Eddie Jones (December 10, 1926 – February 7, 1959),
better known as Guitar Slim, was an American guitarist in the 1940s and 1950s, best known for the million-selling song "
The Things That I Used to Do
"The Things That I Used to Do" is a blues standard written by Guitar Slim. He recorded it in New Orleans, where the young Ray Charles arranged and produced the session. Specialty Records released the song as a single in 1953 and it became a bests ...
", for
Specialty Records
Specialty Records was an American record label founded in Los Angeles in 1945 by Art Rupe. It was known for rhythm and blues, gospel, and early rock and roll, and recorded artists such as Little Richard, Guitar Slim, Percy Mayfield, and Lloyd P ...
.
It is listed in the
.
Slim had a major impact on
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
and experimented with
distorted tones on the electric guitar a full decade before
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
.
Biography
Early life
Jones was born in
Greenwood, Mississippi
Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Leflore County, Mississippi, United States, located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta region, approximately 96 miles north of the state capital, Jackson, and 130 miles south of the riverp ...
.
His mother died when he was five, and he was raised by his grandmother. In his
teen years he worked in cotton fields and spent his free time at
juke joint
Juke joint (also jukejoint, jook house, jook, or juke) is the vernacular term for an informal establishment featuring music, dancing, gambling, and drinking, primarily operated by African Americans in the southeastern United States. A juke joint ...
s, where he started sitting in as a singer or dancer; he was good enough as a dancer that he was nicknamed "Limber Leg".
Recording career
After returning from military service during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, he started playing in clubs around
, Louisiana. Bandleader
Willie D. Warren introduced him to the guitar. He was particularly influenced by
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 ...
and
Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown
Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown (April 18, 1924 – September 10, 2005) was an American singer and multi-instrumentalist from Louisiana. He won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album in 1983 for his album, ''Alright Again!''.
Early life
Br ...
.
About 1950 he adopted the stage name Guitar Slim and became known for his wild stage act. He wore bright-colored suits and dyed his hair to match them. He had an assistant who followed him around the audience with up to 350 feet of cord between his guitar and his
amplifier
An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It may increase the power significantly, or its main effect may be to boost the v ...
,
and occasionally rode on his assistant's shoulders or even took his guitar outside the club, bringing traffic to a stop. His sound was just as unusual—he played his guitar with
distortion
In signal processing, distortion is the alteration of the original shape (or other characteristic) of a signal. In communications and electronics it means the alteration of the waveform of an information-bearing signal, such as an audio signal ...
more than a decade before rock guitarists did, and his gospel-influenced vocals were easily identifiable.
He got together with
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...
in Los Angeles, California, for some lively playing.
Recordings
His first recording session was in 1951. He had a minor
rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...
hit in 1952 with "Feelin' Sad", which
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...
covered
Cover or covers may refer to:
Packaging
* Another name for a lid
* Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package
* Album cover, the front of the packaging
* Book cover or magazine cover
** Book design
** Back cover copy, part of co ...
. His biggest success was "
The Things That I Used to Do
"The Things That I Used to Do" is a blues standard written by Guitar Slim. He recorded it in New Orleans, where the young Ray Charles arranged and produced the session. Specialty Records released the song as a single in 1953 and it became a bests ...
" (1954),
produced by the young Ray Charles and released by
Art Rupe
Arthur Newton Rupe (born Arthur Goldberg; September 5, 1917 – April 15, 2022) was an American music executive and record producer. He founded Specialty Records, known for its rhythm and blues, blues, gospel and early rock and roll music reco ...
's
Specialty Records
Specialty Records was an American record label founded in Los Angeles in 1945 by Art Rupe. It was known for rhythm and blues, gospel, and early rock and roll, and recorded artists such as Little Richard, Guitar Slim, Percy Mayfield, and Lloyd P ...
. The song spent weeks at
number one on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart and sold over a million copies,
soon becoming a
blues standard
Blues standards are blues songs that have attained a high level of recognition due to having been widely performed and recorded. They represent the best known and most interpreted blues songs that are seen as standing the test of time. Blues s ...
.
It also contributed to the development of
soul music
Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became po ...
.
[Unterberger, R. (2003). "Louisiana Blues". In Bogdanov, V.; Woodstra, C.; Erlewine, S. T., eds. ''All Music Guide to the Blues: The Definitive Guide to the Blues'' (3d ed.). Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Backbeat Books. pp. 687–688. .] He recorded for several labels, including
Imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imperial, Nebraska
* Imperial, Pennsylvania
* Imperial, Texa ...
,
Bullet
A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. Bullets are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax. Bullets are made in various shapes and co ...
,
Specialty, and
Atco Atco or ATCO may refer to:
Businesses
* ATCO, a Canadian diversified company involved in manufacturing, utilities, energy and technologies
** ATCO Electric, a subsidiary of the above company
* Atco (British mower company), a mower manufacturing com ...
.
Death and legacy
Jones died of
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
in New York City, at the age of 32.
He is buried in a small cemetery in
Thibodaux, Louisiana
Thibodaux ( ) is a city in, and the parish seat of, Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States, along the banks of Bayou Lafourche in the northwestern part of the parish. The population was 15,948 at the 2020 census. Thibodaux is a principal city ...
, where his manager, Hosea Hill, resided.
Buddy Guy
George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray V ...
,
Albert Collins
Albert Gene Drewery, known as Albert Collins and the Ice Man (October 1, 1932 – November 24, 1993),Skeely, Richard. "Albert Collins: Biography" Allmusic.com. was an American electric blues guitarist and singer with a distinctive guitar style. ...
and
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...
were influenced by Guitar Slim. Other musicians have used the nickname Guitar Slim. The North Carolina blues guitarist James Stephens had several releases under this billing.
One of Jones's sons bills himself as
Guitar Slim, Jr. around the New Orleans circuit. His repertoire includes many of his father's songs.
References
External links
All Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guitar Slim
1926 births
1959 deaths
American blues guitarists
American male guitarists
American blues singers
Blues musicians from Mississippi
Imperial Records artists
Specialty Records artists
Deaths from pneumonia in New York City
Blues musicians from New Orleans
African-American guitarists
African-American rock musicians
20th-century American guitarists
Singers from Louisiana
Rock and roll musicians
Guitarists from Louisiana
Guitarists from Mississippi
20th-century African-American male singers
Arhoolie Records artists
African Americans in World War II
People from Greenwood, Mississippi