WALDOBORO — At 83, “Pinetop” Perkins has entered the realm of a national treasure, who can trace his roots back to the Mississippi Delta and the legendary band of Muddy Waters.

Perkins will headline a blues show which starts at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Waldo Theater. Also scheduled to appear is “Blues Princess” Zora Young, The Tony O. Blues Band, and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith.

A blues musician since 1926, Perkins is widely regarded as one of the best blues pianists of all time. He has influenced generations of blues players.

Born Joe Willie Perkins in Belzoni, Miss., in 1913, Perkins started playing guitar at home parties and honky-tonks, then switched to piano after an injury. He worked with Clarence “Pinetop” Smith and wrote a hit song for his mentor. Out of admiration for the legendary musician, he adopted his nickname.

He worked with legends like “Sonny Boy” Williamson on the King Biscuit radio program, toured with slide guitarist Robert Nighthawk, and barnstormed with B.B. King and Earl Hooker.

His distinctive sound became the basis for many of the white swing bands, and later served as an underpinning for rock ‘n’ roll. Perkins is best known for his work with Muddy Waters, after he replaced another legend, Otis Spann, in 1969. Finally going solo, Perkins has developed a remarkably strong tour schedule for an 83-year-old man and has appeared in movies and on regional talk shows. His new release, “Live Top,” on Deluge Records, was recorded live at Bowdoin College and the Blues Plus Lounge. It has been selling briskly.

“Princess” Young can also brag about her Mississippi roots. She was born in West Point, Miss., in 1948 as a third cousin to Howlin’ Wolf. She moved to Chicago, where she was raised on the music of Otis Rush, Magic Sam and Muddy Waters. She played Bessie Smith in a touring company of “The Heart of the Blues” and released her first record, “Stumblin’ Blocks and Stepping Stones,” on her own Black Lightning label in 1988. She released “Travelin’ Light,” with Perkins on piano, in 1992. She has appeared at the Montreal Jazz festival and the JVC Festival in New York City.

“Big Eyes” Smith can also trace his roots to the Muddy Waters band, since he played drums for the band for 15 years. He was hooked on the blues after he saw a Waters concert in Chicago at age 17. Smith played behind Bo Diddley before joining the Waters band. He has also played with Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton and also appeared in the “Blues Brothers” movie as a street musician backing John Lee Hooker.

Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door, and will be available at the Trade Winds Blues Plus Lounge, Huston Tuttle and Blind Albert Records in Rockland; Clark’s Drug Store in Waldoboro and MacBean’s Music in Brunswick.