Meade Lux Lewis was a boogie-woogie piano player and composer who had been appearing in the Twin Cities since at least 1946.

From  Wikipedia:

Lewis was quite fond of the Minneapolis area, where a niece lived, and would visit as often as he could. He appeared annually at the White House Restaurant in Golden Valley. He began a successful three-week engagement there in May 1964. Around two a.m. the morning of Sunday, June 7, leaving the parking lot of the White House and heading east on Olson Memorial Highway, Lewis’ Chrysler Imperial was rear-ended by one Ronald Bates, who was traveling an estimated 80 mph. Lewis’ car was pushed 400 feet, impacting a tree and killing him instantly. He was 58. Bates survived, but his passenger died the following day.