And he largely stopped performing by the 1980s. He later declared bankruptcy⁶. And according to his biographer, Huey "Piano" Smith had to pawn⁷ his piano.

FADEL: Dr. John was one of the many pianists who followed in Huey Smith's footsteps and fingertips, as he told NPR back in 2010.

DR JOHN: You could tell a New Orleans guy by not so much what he did, but what he left out, the space he left in the music to get a little more funky⁸. It's like, if you listen to, say, Huey Smith's record of "I Got The Rockin' Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu," the whole song is loaded with breaks to leave the drum a little extra space to just do something.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ROCKIN' PNEUMONIA AND THE BOOGIE WOOGIE FLU")

HUEY "PIANO" SMITH & HIS CLOWNS: (Singing) I got a rocking pneumonia and the boogie-woogie flu.

DR JOHN: And it was just kind of the attitude of - all the guys did that. All of that influenced other people from other places that played down there a lot.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ROCKIN' PNEUMONIA AND THE BOOGIE WOOGIE FLU")

HUEY "PIANO" SMITH & HIS CLOWNS: (Singing) And the boogie-woogie flu.

INSKEEP: Huey "Piano" Smith was 89 years old.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ROCKIN' PNEUMONIA AND THE BOOGIE WOOGIE FLU")

HUEY "PIANO" SMITH & HIS CLOWNS: (Singing) I want to kiss her, but the gal⁹ too tall.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

3 pneumonia   

n.肺炎

参考例句：

• Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
• Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。

4 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

5 royalties   

特许权使用费

参考例句：

• I lived on about £3,000 a year from the royalties on my book. 我靠着写书得来的每年约3，000英镑的版税生活。 来自辞典例句
• Payments shall generally be made in the form of royalties. 一般应采取提成方式支付。 来自经济法规部分

6 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

7 pawn   

n.典当，抵押，小人物，走卒；v.典当，抵押

参考例句：

• He is contemplating pawning his watch.他正在考虑抵押他的手表。
• It looks as though he is being used as a political pawn by the President.看起来他似乎被总统当作了政治卒子。

8 funky   

adj.畏缩的，怯懦的，霉臭的；adj.新式的，时髦的

参考例句：

• The kitchen smelled really funky.这个厨房有一股霉味。
• It is a funky restaurant with very interesting art on the walls.那是一家墙上挂着很有意思的绘画的新潮餐馆。

9 gal   

n.姑娘，少女

参考例句：

• We decided to go with the gal from Merrill.我们决定和那个从梅里尔来的女孩合作。
• What's the name of the gal? 这个妞叫什么？