( CNN ) -- Grammy-winning blues pianist Willie `` Pinetop '' Perkins died at his home in Austin , Texas , Monday , his official website said . He was 97 . `` It is with deep sadness that we announce Pinetop Perkins passed away , '' the web page said . The Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award winner scored solo success late in his seven-decade-long career , releasing 14 albums between 1988 and 2010 . He was the oldest person ever awarded a Grammy . Before Perkins stepped into the spotlight , he played in Muddy Waters ' band for 12 years , starting in the late 1960s . `` In 1980 , Pinetop and other members of Muddy 's crew struck out on their own and formed the Legendary Blues Band , '' according to his online biography . He was born Joe Willie Perkins in Belzoni , Mississippi , on July 7 , 1913 . `` Pinetop started out playing guitar and piano at house parties and honky-tonks , '' his biography says , `` but dropped the guitar in the 1940s after sustaining a serious injury in his left arm . '' The Recording Academy , which presented Perkins with his lifetime Grammy praised the bluesman . `` Whether performing solo or jamming with other notable talent , his charisma and energy stood out in every song , '' said Neil Portnow , president and CEO of the academy . `` His legacy has informed and inspired so many generations , and will continue to do so for many more to come . ''
He was born Joe Willie Perkins in Belzoni , Belzoni , on July 7 , 1913 . Perkins won 14 Grammy Awards and a lifetime achievement award . He played in The Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award band for 12 years . Perkins releases two albums July 7 , 1913 .