Gene "Birdlegg" Pittman
| Gene "Birdlegg" Pittman | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Eugene P. Pittman |
| Born |
May 10, 1947 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Genres | Blues |
| Occupation(s) | Harmonicist, singer, songwriter |
| Instruments | Harmonica, human voice |
| Years active | 1977–present |
Eugene P. Pittman (born May 10, 1947), better known as Gene "Birdlegg" Pittman, is an American blues harmonicist, singer and songwriter. He was inspired by the harmonica playing and styling of Sonny Boy Williamson II and Sonny Terry, and started playing the harmonica in 1974, turning fully professional three years later. His own style encompasses country blues, urban blues, funk and rock and roll. He has released three albums to date.
Pittman was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. As a child he owned a harmonica, and was encouraged by the blues musicianship of his paternal grandfather, who played National steel guitar and had toured across the States. He watched Tina Turner in concert in Harrisburg when he was 16, then after high school he waited almost a decade before attending college. The academic life did not suit him, and on impulse Pittman bought a harmonica at the age of 26, despite having had no formal musical tuition. He relocated to New York, and his interest in the musical instrument, and the blues in general, started to grow. After two years had passed, and noting that both Taj Mahal and John Lee Hooker lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, in 1975 Pittman caught a Greyhound bus to Oakland, California. Having started playing in 1974, by 1977 he was a professional musician. In his days in the Bay Area, Pittman met several blues musicians including Sonny Rhodes, Cool Papa Sadler, Jimmy McCracklin, Lowell Fulson, Percy Mayfield, and J.J. Malone. Cool Papa proved to be the guiding hand, and Pitmann played alongside him for 13 years. Pittman formed the Tight Fit Blues Band in 1980, the first outfit where he had been the frontman. Pittman variously worked or recorded with Dave Alexander, Sugar Pie DeSanto and the Mississippi Delta Blues Band.
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