Earl Hines

Earl Hines was born in the Pittsburgh suburb of Duquesne, Pennsylvania. His father was a cornetist and leader of Pittsburgh s Eureka Brass Band,[3] his stepmother a church organist.[4] Hines at first intended to follow his father s example and play cornet but "blowing" hurt him behind the ears — while the piano didn t.[5][6][7] He took classical piano lessons[8] and played organ in his local Baptist church but also developed an ear for popular show tunes and was able to remember and play songs he heard in theaters.[9] Hines claimed that he was playing piano around Pittsburgh "before the wordjazzwas even invented".