Ollie Shepard (blues pianist)
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Ollie Shepard (né Oliver Shepard; born July 1909, Oberlin, Louisiana, United States – 1960[1]) was an American blues pianist, vocalist, and songwriter.
From about 1954 to about 1963, Shepard performed at Jerry's Restaurant & Cocktail Lounge in Oneonta, New York, at 15 Dietz Street, in the Walnut Street Historic District. The restaurant was owned by Joseph G. ("Jerry") Monser (1926–1975), who opened it on August 5, 1954. The building was demolished in July 1970 to make way for a parking lot. Mark Bresee, et al., purchased the property from Robert W. Melmer, his father, John J. Melmer, and his brother, John E. Melmer.[2]
Poet and academician Richard George Frost (born 1929) who, for a stint, had played drums with Shepard in a lounge in Oneonta described him as follows:
- Ollie, who had once been a house pianist for Decca Records, was a tyrant. The arrogant cuss seemed determined to derange me. He played in a fast, galloping blues-based format that often threw me. When he believed I had lagged or faltered, he would make unpleasant faces and groan loudly at his honky drummer.[3]
