For World Piano Day: The Piano Players of Travalanche!

Shame on me for never thinking of such a post before, but the 88th day of the year is always World Piano Day!

So here’s a post linking to you to many of the folks we’ve written about who are particularly associated with performing publicly on the instrument. I’m sure I’ll keep adding to it.

FROM VAUDEVILLE, JAZZ, TIN PAN ALLEY

Scott Joplin

Eubie Blake

Jimmy Durante

Chico Marx

Irving Berlin

Fats Waller

Jelly Roll Morton

Big Maceo Merriweather

Duke Ellington

Count Basie

Hoagy Carmichael

Herb Williams (played a breakaway piano)

Will H. Fox (as Paddy Whiskey, the World’s Greatest Piano Player)

Jerry and Her Baby Grands

Ramona

The Incomparable Hildegarde

Belle Barth

Rusty Warren

Madame Spivy

TV ERA

Liberace

Victor Borge

Steve Allen

Hazel Scott

Tom Lehrer

Mark Russell

Uncle Floyd

ROCK AND ROLL

Moon Mullican

Jerry Lee Lewis

Little Richard

Esquerita

Ian Stewart

Elton John

POLITICS

Harry Truman

Richard Nixon

Haha, and on that note —

For more on show business history, please see No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous. And please keep an eye out forVaudeville in Your Living Room: A Century of Radio and TV Variety, coming out from Bear Manor Media this November!