Guitar Slim

Guitar Slim was born in the Mississippi Delta in on December 10, 1926 in Greenwood MS. Slim moved to New Orleans in the early 50s where he recorded for several record companies including Specialty Records who put out his monster hit and American classic, “The Things I Used To Do.” Slim was famous for his eccentric habits, bright suits, overdriven guitar playing, impassioned singing, and a stage act that would have him playing on people’s shoulders, from the rafters, behind his head, and other outrageous antics. He toured the country for several years before his untimely death at age 32 on February 7, 1959. Slim was a pioneer in his use of distortion and volume as well as his outrageous stage performances. He has influenced everyone from Ray Charles to Buddy Guy to Stevie Ray Vaughn to Doug Sahm. This program includes much of Slim’s recorded music as well as recollections from Ray Charles, Jerry Wexler, Earl King, Edward “Kidd” Jordan, Robert Parker, Bill Sinigal, Carol Fran, Gerri Hall, Frank Mitchell, and Renault Richard.

Before Jimi Hendrix and Buddy Guy, before Stevie Ray Vaughn and Albert King, before Earl King and Albert Collins, there was a drenched-in-emotion singer and wild guitarist who hit New Orleans from the heart of the Mississippi Delta in the 1950s. Born in Greenwood, he grew up in Hollandale working the cotton press and hanging out at the jukes in Blue Front. He left for New Orleans in the late 1940s as did so many young men in those times. There, he became an unparallel showman known for walking out in the crowd or climbing the rafters with his 300 foot long guitar cord. He was famous for dyeing his hair and painting his shoes to match his brightly colored suit. He had many great songs and only one hit, “The Things I Used To Do,” which has become a standard of blues music. His name was Eddie Jones, but everyone knew him as Guitar Slim. In the words of Atlantic Records owner and producer, Jerry Wexler, “No one has as much soul as Guitar Slim.” Anyone who saw him perform cannot forget him. And then, just as suddenly as he appeared, he was gone, dead in 1959 at age 32. His was a star that burned brightly and quickly and still lives on in the memories of those lucky enough to see him.

Detroit musician Tino Mack recalls Willie D. Warren, Guitar Slim’s guitar teacher in Mississippi, and what Warren used to say about Guitar Slim.

Earl King recalls how Guitar Slim wrote his classic hit, “The Things I Used To Do,” and Frank Mitchell and Cosimo Matassa remember the session when he recorded it.