*Actual* duelling pianos can be verified as early as the late 1890s in the USA, when ragtime piano players would actually “duel” in an effort to see who could play better and faster! In 1933, when BH O’Brien and Charlie Cantrell opened Pat O’Brien’s Bar in New Orleans, they included a room where two piano players would entertain the crowd on copper-topped baby grand pianos. Players would take turns singing songs requested by the audience, written on cocktail napkins. In 1986, a piano bar called Alley Cats opened in Dallas, Texas, in an attempt to copy the piano bar style of New Orleans. Players at this club started redefining the style of duelling pianos by playing more contemporary rock & roll music, coupled with humorous bits that involved lyric substitutions and audience participation. These “bits” would become commonplace at many duelling piano clubs over the years, as a staple of the industry.
From there, many duelling piano clubs and chains opened, and there are currently well over 200 different clubs across the United States, and even more in other countries. The name of the concept has also evolved to be called “singalong”, since the goal of the players is not generally to work against each other, but rather to gain audience participation with singing and clapping.
Two Pianos. Two Musicians. One First-Class Performance!
