Henry Pugh, Montgomery's longtime underground music treasure, battling past virus, hospitalization

Prayers have been spreading across Montgomery for one of the city’s “old guard” musicians.

Keyboardist and singer Henry Pugh, 83, was hospitalized in July a few days after attempting a Thursday night show at downtown Montgomery’s Commerce BeerWorks. 

"When he drove up, we could tell he wasn't feeling well," said trombone player Ted Mann, who has known Pugh for 30 years. He and trumpet player Bob Avery tried to convince Pugh to not even do the show.

But Pugh is a decades-long iron man keyboardist and Blues singer, used to late nights of music that turn into mornings. The word "can't" wasn't in his mindset. 

"He said, 'No, no. I can do it,'" Mann said.

After one song, it was clear he should have taken his Blue Room Trio bandmates' advice. 

“We had to stop playing because he was not feeling well,” said longtime friend Henry L. Cobbs Jr., 79, who was singing with Pugh that night.

"(Pugh) just shook his head and said, 'I can't do it anymore,'" Mann said. 

Pugh had contracted COVID-19, and has since been hospitalized and put on an ventilator. 

Since then, Pugh had a heart attack and kidney failure last week, according to Pugh’s son Tee Washington of Mobile, speaking to the Advertiser on Thursday. Pugh was revived and stabilized. After dialysis, Pugh’s kidney function was restored, Washington said. 

“His condition is stable,” Washington said. “He’s not getting any better, but he’s not getting any worse either... His oxygen level did come up in the last 48 hours, so that’s a good thing.”

Friends and fans have been sharing memories and get well wishes since they heard about Pugh’s condition. 

“When someone’s been around so long, you take it for granted that they’re going to always be here,” said longtime friend and fellow Montgomery musician Sam Williams. 

Many, like singer/songwriter Lisa Busler, got to know Pugh through his overnight performances at downtown Montgomery’s Sous La Terre, which he ran with his sister, Ora Trawick, and her husband, George. 

“Every musician in Montgomery just about has a Henry story,” Busler said. “I had never been to a piano bar at age 22 and met him, and got to experience his light.”

Coleman Woodson Jr., a saxophone player, MPS educator and president of the Alabama Jazz and Blues Foundation, describes Pugh is a legend whose notoriety extends beyond Montgomery and Alabama. 

“As I reminisce on the the many times I had to perform with Henry, I was always humbled to be in his presence,” Woodson said. “I always felt that I had achieved a certain level of musicianship to be on stage playing with him. He has the distinction of being a musician’s musician, and it is always fun to play with him.”

Montgomery’s own “Knock on Wood” R&B star Eddie Floyd, 84, said Pugh is a wonderful man. 

“I’ve heard (Pugh) play many times through the years,” Floyd said. “I’m sorry to hear that he’s in the hospital and my prayers go out to him and his family.”

Pugh’s life

On April 19, 1937, Henry Pugh Jr. was born in the home of Montgomery residents Delia and Henry Sr. 

As a child, Pugh learned piano from his mom. He took his lessons to church and played there when he was 5. 

By the time he was 12, Pugh was playing with adults in a full band. He probably didn’t stand out for his age much, though. Along with his large frame, Pugh has large hands that stretched out far on the keyboard as he grew. 

“He was one of the first kids to go to (St. Jude High School), where he had pretty much all Caucasian teachers back in the day,” Cobbs said. 

Pugh enlisted in the Air Force in 1954. Cobbs said Pugh’s mom had to sign for him, because he was too young to sign for himself. Pugh served in Texas and North Africa over his four years of active duty, and served four additional years in the reserves. 

Along with being a musician and an airman, Pugh was an athlete during his deployment. Standing 6 feet 5 inches tall, he was a baseball player for the Air Force in the Europe. 

Back home in 1958, 21-year-old Pugh played keyboard for the first time at a downtown, downstairs Montgomery venue at the corner of Commerce and Bibb streets called the Key Hole Club. 

Cobbs said Pugh accompanied many major recording artists when they performed in Montgomery. One of them was Sam Cooke, who was still on the Gospel circuit as lead singer for the Soul Stirrers.

Cobbs said Pugh also played at venues across Montgomery, including places where he wasn't allowed go in the front door. 

“My first cousin Shirley Vaughn was one of the first female vocalists to sing with (Pugh) in the ‘60s at the Laicos Club over on the west side on Holt Street,” Cobbs said. 

Pugh went on to became a regular performer at Key Hole Club, but had no idea how big a role this venue would have in the next 60 years of his life. 

“(Pugh) and the guys playing with him were the only Blacks that went down there, because the club was all white,” Williams said. “He gained his reputation for playing by being down there.”

Williams was a high school student learning music when he met Pugh during a jam session at the Laicos Club. 

“He was like a mythical god or something, you know? Everybody was talking about Pugh,” Williams said. 

At age 25 in 1962, Pugh earned a master’s degree in music from Alabama State University. He would devote the next 13 years of his life to sharing music knowledge with students. 

“Henry is well respected also for his tenure as a long-time educator and band director,” Woodson said. “I often run across some of the students he taught and they always reflect on how much he inspired them to became not just a better musicians, but also a better person.”

He worked at Academy Street High School, an all-Black school, from ’62-64. 

From 1968-1978 the Key Hole Club was renamed Quinn’s Club, and Pugh continued to play there. For his day job in those years, Pugh worked until 1970 at JD Thompson High School and Rockford High School in Coosa. From 1970-1975, he taught choir, music and art at Selma University.

In 1978, Pugh, his sister and brother-in-law bought Quinn’s Club and renamed it Sous La Terre, which means “underground” in French. 

Williams remembers many evenings going to Sous La Terre around 3 a.m. and not leaving until the sun came up.

“You’d better take your shades when you go in,” Williams said. “Get ready when you come out because that sun would be wearing you out.” 

Even with those late Friday and Saturday night hours, Mann said Pugh never missed church on Sundays. 

Mann said he tried the weekend overnight shift a few times, and it was too much.

"We would kid (Pugh) about, 'When do you sleep?'" Mann said. 

Pugh could be tough when he needed to be. He hid his tall frame behind the keyboard at Sous La Terre. Some guests didn’t know how large he was. 

“If someone got unruly, he would admonish them on the microphone. If they didn’t comply after a couple of admonishments, then he’d stand up… And he keeps standing up for a while,” Williams said. They'd soon find his large hands wrapped around their collars as he escorted them up the stairs. 

"This was before my time, but I remember him telling how he kicked George 'Goober' Lindsey out one time," Mann said. 

Woodson said Montgomery and Alabama would have a large entertainment hole in it without Henry Pugh.

“In 1990, I had the pleasure of welcoming Henry as he was initiated into my musical fraternity, Phi Mu Alpha,” Woodson said. “It is something he is extremely proud of.”

Mann first met Pugh in the early '90s, when the were both a part of the Montgomery Jazz Orchestra. In 2001, with Pugh's blessing, Mann started playing with Pugh at the clubs and learning more about improvisational music. Two years later, Mann was doing road shows with him.

"I realized pretty quick that this guy has a talent. He's got his own style," Mann said. "And then I quickly learned what a legend he was in Montgomery." 

In 1994, Pugh became a member of Faith Missionary Baptist Church and still serves as a deacon and musician there. 

Three years ago, then-Mayor Todd Strange proclaimed April 19, 2017, as Henry Pugh Day. 

Up until it closed a couple of years ago, Pugh continued to play at Sous La Terre every weekend, and the venue also hosted hundreds of private events.

Along with the downstairs venue, they have an upstairs cocktail bar with music called La Salle Bleu (The Blue Room) that continued to operate until coronavirus restrictions closed venues this year. It hasn't reopened yet. 

There was a difference between the two venues, Mann said. At Sous La Terre, Pugh's audience wanted to hear classics like Muddy Waters songs. Mann said Pugh liked being able to play different material in The Blue Room on Wednesdays.  

Woodson said he’s had the opportunity to collaborate with Pugh in the Montgomery Jazz Orchestra, The Montgomery Recreators' Big Band and many combo settings. 

“Henry has a high following,” Woodson said. “He made downtown entertainment venue ‘The Underground’ (Sous La Terre) and The Blue Room a haven for the musicians that needed a place to develop their musical skills and to learn what it takes to be a true entertainer. He is always willing to share and demonstrate his talents with other musicians.”

Love for Henry Pugh

Several more of the River Region’s musicians spoke out on their love and admiration for Pugh. 

Bobby Mills: “Love going down them dark stairs after everything else was closing to hear him. A legend and hero.”

MC Jones: “I have so much more than love for this wonderful man. He treats musicians like family. Send some good vibes to Henry.”

John "Clam Chop" Etheridge: “I have known Henry since the early ’70s. I wish him nothing but health and prosperity. The words, ‘Icon’ and ‘Institution’ come to mind when Henry Pugh’s name is spoken.”

Bill Hinds: “A Montgomery institution. A few months ago I saw him again after 45 years and he was playing great and sharp as a tack. He definitely remembered more from ‘back in the day’ than I. Praying for his recovery.”

Lisa Perkins:   “I have been knowing him forever seems like, and he was always the same.  Easy to get along with, easy to work with.  He and his musicians have played for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday celebration at Dexter Ave King Memorial Baptist Church for many years.”

Stanford "Slim" Barnes: "I hope he can stay around for a long time. Ask God to make him well... I pray that brother Henry will come through this."

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Shannon Heupel at sheupel@gannett.com.