Vann "Piano Man" Walls

On October 24, 2015, Walls was inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame.

After numerous delays, the film Vann "Piano Man" Walls: The Spirit of R&B was released in October 2013, premiering at the Festival du nouveau cinéma.

In addition, Canadian musician Michael Jerome Brown, who appeared on In the Evening, wrote the track "Cancer Ward Blues" for Walls, and dedicated it to him. It was released on Brown's 2001 album entitled Drive On.

Walls died of cancer in Montreal, on February 24, 1999. He played piano in the cancer ward almost until the day of his death.

While being interviewed for a documentary by Montreal filmmaker Steven Morris, Walls said he wanted to record one more album as bandleader,. Morris arranged for studio time, and over two days Walls and Montreal's Stephen Barry Band recorded his final CD: In the Evening. Released in 1997, and produced by Morris and René Moisan, it was nominated for a Juno Award in the "Best Blues Album" category.

In 1997, Walls was also recognized with a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation, along with musicians including Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, The Four Tops, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, and Gary U.S. Bonds.

After seeing Walls' Montreal jazz festival performance with Dr. John, music historian and writer Craig Morrison tracked Walls down, and later introduced him to his friend Steven Morris, who worked at the National Film Board of Canada. Morris began filming Walls with a professional crew in 1993, in hopes of eventually releasing a documentary about him.

Walls began to re-emerge in the 1990s, starting with a concert on May 18, 1990, in Brooklyn Heights, New York, where he appeared with his former piano student, Mac Rebennack, aka Dr. John. Walls and Rebennack would perform together again a few months later, at the Montreal International Jazz Festival. He would go on to play at numerous other jazz and blues festivals over the rest of the decade.

His last known appearance for Atlantic was on Big Joe Turner's "Boogie Woogie Country Girl", recorded in November 1955. In September 1959, he made his final recording appearance from this period, on the Memo label, backing Danny "Run Joe" Taylor, who was credited as Little Eddie Mint.

The Nite Riders toured extensively in the northeastern US and eastern Canada. In 1955, they played Montreal's famed Esquire Show Bar, an R&B hot-spot, for 19 weeks. It was while in Montreal in the early 1960s that Walls met his future wife, Ruth Palevsky, who ran the kitchen at the Black Bottom, an after-hours jazz club in Old Montreal. They married in 1963, and Walls stayed in the city, dropping into obscurity after the Nite Riders broke up in the mid-1960s. By the 1970s, he was reduced to touring small towns in Quebec, and playing taverns and small-time gigs at venues such as Royal Canadian Legion halls in Montreal. A poster from this era describes him as performing "Musique Haïtienne" (Haitian music).

In 1954, Walls joined the Nite Riders, a band based in Philadelphia (they would later move to Hartford, Connecticut, where they opened their own recording studio). The group primarily appeared on the Apollo Records label, though in 1957 they recorded a one-off single for MGM Records. During the early 1960s, they also made appearances on various other labels, including Cherry, Chime, Smash, and Courtesy.

In addition to his work backing other musicians, Walls released a few recordings under his own name. In 1950, Walls recorded and released the single "Tee Nah Nah"/"Ain't Gonna Scold You" on Atlantic (catalog #904) which featured vocals by Spider Sam (the pseudonym used by Brownie McGhee). The band was credited as the "After Hour Session Boys". Walls also recorded and released the 1950 single "Easter Parade"/"Air Mail Boogie" on Derby Records (catalog #733) with vocals by Freddie Mitchell as well as the 1950 single "Chocolate Candy Blues" on Columbia Records (catalog #30220).

Walls arrived at Atlantic in September 1949. He was noted for his unique appearance (Sherlock Holmes pipe, deer-stalker cap and a cloak) and for his distinctive sound.

In the late 1940s, saxophonist Frank "Floorshow" Culley came to Columbus and heard Walls play. Culley invited Walls to join the new Atlantic Records label in New York City as Atlantic's house band pianist. After some initial reluctance, Walls agreed.

Vann "Piano Man" Walls (born Harry Eugene Vann, 24 August 1918 – 24 February 1999) was an American rhythm and blues piano player, songwriter, studio musician and professional recording artist. He was a long-standing session player for Atlantic Records, appearing on hits by artists including Big Joe Turner, Ruth Brown and The Clovers. Walls performed under a number of different names and is variously credited as Van Walls, Harry Van Walls and Captain Van. He led the Harry Van Walls Orchestra and also performed with Doc Starkes and His Nite Riders and as Le Capitaine Van.