Eddie Lee Jones (December 10, 1926 – February 7, 1959), better
known as Guitar Slim, was a New Orleans blues guitarist in the 1940s and 1950s,
best known for the million-selling song "The Things That I Used to
Do", produced by Johnny Vincent for Specialty Records. It is listed in the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.Slim had a major
impact on rock and roll and experimented with distorted overtones on the
electric guitar a full decade before Jimi Hendrix.
Jones was born in Greenwood, Mississippi. 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 joints, where he
started sitting in as a singer or dancer; he was good enough as a dancer that
he was nicknamed "Limber Leg".
After returning from military service during World War II,
he started playing in clubs around New Orleans, Louisiana. Bandleader Willie D.
Warren introduced him to the guitar. He was particularly influenced by T-Bone
Walker and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. About 1950 he adopted the
stage name Guitar Slim and became known for his wild stage act.
He wore bright-coloured 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, 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 more than a decade before rock guitarists did, and his
gospel-influenced vocals were easily identifiable.
His first recording session was in 1951. He had a minor
rhythm and blues hit in 1952 with "Feelin' Sad", which Ray Charles
covered. His biggest success was "The Things That I Used to Do"
(1954), produced by the young Ray Charles and released by Art Rupe's Specialty
Records. The song spent weeks at number one on the Billboard R&B chart and
sold over a million copies, soon becoming a blues standard. It also contributed
to the development of soul music.
The guitar wizard switched over to Atlantic Records in 1956.
Gradually, his waxings became tamer, though "It Hurts to Love
Someone" and "If I Should Lose You" summoned up the old fire. He
recorded for several labels, including Imperial, Bullet, Specialty, and Atco.
His last session was in
New York, 1958, where he produced his final and prophetically titled two-sider
"When There's No Way Out" and "If I Had My Life to Live
Over." A year later, Slim was dead.
Slim's lifestyle was as wild as his guitar work. Life in the
fast lane took its inevitable toll over the years. His career having faded,
Jones became an alcoholic. While he was on an East Coast tour of one-nighters,
his breathing had become increasingly difficult. Ignoring doctors’ orders, he
continued drinking his daily ration of a pint of gin and a fifth of black port
wine.
Earlier that week, Slim went to his bandleader, Lloyd
Lambert, claiming to be too sick to play. "My time is up," he said.
Slim knew he was done for. He started a gig in Rochester, but couldn't finish
the first song. In Newark the following night, he collapsed after finishing the
show. The band drove in to New York City and got him a doctor in Harlem. They drove
around the corner, checked into the Cecil Hotel, and Slim died from pneumonia on
the doctor’s table before they could return to retrieve him and get him to the
hospital. He was 32 years old.
Eddie Jones was buried with his Goldtop Les Paul in the
Cajun country southwest of New Orleans, in Thibodaux, Louisiana. He's buried
next to his friend and final manager, Hosea Hill.
Buddy Guy, Albert Collins and Frank Zappa were influenced by
Guitar Slim. So was Jimi Hendrix, who recorded a version of "The Things
That I Used to Do", with Steve Stills playing bass guitar, in 1969. Stevie
Ray Vaughan also recorded a cover version of the song.
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. Other
musicians have used the nickname Guitar Slim. The North Carolina blues
guitarist James Stephens had several releases under this billing. Joe
Richardson, often billed as "Tender Slim", released records credited
to Tender Guitar Slim and Fender Guitar Slim. Edgar Moore, also of North
Carolina, used the name as a soul musician. (Compiled and edited from Bill Dahl
@ All Music, Wikepedia & furious.com)
1 comment:
For ”Guitar Slim - You’re Gonna Miss Me
The Complete Singles Collection As & Bs 1951-1958” go here:
https://www.mediafire.com/file/7tte61kk75ca85k/GuitarSlimSinglesCollection.rar
1. BAD LUCK IS ON ME (Woman Troubles)
2. CRYIN' IN THE MORNING
3. NEW ARRIVAL
4. STANDIN' AT THE STATION
5. FEELIN' SAD
6. CERTAINLY ALL
7. THE THINGS THAT I USED TO DO
8. WELL, I DONE GOT OVER IT
9. THE STORY OF MY LIFE
10. A LETTER TO MY GIRLFRIEND
11. LATER FOR YOU BABY
12. TROUBLE DON'T LAST
13. SUFFERIN' MIND
14. TWENTY-FIVE LIES
15. OUR ONLY CHILD
16. STAND BY ME
17. I GOT SUMPIN' FOR YOU
18. YOU'RE GONNA MISS ME
19. QUICKSAND
20. THINK IT OVER
21. SUM'THIN' TO REMEMBER YOU BY
22. YOU GIVE ME NOTHIN' BUT THE BLUES
23. DOWN THROUGH THE YEARS
24. OH YEAH
25. IF I SHOULD LOSE YOU
26. IT HURTS TO LOVE SOMEONE (That Don't Love You)
27. I WON'T MIND AT ALL
28. HELLO, HOW YA' BEEN, GOODBYE
29. WHEN THERE'S NO WAY OUT
30. IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER
Guitar Slim's guitar style was highly individual and somewhat original and was an inspiration to scores of guitarists from Buddy Guy to Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa.
Here for the first time Jasmine have gathered together all of his singles in one package and of course this includes his phenomenal hit, 'The Things That I Used To Do' which topped the Billboard R&B charts for a remarkable 14 weeks selling over a million copies. The song has now become staple of the genre and has been covered by Stevie Ray Vaughan, James Brown, Chuck Berry, Freddy King to mention a few.
Any fan of electric guitar blues must have this CD in their collection.
A big thank you to ACM2 blog for original Depositfile link.
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