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Maceo Merriweather was born in Atlanta, Georgia on March 31, 1905 but had moved with his family to Detroit by 1920.  Most sources cite that he was a self taught pianist. Shortly after his arrival in Detroit, and still a teenager, he began playing house-rent parties, juke joints and the cities clubs. It is said that he had a heavy-handed style that had been influenced by artists such as Leroy Carr, Roosevelt Sykes, Meade "Lux" Lewis and Albert Ammons. In 1941 Big Maceo moved to Chicago where he met guitarist Tampa Red and the two  became good friends and performing partners. Tampa Red introduced Big Maceo to Lester Melrose  and he was was signed to the Bluebird label. His first recording was "Worried Life Blues" and this song immediately brought him blues recognition. He followed that success with classics such as "Chicago Breakdown", "Detroit Stomp" and "Texas Stomp". Sadly in 1946 Big Maceo suffered a stroke which brought his career to a halt. He continued to record for a while with the support of other pianists but he was forced to retire in 1949. Big Maceo Merriweather died in 1953.