- Memphis Slim
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Memphis Slim 
Background information Birth name John Len Chatman Born September 3, 1915 Origin Memphis, Tennessee, United States Died February 24, 1988 (aged 72)
Paris, FranceGenres Blues Occupations Vocalist
Musician
Bandleader
ComposerYears active 1930s – 1980s Labels Bluebird
Hy-Tone
Miracle
Premium
Mercury
United
Vee-Jay
FolkwaysMemphis Slim (September 3, 1915 – February 24, 1988) was an American blues pianist, singer, and composer. He led a series of bands that, reflecting the popular appeal of jump blues, included saxophones, bass, drums, and piano. A song he first cut in 1947, "Every Day I Have the Blues", has become a blues standard, recorded by many other artists. He made over 500 recordings.
Contents
Biography
Memphis Slim historic home in Memphis
Memphis Slim's birth name was John Len Chatman, and he was born in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. His father Peter Chatman sang, played piano and guitar, and operated juke joints,[1] and it is now commonly believed that he took the name to honor his father when he first recorded for Okeh Records in 1940. Although he started performing under the name Memphis Slim later that same year, he continued to publish songs under the name Peter Chatman.
He spent most of the 1930s performing in honky-tonks, dance halls, and gambling joints in West Memphis, Arkansas, and southeast Missouri. He settled in Chicago in 1939, and began teaming with Big Bill Broonzy in clubs soon afterward. In 1940 and 1941 he recorded two songs for Bluebird Records that became part of his repertoire for decades, "Beer Drinking Woman," and "Grinder Man Blues." These were released under the name "Memphis Slim," given to him by Bluebird's producer, Lester Melrose.[2] Slim became a regular session musician for Bluebird, and his piano talents supported established stars such as John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson, Washboard Sam, and Jazz Gillum. Many of Slim's recordings and performances until the mid-1940s were with guitarist and singer Broonzy, who had recruited Slim to be his piano player after Joshua Altheimer's death in 1940.
After World War II, Slim began leading bands that, reflecting the popular appeal of jump-blues, generally included saxophones, bass, drums, and piano. With the decline of blues recording by the majors, Slim worked with the emerging independent labels. Starting in late 1945, he recorded with trios for the small Chicago-based label Hy-Tone.[3] With a lineup of alto saxophone, tenor sax, piano, and string bass (Willie Dixon played the instrument on the first session), he signed with the Miracle label in the fall of 1946. One of the numbers recorded at the first session was the ebullient boogie "Rockin' the House," from which his band would take its name. Slim and the House Rockers recorded mainly for Miracle through 1949, enjoying commercial success. Among the songs they recorded were "Messin' Around" (which reached number one on the R&B charts in 1948 and "Harlem Bound."[4] In 1947, the day after producing a concert by Slim, Broonzy, and Williamson at New York City's Town Hall, folklorist Alan Lomax brought the three musicians to the Decca studios and recorded with Slim's on vocal and piano. Lomax presented sections of this recording on BBC radio in the early 1950s as a documentary titled The Art of the Negro, and later released an expanded version as the LP Blues in the Mississippi Night. In 1949, Slim expanded his combo to a quintet by adding a drummer; the group was now spending most of its time on tour, leading to off-contract recording sessions for King in Cincinnati and Peacock in Houston.
One of Slim's 1947 recordings for Miracle, released in 1949, was originally titled "Nobody Loves Me". It has become famous as "Every Day I Have the Blues." The tune was recorded in 1950 by Lowell Fulson, and subsequently by a raft of artists including B. B. King, Elmore James, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Natalie Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Jimi Hendrix, Mahalia Jackson, Sarah Vaughan, Carlos Santana, John Mayer and Lou Rawls.[5] Joe Williams recorded it in 1952 for Checker; his remake from 1956 (included in Count Basie Swings, Joe Williams Sings) was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1992.[6]
Early in 1950, Miracle succumbed to financial troubles, but its owners regrouped to form the Premium label, and Slim remained on board until the successor company faltered in the summer of 1951. His February 1951 session for Premium saw two changes in the House Rockers' lineup: Slim started using two tenor saxophones instead of the alto and tenor combination, and he made a trial of adding guitarist Ike Perkins. His last session for Premium kept the two-tenor lineup but dispensed with the guitar. During his time with Premium, Slim first recorded his song "Mother Earth."[7]
Slim made just one session for King, but the company bought his Hy-Tone sides in 1948 and acquired his Miracle masters after it failed in 1950. He was never a Chess artist, but Leonard Chess bought most of the Premium masters after the failure.
After a year with Mercury Records, Slim signed with United Records in Chicago;[8] the A&R man, Lew Simpkins, knew him from Miracle and Premium. The timing was propitious, because he had just added Matt "Guitar" Murphy to his group. He remained with United through the end of 1954, when the company began to cut back on blues recording.[9]
Slim's next steady relationship with a record company had to wait until 1958, when he was picked up by Vee-Jay. In 1959 his band, still featuring Matt "Guitar" Murphy, cut LP Memphis Slim at the Gate of the Horn, which featured a lineup of his best known songs, including "Mother Earth," "Gotta Find My Baby," "Rockin' the Blues," 'Steppin' Out," and "Slim's Blues."[10]
Slim first appeared outside the United States in 1960, touring with Willie Dixon, with whom he returned to Europe in 1962 as a featured artist in the first of the series of American Folk Festival concerts organized by Dixon and promoter Willie Dixon that brought many notable blues artists to Europe in the 1960s and 1970s. The duo released several albums together on Folkways Records, including, Memphis Slim and Willie Dixon at the Village Gate with Pete Seeger, in 1962. That same year, he moved permanently to Paris and his engaging personality and well-honed presentation of playing, singing, and storytelling about the blues secured his position as the most prominent blues artist for nearly three decades. He appeared on television in numerous European countries, acted in several French films and wrote the score for another, and performed regularly in Paris, throughout Europe, and on return visits to the United States. In the last years of his life, he teamed up with respected jazz drummer George Collier. The two toured Europe together and became friends. After Collier died in August 1987, Slim appeared in public very little.
Two years before his death, Slim was named a Commander in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of France. In addition, the U.S. Senate honored Slim with the title of Ambassador-at-Large of Good Will.[11]
Memphis Slim graveMemphis Slim died on February 24, 1988, of renal failure in Paris, France, at the age of 72. He is buried at Galilee Memorial Gardens in Memphis, Tennessee.[12]
In 1989, he was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.
Discography
Year Title Label 1959 Memphis Slim and the Real Boogie-Woogie Folkways Records 1960 Memphis Slim and the Honky-Tonk Sound Folkways Records 1960 Travelling with the Blues Storyville 1960 Blue This Evening Black Lion 1960 Pete Seeger at the Village Gate with Memphis Slim and Willie Dixon - Vol 1 Folkways Records 1960 Songs of Memphis Slim and "Wee Willie" Dixon Folkways Records 1961 Tribute To Big Bill Broonzy Candid 1961 Steady Rollin' Blues: The Blues Of Memphis Slim OBC 1961 Memphis Slim U.S.A. Candid 1961 Broken Soul Blues Beat Goes On 1961 Alone With My Friends Battle 1961 Chicago Blues: Boogie Woogie and Blues Played and Sung By Memphis Slim Folkways Records 1961 Blues by Jazz Gillum Singing and Playing His Harmonica: With Arbee Stidham and Memphis Slim Folkways Records 1961 No Strain Bluesville 1962 Sonny Boy Williamson & Memphis Slim: In Paris GNP Crescendo 1962 Pete Seeger at the Village Gate with Memphis Slim and Willie Dixon - Vol 2 Folkways Records 1962 Memphis Slim and Willie Dixon at the Village Gate with Pete Seeger Folkways Records 1963 All Kinds of Blues Bluesville 1963 Jazz In Paris: Aux Trois Mailletz Polygram 1964 Clap Your Hands Maison De Blues 1967 Bluesingly Yours Maison De Blues 1968 Lord Have Mercy On Me Maison De Blues 1969 The Bluesman Maison De Blues 1969 Mother Earth One Way Records 1970 The Blue Memphis Suite Maison De Blues 1970 Messin' Around with the Blues: The Very Best Of King 1971 Boogie Woogie Maison De Blues 1971 Born With The Blues Fuel 2000 1971 Blue Memphis Wounded Bird 1972 South Side Reunion: Memphis Slim & Buddy Guy Sunny Side 1973 Legacy of the Blues, Vol 7: Memphis Slim Gnp Crescendo 1973 Memphis Slim Storyville 1973 Soul Blues Acrobat Records 1973 Raining the Blues Fantasy 1973 Memphis Slim - Favorite Blues Singers Folkways Records 1973 Very Much Alive and in Montreux Universal International 1975 Going Back To Tennessee Maison De Blues 1981 Rockin' the Blues Charly 1981 Memphis Heat: Canned Heat & Memphis Slim (recorded in 1970) Sunny Side 1981 I'll Just Keep On Singin' the Blues SLG, LLC 1990 Steppin' Out: Live at Ronnie Scotts Castle Music UK 1990 Together Again One More Time/Still Not Ready For Eddie Texas Music Group 1990 Parisian Blues Polygram 1990 The Real Folk Blues Mca 1992 Blues Masters Vol 9: Memphis Slim 1993 London Sessions 1960 Sequel Records UK 1994 The Blues Collection Vol 13: Beer Drinkin' Woman ADD 1994 Lonesome Legacy International 1994 Live at the Hot Club BMG International 1995 Boogie After Midnight Chicago Music Co. 1996 The Complete Recordings, Vol. 1: 1940-1941 (Peter Chatman As Memphis Slim) EPM Musique 1996 Come Back & Other Classics Masters Intercontinental 1996 The Bluebird Recordings, 1940-1941 RCA 1997 Dialogue in Boogie: Memphis Slim & Philippe Lejeune Happy Bird 1998 Lonely Nights Catfish 1998 Very Best of Memphis Slim: The Blues Is Everywhere Collectables 1999 Life Is Like That Charly UK 2000 The Folkways Years, 1959-1973 Smithsonian Folkways 2000 Blues At Midnight Catfish 2000 Memphis Slim at the Gate of the Horn Vee-Jay 2001 The Complete Recordings, Vol. 2: 1946-1948 EPM Musique 2001 Essential Masters Cleopatra 2001 Blue and Lonesome Arpeggio Blues 2001 Ambassador of the Blues Indigo UK 2002 The Complete Recordings, Vol. 3: 1948-1950 EPM Musique 2002 I Am The Blues Prestige Elite 2002 Kansas City Classic World 2002 Boogie For My Friends Black & Blue France 2002 The Come Back Delmark 2002 Blues Legends: Memphis Slim Lead 2003 Three Women Blues 2003 The Complete Recordings, Vol 4: 1951-1952 EPM Musique 2004 Worried Life Blues 2004 Grinder Man Blues Snapper UK 2004 The Best of Memphis Slim Liquid 8 2005 Boogie For 2 Pianos Vol 1: Memphis Slim & Jean-Paul Amouroux 2005 Paris Mississippi Blues Sunny Side 2005 Double-Barreled Boogie: Memphis Slim & Roosvelt Sykes Sunny Side 2006 Forty Years of More Passport Audio 2006 Memphis Suite Sunny Side 2006 Rockin' This House: Chicago Blues Piano 1946-1953 (CDs A&B) JSP Records 2006 The Sonet Blues Story Verve Records 2006 An Introduction to Memphis Slim Fuel 2000 2007 The Ultimate Jazz Archive 14 1940-41 (1 Of 4) Carinco AG 2007 Sings the Blues Wnts 2007 Chicago Blues Masters Vol 1: Muddy Waters And Memphis Slim Capitol 2007 Cold Blooded Woman Collectables Records 2008 Greatest Moments Stardust 2008 Four Walls Jukebox Entertainment 2008 Born To Boogie Unlimited Media 2008 Legend of the Blues Wounded Bird Records 2009 Fip Fil and Fim 101 Distribution See also
- Chicago Blues Festival
- List of artists who reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart
- List of number-one rhythm and blues hits (United States)
- R&B number-one hits of 1948 (USA)
- Blues Hall of Fame
- List of Storyville Records artists
- List of people from Memphis
- Piano blues
- List of blues musicians
References
- ^ Charters, Samuel Barclay. The Legacy of the Blues, Da Capo Press (1977), p. 165 ISBN 0-306-80054-3
- ^ Komara, Edward M. Encyclopedia of the Blues, Routledge (2006), p. 689 - ISBN 0-415-92699-8
- ^ The Hy-Tone Label. http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~campber/hytone.html Accessed August 1, 2009.
- ^ Miracle Records. http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~campber/miracle.html Accessed August 2, 2009.
- ^ All Music: Every Day I Have the Blues[dead link]
- ^ Grammy Hall of Fame Database
- ^ The United and States Labels Part I (1951-1953). http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~campber/unitedstates.html Accessed August 3, 2009
- ^ The United and States Labels Part II (1954-1957) http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~campber/unitedstates2.html Accessed August 3, 2009.
- ^ All Music: 'Memphis Slim at the Gate of the Horn
- ^ All About Jazz: Memphis Slim
- ^ Find a Grave: Memphis Slim
- ^ "Memphis Slim Discography". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/memphisslim/discography. Retrieved 2009-12-13.
- ^ "Memphis Slim Albums". amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com. Retrieved 2009-12-13.
15. Herzhaft (Gerard).- Encyclopedia of the blues. 2nd ed.- Arkansas Press, 1997
External links
Categories:- 1915 births
- 1988 deaths
- Acoustic blues musicians
- American blues musicians
- American blues pianists
- American blues singers
- Blues Hall of Fame inductees
- People from Memphis, Tennessee
- Musicians from Tennessee
- King Records artists
- Vee-Jay Records artists
- Chess Records artists
- Deaths from renal failure
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