News Roundup: 3/22/2011

Pinetop Perkins, a blues pianist who won a Grammy last month for his Joined at the Hip album, has died at his home in Austin, Texas. He was 97. Perkins’ career included collaborations with Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, and BB King, the latter of whom called him “one of the last great Mississippi bluesmen” in a statement. [NME.com] R.I.P. also to British bassist Jet Harris, who performed with the Shadows during the first half-decade of the band’s career. Harris’ playing can be heard on the Shadows’ 1961 debut, which became the first instrumental LP to top the U.K. charts, as well as the band’s international smash “Apache.” After leaving the group in the early ’60s, he charted several more European hits as the duet partner of drummer Tony Meehan. [Pitchfork.com]