Memphis Slim, U.S.A

Memphis Slim

Product variants

BUY / LISTEN

Memphis, Tennessee born blues singer and pianist John Len Chatman played the honky-tonk circuit of West Memphis, Arkansa and Missouri before landing in Chicago in 1939 where he teamed up with the guitarist and singer Big Bill Broonzy. He soon started making recordings under the name Memphis Slim.

In January 1961 Candid Records co-founder and A&R man Nat Hentoff assemble Slim, harmonica player Jazz Gillum, and guitarist Arbee Stidham in the Nola Penthouse Studios in New York City and rolled tape.

Captured here is a loose, musical conversation between the three musicians on departed blues artists that influenced them. Big Bill Broonzy, Leroy Carr, Cow Cow Davenport, Curtis Jones, Walter Davis, Roosevelt Sykes, Blind Blake, Washboard Sam, and Big Maceo, are all given the tip of the hat.

So much material was covered in these sessions, that two albums worth were released in 1961; Tribute to Big Bill Broonzy, and this album, Memphis Slim U.S.A.

It’s true that Slim’s piano and Stidham’s guitar are both horribly out of tune. But what the sessions lack in perfection, they make up for with the respect and reverence for the music and the artists they pay tribute to. The sessions have a very real intimacy that unwinds like an easy musical reminiscence between three old friends.

Memphis Slim, Jazz Gillum, Arbee Stidham

Tracklisting

Born With The Blues
Just Let Me Be
Red Haired Boogie
Blue And Disgusted
New Key To The Highway
I'd Take Her To Chicago
Harlem Bound
El Captain
I Just Landed In Your Town
John Henry
I Believe I'll Settle Down
Bad Luck And Troubles
Late Afternoon Blues
Memphis Slim, U.S.A.

Item added to your cart

Memphis Slim, U.S.A

Tracklisting

You may also like...

Lightnin' In New York

Otis Spann Is The Blues

Memphis Slim's Tribute To Big Bill Broonzy Etc

Pagin' Mr. Jelly