Art Blakey was born to a poor family in the heart of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1919. He was working in the steel and coal mills when he was only fourteen. There were no child labor laws in those times. He had to work to help support his family and put food on the table. Blakey turned to music as a way of escaping the exhausting day-to-day labor of the mills. Blakey taught himself how to play the piano. Even though he couldn't read music, and could only play songs in three keys, Blakey was a crowd favorite a several local venues. He used to make fifteen-twenty dollars a night in tips every night he went. At fifteen Blakey was leading his own band. They were small and unknown, but played at clubs all around the city.
One night while Blakey and his band were playing at a club, Blakey grabbed the sticks out of his drummers hand, and showed him how he wanted the drummer to play. Watched by the owner of the club, the show went on the same way for several more weeks. About a......

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Title: Art Blakey
Approximate Word Count: 1456
Approximate Pages: 6 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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