Boogie-woogie and blues pianist Clarence Smith – born in Troy, Alabama on June 11, 1904 – was better known by his stage name Pinetop Smith (sometimes spelled Pine Top Smith). Raised in Birmingham, Alabama, he moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1920 and began his career as a vaudeville performer. Initially more of a singer and comedian, he would also perform as a pianist, offering accompaniment to vocalists such as Ma Rainey and Butterbeans & Susie. In 1928, he signed to Vocalion Records and relocated to Chicago, Illinois. He recorded a few sessions for the label, the most significant being his December 29, 1928, recording of “Pine Top’s Boogie Woogie”, which blended ragtime with blues and boogie-woogie. The single was one of the first boogie-woogie hits and the first to feature the genre’s name in the song title. On the evening before his next scheduled recording session, Pinetop Smith was shot and killed on March 15, 1929, in Chicago during a dance hall brawl. Some of his recordings were later collected on the 1943 album release Boogie Woogie Piano.