08 - What is a “Barrelhouse?”
by John Tennison — History of Boogie Woogie
Above is a barrelhouse of the sort where Boogie Woogie was born.
When discussing the “barrelhouse” style of Boogie Woogie pianist, Robert Shaw, the Texas Handbook of History gives the following description of a “barrelhouse:”
“The style was named for the barrelhouses, where it was performed-sheds with walls lined with beer and whiskey, an open floor, and a piano on a raised platform in a corner of the room. The back of the barrelhouse was also used as a bawdy house.”
