Travis Leonard Blaylock (December 21, 1934 – June 16, 1984), better known as Harmonica Slim, was an American blues

harmonicist The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

, singer and songwriter. He had some commercial success in the 1950s; recordings of two songs he wrote, "Mary Helen" and "You Better Believe It" (both 1956), were modest hits. He released a total of six singles and toured alongside Percy Mayfield,

Harmonica Fats Harmonica Fats (born Harvey Blackston, September 8, 1927 – January 3, 2000) was an American blues harmonica player who was active in the 1950s through to the 1990s. Fats first achieved success with his cover version of the Hank Ballard song "T ...

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

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 ''R ...

Pee Wee Crayton Connie Curtis Crayton (December 18, 1914 – June 25, 1985), known as Pee Wee Crayton, was an American R&B and blues guitarist and singer. Career Crayton was born in Rockdale, Texas. He began playing guitar seriously after moving to California ...

and

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 ...

. His debut album was released in 1969. By the late 1970s, he had stopped playing the blues. He is not to be confused with (as he has been in some sources) two other similarly named artists, James Isaac Moore (better known as

Slim Harpo Slim Harpo (born James Isaac Moore; January 11, 1924 – January 31, 1970) was an American blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spiri ...

) and Richard Riley Riggins (1921–2003).

Biography

Blaylock was born in

Texarkana, Texas Texarkana is a city in Bowie County, Texas, United States, in the Ark-La-Tex region. Located approximately from Dallas, Texarkana is a twin city with neighboring Texarkana, Arkansas. The Texas city's population was 36,193 at the 2020 census. ...

. With encouragement from his neighbors, and by listening to records by

Sonny Boy Williamson I John Lee Curtis "Sonny Boy" Williamson (March 30, 1914 – June 1, 1948) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. He is often regarded as the pioneer of the blues harp as a solo instrument. He played on hundreds of re ...

, he became competent playing the harmonica by the age of twelve. He joined a gospel group, the Sunny South Gospel Singers, in the mid-1940s, and they performed on a local radio station, KCMC. In 1949, Harmonica Slim moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, where he started to perform with several local blues groups. Through this work, gaining experience and local connections, he began playing in package shows including working part-time with the pianist

Lloyd Glenn Lloyd Colquitt Glenn (November 21, 1909 – May 23, 1985) was an American R&B pianist, bandleader and arranger, who was a pioneer of the "West Coast" blues style. Career Born in San Antonio, Texas, from the late 1920s, Glenn played with vari ...

Lowell Fulson Lowell Fulson (March 31, 1921March 7, 1999) was an American blues guitarist and songwriter, in the West Coast blues tradition. He also recorded for contractual reasons as Lowell Fullsom and Lowell Fulsom. After T-Bone Walker, he was the most imp ...

's band. Harmonica Slim also worked as a session musician in the early to mid-1950s, playing in recording sessions for various

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

s, including Aladdin, Spry, and Vita. Eventually he formed his own band, which reunited him with Lloyd Glenn, and between 1954 and 1960 Harmonica Slim recorded six singles. His style combined Texas blues, country blues and R&B. "Mary Helen" and "You Better Believe It" (both 1956) became modest local hits. The success of these records had two effects. First, Harmonica Slim was given the opportunity to join R&B tour packages that travelled across the United States in the 1950s, in which he performed in the company of Percy Mayfield,

and

. Second, another "Harmonica Slim" on the blues circuit changed his working name to

. Around this time, through Slim's working association with the more rotund Harvey Blackston, the latter changed his stage name to Harmonica Fats. In the 1960s, Harmonica Slim found that regular work as a musician was scarce, and he took a job in a factory. However, in 1969, T-Bone Walker introduced him to the record producer

Bob Thiele Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places *Mount Bob, New York, United States *Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals * Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname ...

, who used a company of jazz and R&B musicians, including the saxophonist

Plas Johnson Plas John Johnson Jr. (born July 21, 1931) is an American soul-jazz and hard bop tenor saxophonist, probably most widely known as the tenor saxophone soloist on Henry Mancini’s "The Pink Panther Theme". He also performs on alto and baritone sa ...

, to work with him on his debut album, ''The Return of Harmonica Slim'', released by Bluestime Records. In a strange twist of fate, Thiele found Harmonica Slim's harmonica style too rural and primitive for his purpose. He replaced Slim's parts by the more jazz-flavoured stylings of

George "Harmonica" Smith George "Harmonica" Smith (born Allen George Smith, April 22, 1924 – October 2, 1983) was an American electric blues harmonica player. Apart from his solo recordings, Smith is best known for his work backing both Muddy Waters and Big Mama Thornt ...

, whom Thiele had previously recorded several times. By 1971, after the death of his father, Harmonica Slim returned home to Texarkana to care for his ailing mother. He worked in a gas station. He also joined a local band, including the guitar player Nelson Carson, and recorded an album's worth of material in 1976, but these recordings have never been issued. After the death of his mother, Harmonica Slim stopped playing altogether. He returned to his religious roots and became a minister at his local Baptist church. Harmonica Slim died on June 16, 1984, in Texarkana, aged 49.

Discography

All released tracks

*"Thought I Didn't Love You" (1954) *"Going Back Home" (1954) *"Mary Helen" (1956) *"Lonely Hours" (1956) *"My Girl Won’t Quit Me" (1956) *"You Better Believe It" (1956) *"Drop Anchor" (1956) *"Do What You Want to Do" (1956) *"I'll Take Love (1960) *"Hard Times" (1960) *"Buddah" (1960) *"You" (1960) *" Stormy Monday Blues" (1969) *"Harmonica Boogaloo (1969) *"Tin Pan Alley" (1969) *"Love" (1969) *"

That's All Right "That's All Right" is a song written and originally performed by blues singer Arthur Crudup and recorded in 1946. The song was rereleased in early March 1949 under the title "That's All Right, Mama", which was issued as RCA's first rhythm and bl ...

" (1969) *"You Better Believe It" (1969) *"Things Ain’t What They Used to Be" (1969) *"Darling I Love You" (1969)

Album

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harmonica Slim 1934 births 1984 deaths American blues harmonica players American blues singers 20th-century African-American male singers American session musicians Texas blues musicians Country blues musicians Harmonica blues musicians Electric blues musicians Songwriters from Texas People from Texarkana, Texas 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers African-American songwriters American male songwriters

Biography

Discography

All released tracks

Album

See also

References