MEMPHIS SLIM

(Born September 3, 1915; died Febuary 24, 1988)

Memphis Slim brought city-sophistication and some real boogie-woogie into the blues scene. And… he could really play the piano. He had a sound that was crisp and all his own.

When he was a kid in Chicago, he hung out and played blues on the street, and once and a while worked in blues clubs. He traveled the whole south before he moved to Chicago in 1940. In 1944, he formed a band and called it “Memphis Slim and his Solid Band.” He recorded with the band and as a soloist all through the 40’s and 50’s.

In 1968, Memphis Slim decided to leave Chicago. He moved to Paris, where he found it easier to perform and play with different artists. Memphis Slim was a lovely lively musician who knew the blues inside out, and became a key idol in the same Chicago blues scene as Muddy Waters and Otis Spann.