 By his mid-teens, Blount was performing semi-professionally as a solo pianist, or as a member of various "ad hoc" jazz and R&B groups.He attended Birmingham's segregated Industrial High School (now known as Parker High School), where he studied under music teacher John T. "Fess" Whatley, a demanding disciplinarian who was widely respected and whose classes produced many professional musicians.Though deeply religious, his family was not formally associated with any Christian church or sect.