Highland Baptist Christian School employees know Ronald Stanfield as a quiet and friendly part-time custodian, but when old friends think of Stanfield, they remember a piano, a world-famous night club and an era of New Orleans music legends from the 1960s.

Stanfield, 65, is a retired nursing home activities coordinator who was born and raised in New Orleans. He and his wife evacuated to New Iberia before Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, and have called it home ever since the storm destroyed their house in New Orleans.

“This is a real nice, quiet town to live in,” Stanfield said. “I’ll always miss the New Orleans I once knew, but the Lord has blessed us in moving here.”

Ronald Stanfield plays a tune in a music classroom at Highland Baptist Christian School. The retiree and part-time custodian is a New Orleans native who moved to New Iberia after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and while in New Orleans played piano alongside New Orleans music greats like Irma Thomas, Fats Domino and Aaron Neville. Advertisement

Stanfield works part time for a maintenance company that cleans the Highland Baptist offices and classrooms every afternoon as a way to “keep busy and help ends meet,” he said.

One afternoon, Stanfield and a co-worker were cleaning the music room, when he decided to play a song on the piano. If someone had not been walking through the hall at that very moment, no one would have known his story.

Growing up around a family of singers and dancers, Stanfield said he started playing piano at 4 years old by watching other people play. He took music lessons and theory classes in school, and mastered a variety of genres on the piano including classical and blues.

“To this day, I think I still play better by ear,” Stanfield said. “I don’t really like to read music.”

He played trombone for the high school band, and also played outside venues in a trio that his music teacher put together, Stanfield said.

After high school, Stanfield started frequenting the Dew Drop Inn, a world renowned New Orleans hotel and night club that flourished with famous New Orleans black musicians and also those from coast-to-coast in the 1960s, Stanfield said.

“All the top stars used to go to the club,” he said. “Frank (the owner) hired me to play piano on Saturday nights, and then when musicians would stay at the Dew Drop, we’d all get on stage for big jam sessions. Those were the days.”

Stanfield recalled playing with Irma Thomas, Fats Domino, B.B. King, James Rivers, Aaron Neville and many others until the club stopped having live entertainment in 1969.

He continued to play music in church and at home, but his piano, keyboards and two organs fell victim to Katrina.

Since moving to New Iberia, he has been playing for two local churches on Sundays. Recently, however, Stanfield was able to return to the stage after Highland Baptist workers found out about his hidden talent.

Michelle Davidson, who works in the school office, said the school was looking for a performer to play background music for its “Touch of Class” auction and fundraiser event.

After hearing that Stanfield was a pianist, they asked him to play for the fundraiser and he agreed. The school rented a tuxedo and a grand piano for Stanfield to play on at the event.

“He played so beautifully and so smooth,” Davidson said. “You could feel the talent, like it was just such a natural part of him. We were so blessed to have him. He’s phenomenal.”

Stanfield’s son, a pastor in New Orleans, came down for the event to play the jazz drums alongside his father.

“I just love to hear harmony and notes,” Stanfield said. “I love to play behind a beautiful voice. It was a good feeling to be back on stage for something like that.”