Pianist, singer, icon, arguably, in his way, the first punk rocker; one of the founders of rock'n'roll, from the gospel music and rhythm and blues roots of the tree, and quite handy at boogie-woogie piano. The launch of Sputnik caused him to quit the biz and become a preacher (he thought it was something out of Revelations, IIRC). He came back in the 60's, as an uninspired oldies act, and later began a parallel career as an actor and TV personality. The 50's stuff remains manna, especially at loud volumes.