Otis Verries Hicks (March 13, 1913 – July 27, 1974), known as Lightnin' Slim, was an American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

musician who played Louisiana blues and swamp blues for Excello Records.

Biography

According to most sources, Otis Hicks was born on a farm outside

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, but the researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc stated, on the basis of his draft card, that he was born in Good Pine, Louisiana. Prison records from

Louisiana State Penitentiary The Louisiana State Penitentiary (known as Angola, and nicknamed the "Alcatraz of the South", "The Angola Plantation" and "The Farm"Sutton, Keith "Catfish".Out There: Angola angling. ''ESPN Outdoors''. May 31, 2006. Retrieved on August 25, 2010. ...

discovered by researcher Gene Tomko also corroborate his birthplace as Good Pine, Louisiana. He moved to

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

at the age of 13. Taught the rudiments of guitar playing by his father and older brother Layfield, Slim was playing in bars in Baton Rouge by the late 1940s. In the 1930s and early 1940s, Lightnin' Slim served time in Louisiana State Penitentiary (often known as 'Angola') for manslaughter. His first recording was "Bad Luck" ("If it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all"), released by J. D. "Jay" Miller's Feature Records in 1954. Miller gave him the stage name "Lightnin' Slim". Slim then recorded for Excello Records for 12 years, starting in the mid-1950s, often collaborating with his brother-in-law

Slim Harpo Slim Harpo (born Isiah Moore or James Isaac Moore; February 11, 1924 – January 31, 1970)Martin Hawkins, "Slim Harpo at 100", ''Blues & Rhythm'', No.384, June 2024, p.23 was an American blues musician, a leading exponent of the swamp blues styl ...

and with the harmonica player Lazy Lester. Slim stopped performing the blues for a time and eventually worked in a foundry in

Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit, Pontiac is part of the Metro Detroit, Detroit metropolitan area, and is vari ...

, as a result of which his hands were constantly exposed to high temperatures. He was rediscovered by Fred Reif in 1970, in Pontiac, where he was living in a rented room at Slim Harpo's sister's house. Reif soon got him back performing again and a new recording contract with Excello, this time through Bud Howell, then the president of the company. His first engagement was a reunion concert in 1971 at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

Folk Festival with Lazy Lester, whom Reif had brought from

in January of that year. In the 1970s, Slim performed on tours in Europe, including the

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annu ...

in Switzerland, for which he was often accompanied by Moses "Whispering" Smith on harmonica. He last toured the UK in 1973, with the American Blues Legends package organised by Big Bear Records. In July 1974, Slim died of stomach cancer in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, Michigan, aged 61. He was interred at Oak Hill Cemetery in Pontiac, Michigan.

Discography

Singles

Albums

*''Rooster Blues'', Excello LPS-8000 (1960); CD release: Hip-O/MCA 40134, with three bonus tracks (1998) *''Authentic R & B'', three tracks, with various artists, Stateside SL-10068 (1963) *''The Real R & B'', two tracks, with various artists, Stateside SL-10112 (1964) *''A Long Drink of Blues'', six tracks (all of side one), compilation album with Slim Harpo, Stateside SL-10135 (1964) *''Lightnin' Slim's Bell Ringer'', Excello LPS-8004 (1965); CD release: Ace Records #CDCHD-517 (1994) *''The Real Blues'', one track, with various artists, Excello LPS-8011 (1969) *''High & Low Down'', Excello LPS-8018 (1971) and Sonet SNTF-770 (1978); CD release: Ace Records #CDCHD-578 (1994) *''That's All Right'', Quicksilver QS-5062 (1983), reissue of Excello LPS-8018 *''London Gumbo'', Excello LPS-8023 (1972) and Sonet SNTF-757 (1978) *''The Excello Story'', three tracks, with various artists, Excello LPS-8025 (1972), Two-LP set *''Montreux Blues Festival'', 10 tracks, with various artists, Excello LPS-8026 (1972), Two-LP set *''American Blues Legends '73,'' two tracks, with various artists, Big Bear Records BEAR20; Polydor 2460 186 (1973) *''The Early Years'', Flyright FLYLP-524 (1976) *''Trip to Chicago'', Flyright FLYLP-533 (1978) *''The Feature Sides 1954'', Flyright FLYLP-583 (1981) *''We Gotta Rock Tonight'', Flyright FLYLP-612 (1986)

CD compilations

*''Rollin' Stone'', Flyright FLYCD-08 (1989) *''King of the Swamp Blues 1954–1961'', Flyright FLYCD-47 (1992) *''Blue Lightning'', Indigo Records IGOCD-2002 (1992) *''I'm Evil: Rare & Unissued Excello Masters, Volume One'', Excello/AVI 3002 (1994) *''It's Mighty Crazy!'', Ace Records CDCHD-587 (1995) *''Nothin' but the Devil'', Ace Records CDCHD-616 (1996) *''Winter Time Blues (The Later Excello Sessions 1962–1965)'', Ace Records CDCHD-674 (1998) *''The Best of Lightnin' Slim'', Hip-O/MCA 12010 (1999) *''I'm a Rolling Stone: The Singles As & Bs 1954–1962 Centenary Edition'',

Jasmine Jasmine (botanical name: ''Jasminum'', pronounced ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family of Oleaceae. It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are wid ...

JASMCD-3045 (2015), Two-CD set

References

External links

Alternate take on "Bad Luck" (1954)
at YouTube
Lightnin' Slim
at Discogs.com
Lightnin' Slim
at 45worlds.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Lightnin Slim 1913 births 1974 deaths 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers Ace Records (United States) artists African-American guitarists Alive Naturalsound Records artists American blues guitarists American blues singers American male guitarists Deaths from cancer in Michigan Deaths from stomach cancer in the United States Excello Records artists Guitarists from Louisiana Guitarists from Missouri Louisiana blues musicians Musicians from Baton Rouge, Louisiana Musicians from St. Louis Singers from Louisiana Singers from Missouri Stateside Records artists Swamp blues musicians