Eddie Tigner

Born on Aug. 11, 1926, in Macon, Georgia, Eddie Tigner fondly remembers listening to bluegrass, country and western music as a child. When he was 14, his family returned South to Atlanta, and Tigner started following his piano-playing mother to house parties, breakdowns, fish fries, and barbecues, where she was in demand as an entertainer.

Tigner didn't learn to play the piano himself, however, until he began his service in the Army in 1945 and was taught by a friend, Edward Louis, at a base in Maryland. Returning to Atlanta after his discharge, Tigner joined the Musicians' Union in 1947 and put together his first group, the Maroon Notes, in which he played vibes. They performed in vaudeville shows at theaters in Atlanta, and often toured through small towns as far as the West Coast of Florida. Tigner also played with legendary blues guitarist Elmore James during the early '50s, when James was living in Atlanta.

In 1959, the Ink Spots, a band Tigner had contact with while in the service, needed a pianist. Tigner joined the band and performed steadily as an “Ink Spot” until 1987, booked throughout this entire period by T.D. Kemp of Charlotte, N.C.

These days, Tigner “feeds the children” at his job in an elementary school cafeteria, but he's also been playing in small clubs around Atlanta since 1991. Atlanta guitarist Danny “Mudcat” Dudeck introduced Tigner to the Music Maker Relief Foundation, and he has since appeared at major events including the Chicago Blues Festival and the Blues to Bop Festival in Lugano, Switzerland.