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'CRIPPLE' CLARENCE LOFTON

On March 28, 1887 Albert Clemens - that was 'Cripple' Clarence Lofton's real civil full name - was born in Kingsport, Tennessee to Walter Lofton and his wife Anna. Although he suffered a birth defect in his leg that made him walk with a limp (from which he derived his stage name), it certainly didn't stop him to start a career as a tap-dancer - his original ticket into show business. Those bare facts are all that is known of his life before he appeared in Chicago around 1917.

Already a mature performer he was ready to move into the world of night clubs rent parties that would claim him for the greater part of his life. The trademark of Lofton's performances was his energetic nature on stage where he sang with very expressive facial expressions, clicked his fingers like a Spanish dancer as he played, stomped his feet, whistled, moving in the blink of an eye from the piano to the drums, jumped up, and even shining as a tap dancer – despite the fact that he walked with a limp. He often began playing a new chorus before he had finished playing the old one. He sometimes reduced the number of bars in his tunes from the standard 12 to 9, 10 or even 11.5 (like in I Don’t Know). His name is synonymous with energetic boogie-woogie and deep blues piano. His audiences loved his undisciplined playing style and powerful stage presence. This wild, high-energy act got the young showman noticed quickly and by the early 1930s he was so much a fixture of Chicago night life firmament.

It wasn’t until 1935 that 'Cripple' Clarence Lofton recorded two of his more popular songs (Strut That Thing, Monkey Man Blues) for Vocalion with 'Big' Bill Broonzy on guitar. Clarence was also found in the company of 'Red' Nelson and Al Miller. Already in the 1930s he went on to own the 'Big Apple' nightclub on South State Street, Chicago. Lofton’s club was a favorite hangout of blues pianists such as his own good friends Jimmy Yancey and Meade 'Lux' Lewis.

He continued recording for a variety of companies such as Solo Art, Gennett, Pax, Riverside and Session until the boogie-woogie craze cooled off in the late 1940s.

'Cripple' Clarence Lofton was an integral part of the boogie-woogie genre in Chicago and a phenomenon in the annals of boogie-woogie and blues piano. His talent was likened to that of 'Pinetop' Smith and others. He had already influenced pianists like Meade 'Lux' Lewis, Charles 'Cow Cow' Davenport and Jimmy Yancey. Lofton was also said to have influenced Erwin Helfer.

Lofton and Jimmy Yancey

When the boogie-woogie craze eventually went out of fashion in the late 1940s, Lofton early retired, staying around Chicago until his death on January 9, 1957 from a blood clot in the brain.

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