Frederick Charles Slack (August 7, 1910 – August 10, 1965) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

swing and

boogie-woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, developed in African-American communities since 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually extended from pian ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

and

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or ...

Life and career

Slack was born in

Westby, Wisconsin Westby is a city in Vernon County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,332 as of the 2020 census. The name "Westby" is a Norwegian name and literally translates to "Western city". History Westby was named after general store owner an ...

, United States. He learned to play drums as a boy. Later he took up the xylophone, and at the age of 13 he changed to the piano. He studied with a local teacher throughout high school. At the age of 17, he moved with his parents to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, where he continued his musical training. He met

Rosy McHargue James "Rosy" McHargue (April 6, 1902 in Danville, Illinois – June 8, 1999 in Santa Monica, California) was an American jazz clarinetist, associated principally with the Dixieland jazz scene. McHargue worked professionally from age 15, with The ...

, a well-known clarinetist, who took him to hear many leading musicians, including

Bix Beiderbecke Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke (March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was an American jazz cornetist, pianist and composer. Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s, a cornet player noted for an inventive lyrical app ...

and

Earl Hines Earl Kenneth Hines, also known as Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983), was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one source, " ...

. His first job was with Johnny Tobin at the Beach View Gardens. He later moved to Los Angeles, where he worked with Henry Halstead,

Earl Burtnett Earl Burtnett (February 7, 1896 – January 2, 1936) was an American bandleader, songwriter and pianist who was popular in the 1920s and 1930s. Life and career Burtnett was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He attended Pennsylvania State Col ...

and

Lennie Hayton Leonard George Hayton (February 14, 1908 – April 24, 1971) was an American musician, composer, conductor and arranger. Hayton's trademark was a captain's hat, which he always wore at a rakish angle. Early life Hayton was born in New Yor ...

, before joining

Ben Pollack Ben Pollack (June 22, 1903 – June 7, 1971) was an American drummer and bandleader from the mid-1920s through the swing era. His eye for talent led him to employ musicians such as Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden, Glenn Miller, Jimmy McPartland, ...

in 1934. He played with the

Jimmy Dorsey James Francis Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards "I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary People ...

Band in the 1930s and was a charter member of the

Will Bradley Wilbur Schwichtenberg (July 12, 1912 – July 15, 1989), known professionally as Will Bradley, was an American trombonist and bandleader during the 1930s and 1940s. He performed swing, dance music, and boogie-woogie songs, many of them written b ...

Orchestra when it formed in 1939. Known to bandmates as "Daddy Slack," he played the piano solo on Bradley's recording of "

Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar" is a song written in 1940 by Don Raye, Hughie Prince, and Ray McKinley. It follows the American boogie-woogie tradition of syncopated piano music. Background The title adopts 1940s' hipster slang coined by Raye ...

", one of the early white boogie-woogie hits and a classic of the big band era. He formed his own band in 1942 and signed with the newly founded

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

. He recorded three songs at his third recording session for Capitol, on May 21, 1942. His

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

of "Cow Cow Boogie," sung by the 17-year-old

Ella Mae Morse Ella Mae Morse (September 12, 1924 – October 16, 1999) was an American singer of popular music whose 1940s and 1950s recordings mixing jazz, blues, and country styles influenced the development of rock and roll. Her 1942 recording of "Cow-Cow ...

, was the second record the new Capitol issued, on July 1, and by July 25 it had reached number 1 on the

hit parade A hit parade is a ranked list of the most popular recordings at a given point in time, usually determined either by sales or airplay. The term originated in the 1930s; ''Billboard'' magazine published its first music hit parade on January 4, 1936 ...

. It was Capitol's first

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

. Ella Mae Morse's biography ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

T-Bone Walker Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker (May 28, 1910 – March 16, 1975) was an American blues musician, composer, songwriter and bandleader, who was a pioneer and innovator of the jump blues, West Coast blues, and electric blues sounds. In 2018 ''Roll ...

was a member of Slack's band from 1942 to 1944, and Slack later accompanied Walker on his first solo recording for Capitol, "

Mean Old World "Mean Old World" is a blues song recorded by American blues electric guitar musician T-Bone Walker in 1942. It has been described (along with the single's B-side) as "the first important blues recordings on the electric guitar". Over the years ...

". This band also had a hit with "Strange Cargo." Slack continued to record with Capitol until at least 1950, recording some 80 tracks for the label. Slack also recorded as an accompanist for

Big Joe Turner Joseph Vernon "Big Joe" Turner Jr. (May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was an American singer from Kansas City, Missouri. According to songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him." His greatest fame was due to ...

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallich ...

Margaret Whiting Margaret Eleanor Whiting (July 22, 1924 – January 10, 2011) was an American popular music and country music singer who gained popularity in the 1940s and 1950s.Mapes, Jillian.Margaret Whiting, Iconic Standards Singer, Dies at 86. ''Billboard' ...

and Lisa Morrow. In the original version of the song "

Down the Road a Piece "Down the Road a Piece" is a boogie-woogie song written by Don Raye. In 1940, it was recorded by the Will Bradley Trio and became a top 10 hit in the closing months of the year. Called "a neat little amalgam of bluesy rhythm and vivid, catchy ...

", recorded in 1940 by the Will Bradley Orchestra, Slack is mentioned in the lyrics:

If you wanna' hear some boogie then I know the place
It's just an old piano and a knocked-out bass.
The drummer-man's a guy they call eight beat Mack
You remember Doc and old "Beat Me Daddy" Slack.
Man it's better than chicken fried in bacon grease
Come along with me boy, it's just down the road a piece.

"Eight Beat Mack" refers to drummer

Ray McKinley Ray McKinley (June 18, 1910 – May 7, 1995) was an American jazz drummer, singer, and bandleader. He played drums and later led the Major Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Orchestra in Europe. He also led the new Glenn Miller Orchestra in 1956. ...

, and "Doc" relates to the band's bass player,

Doc Goldberg Edward "Doc" Goldberg is a jazz bassist. He played in the Glenn Miller Orchestra and the Will Bradley Trio, alongside Freddie Slack on piano and Ray McKinley on drums. Before that, he played in George Hall George Hall may refer to: People The ...

. His 1955 album, ''Boogie Woogie on the 88'', featured a horn section including jazz musicians

Shorty Sherock Clarence Francis Cherock known professionally as Shorty Sherock (November 17, 1915 – February 19, 1980) was an American swing jazz trumpeter. Career He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Sherock attended the Illinois Military ...

and

Herbie Harper Herbert Harper (2 July 1920 — 21 January 2012) was an American jazz trombonist of the West Coast jazz school. Born in Salina, Kansas, he played swing music with Benny Goodman and Charlie Spivak in the 1940s and 1950s. Working on the West Coas ...

among others, with arrangements by

Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...

. He also co-wrote the 1945 classic " The House of Blue Lights", first recorded with singer

, and later by Chuck Miller,

the Andrews Sisters The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the Swing music, swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andre ...

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...

, and

Asleep at the Wheel Asleep at the Wheel is an American Western swing group that was formed in Paw Paw, West Virginia, and is based in Austin, Texas. The band has won nine Grammy Awards since their 1970 inception, released over twenty albums, and has charted more t ...

. On August 10, 1965, Slack was found dead in his bedroom in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, from undetermined causes.

References

External links

* *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slack, Freddie 1910 births 1965 deaths People from Westby, Wisconsin Musicians from Chicago Musicians from Los Angeles People from Viroqua, Wisconsin Musicians from Wisconsin 20th-century American musicians Big band bandleaders Capitol Records artists