James Carroll Booker III (December 17, 1939 – November 8, 1983) was a New Orleans rhythm and blues keyboardist born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Booker’s unique style combined rhythm and blues with jazz standards. Musician Dr. John described Booker as “the best black, gay, one-eyed junkie piano genius New Orleans has ever produced.” Flamboyant in personality, he was known as “the Black Liberace”. Booker was the son and grandson of Baptist ministers, both of whom played the piano.^[3] He spent most of his childhood on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, where his father was a church pastor. Booker received a saxophone as a gift from his mother, but he was more interested in the keyboard. He played the organ in his father’s churches.

Booker made his recording debut in 1954 on the Imperial Records label, with “Doin’ the Hambone” and “Thinkin’ ‘Bout My Baby”, produced by Dave Bartholomew. This led to some session work with Fats Domino, Smiley Lewis, and Lloyd Price.^[5]

In 1958, Arthur Rubinstein performed a concert in New Orleans. Afterwards, eighteen-year-old Booker was introduced to the concert pianist and played several tunes for him. Rubinstein was astonished, saying “I could never play that … never at that tempo” (The Times-Picayune, 1958). During this period, Booker also became known for his flamboyant personality among his peers. After recording a few other singles, he enrolled as an undergraduate in Southern University‘s music department. In 1960, Booker’s “Gonzo”, for Peacock Records, reached number 43 on the United States (U.S.) record chart of Billboard magazine and number 3 on the R&B record chart. Following “Gonzo”, Booker released some moderately successful singles. In the 1960s, he started using illicit drugs, and in 1970 served a brief sentence in Angola Prison for drug possession. At the time, Professor Longhair and Ray Charles were among his important musical influences.