Birth of the Blues: Eddie "Guitar Slim" Jones

Birth of the Blues #14
Eddie "Guitar Slim" Jones
By Hunter60

One of the most influential and yet so often overlooked blues guitarists, Eddie "Guitar Slim" Jones, was as flamboyant a guitar player that ever scorched the stage at any blues club. In the 1950's, Slim, with his wildly colored suits, shoes and hair dyed to match, had stage antics and guitar skills to spare.

Although he was born in Greenwood, MS, Jones was raised by his grandmother on L C Haves Plantation after his mother died when he was five years old in 1931. He spent his formative years working the fields and learning to plow behind a mule. However, he spent his off time hanging around the juke joints in the local area singing with local bands. The story has it that he was such a good dancer at the clubs, he earned the nickname "Limber Legs". At eighteen, Slim joined up with a band fronted by Willie Warren and it was Warren who introduced Slim to the guitar.

After a few years in the Army where he served in the Pacific theatre, Slim returned to the band. Slim cited his influences to include slide master, Robert Nighthawk who would bring his tours through Hollandale. But his primary influences were the blues guitar masters out of Texas – namely T-Bone Walker and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown.

In the early 1950's, Jones had relocated to New Orleans, adopted the stage name "Guitar Slim" and set about making a name for himself in the heady, wild Cajun blues scene. A full decade before Jimi Hendrix, Slim began to experiment with heavy distortion on his amp, creating a signature sound that could cut through the cacophony of a night club.

He recorded a few minor tracks in Louisiana on Imperial label, bouncing to Nashville's Bullet label where he scored a regional hit with "Feeling Sad" but it was the song he cut with Specialty that would be his sole chart hit and the one that was his calling card for the remainder for his career. "The Things I Used To Do". It is worth noting as well that Ray Charles played piano on the original recording.

According to guitarist Earl King, Slim told him that the lyrics came to him in a dream. He said that in the dream a devil and an angel confronted him and both had lyrics to a song. Naturally, he chose the devils lyrics that turned out to be "The Things That I Used To Do". Although the label was less than enthused by the results, they released the record to great success. With its lyrical content deeply interpretive and leaving a lot to the audience and Slims deeply impassioned vocals "The Things I Used To Do" topped the R&B charts for six solid weeks and became the biggest selling R&B record of 1954. It has also become standard fare of blues bands the world over. But what seemed to capture the record buying publics attention was the innovative guitar work. Earl King explained: "Slim was getting' a fuzztone distortion long before anyone else. Believe it or not, Slim never used an amplifier. He always used a PA set, never an amplifier. He was an overtone fanatic, and he had those tiny iron-cone speakers and the sound would run through them speakers, and I guess the vibration would create that sound, because Slim always played at peak volume. That's why it was so hard to record him – because the volume he was accustomed to playing at. Let's face it, if Slim was playing you could hear him a mile away".

After switching from his semi-hollow body, Slim was most often seen playing his gold top Les Paul (although there are several photos of Slim playing a Fender Telecaster). It was the higher register that seemed to suit Slim's style of play but it wasn't just about the music with Guitar Slim. There are plenty of stories where he had a "valet" (roadie or stage hand) that would carry a 350-foot guitar cable for Slim as he carried him through the crowd on his shoulders as he played. Slim also enjoyed wandering through the crowd as he played and often times out through the front doors of the club, along the sidewalk, into and out of traffic on the street and on more than one occasion, walking across the roofs and hoods of parked cars lining the street. Known as much for his stage show antics as his unique playing style and sound, Slim employed what are now the standard tricks; playing between his legs, behind his back and neck as well as with his teeth.

Buoyed by the success of "The Things I Used To Do", Slim's manager fielded and booked a slew of national dates for an upcoming tour. His manager purchased Slim a new Olds Delta 88 for the tour. The first night he had the car, Slim had more than a few drinks, got behind the wheel and promptly drove it into the side of a bulldozer. Fortunately he was not injured severely and the doctors ordered him to rest for a month or so. Slim's manager, Parnia, decided to send Earl King out in Slim's stead for the first several dates (since most folks outside of Louisana had no idea what Guitar Slim looked like). King played along although he admitted in later interviews that he was scared to death. "When I first got back to town," King said, "the first person I saw was Guitar Slim. He was walking down LaSalle Street with a hospital gown on, a guitar under one arm and an amp under the other, yelling 'Earl King, I heard you been out there immatatin' me. If you wreck my name, I'm gonna sue and I am gonna kill you".

He soon recovered and went on tour of the Northern states.

His follow up record was "The Story Of My Life" was a solid seller although never charting and not doing quite the same numbers as "The Things I Used To Do". Too many, both fans and critics alike, the guitar work was every bit as impressive as what was done on "Things…" To Frank Zappa, it was even better. In the February 1982 issue of GuitarPlayer magazine, Zappa said " … Guitar Slim's solo on "The Story Of My Life" is one of the best early distorted guitar solos; it really sounds like he's mad at someone".

Slim continued to record but sales were slipping. He eventually jumped labels from Specialty to Altantic/Atco. He continued to tour relentlessly – crossing back and forth across the country, playing to packed houses wherever he went. Atlantic had the idea of trying to market Slim to the teenage buying public as Chess had done with Chuck Berry to great success. However, it just didn't happen. Slim's last recordings for Atlantic produced the eerily prophetic "There's No Way Out" and "If I Had My Life To Live Over" in 1958.

Fast living and hard drinking were taking a heavy toll on Slim that culminated in the guitarists collapse in February of 1959. After playing a gig in Rochester, New York, Slim told bassist Lloyd Lambert, "Lloyd, I'm tired. I don't think I can make it. You'all got a good band and you can get a new singer." I told him "C'mon Slim, you can make it…" He said "No Lloyd, my time is up." We played for the dance and when it came time for Slim to come on, he could only do part of the first song and couldn't finish".

The band drove to Newark the following day. Slim finished the gig but collapsed immediately after. He was taken to the hospital where he died within minutes of his arrival. It was February 7th, 1959. Guitar Slim was dead at 32 of alcoholism.

Considering the level of influence that Guitar Slim has held in the blues, in his own way, he lives on. There are many professional blues guitarist who cite Guitar Slim (and Magic Sam, Jimmy Reed and a host of others) as a driving influence in their playing, their style and their stage presence. He is often also cited as being one of the best guitarists that most people have never heard of outside of his relatively few precious moments of stardom.