Track Listings
1. Lonesome
2. Cold Blooded Woman
3. One Man's Mad
4. Let The Good Times Roll Creole
5. What Is The Mare-Rack
6. Pigalle Love
7. Four Walls
8. It's Been Too Long
9. Big Bertha
10. I'm Lost Without You
11. I'll Keep On Singing The Blues
12. True Love
13. Help Me Some
14. Ain't Nobody's Business
15. Born With The Blues
16. Memphis Slim U.S.A.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe Biography
His birth name was John Len Chatman, although he himself
claimed to be born Peter Chatman (the name he gave himself
in honour of his father, Peter Chatman Sr., when he first
recorded for Okeh Records in 1940). Indeed, although he
performed under the name Memphis Slim for most of his career,
he continued to publish songs under the name Peter Chatman.
An amazingly prolific artist who brought a brisk air of
urban sophistication to his frequently stunning presentation,
John "Peter" Chatman -- better known as Memphis
Slim -- assuredly ranks with the greatest blues pianists
of all time. He was smart enough to take Big Bill Broonzy's
early advice about developing a style to call his own to
heart, instead of imitating that of his idol, Roosevelt
Sykes. Soon enough, other 88s pounders were copying Slim
rather than the other way around; his thundering ivories
attack set him apart from most of his contemporaries, while
his deeply burnished voice possessed a commanding authority.
As befits his stage name, John "Peter" Chatman
was born and raised in Memphis; a great place to commit
to a career as a bluesman. Sometime in the late '30s, he
resettled in Chicago and began recording as a leader in
1939 for OKeh, then switched over to Bluebird the next year.
Around the same time, Slim joined forces with Broonzy, then
the dominant force on the local blues scene. After serving
as Broonzy's invaluable accompanist for a few years, Slim
emerged as his own man in 1944.
After the close of World War II, Slim joined Hy-Tone Records,
cutting eight tracks that were later picked up by King.
Lee Egalnick's Miracle label reeled in the pianist in 1947;
backed by his jumping band, the House Rockers (its members
usually included saxists Alex Atkins and Ernest Cotton),
Slim recorded his classic "Lend Me Your Love"
and "Rockin' the House." The next year brought
the landmark "Nobody Loves Me" (better known via
subsequent covers by Lowell Fulson, Joe Williams, and B.B.
King as "Everyday I Have the Blues") and the heartbroken
"Messin' Around (With the Blues)."
The pianist kept on label-hopping, moving from Miracle to
Peacock to Premium (where he waxed the first version of
his uncommonly wise down-tempo blues "Mother Earth")
to Chess to Mercury before staying put at Chicago's United
Records from 1952 to 1954. This was a particularly fertile
period for the pianist; he recruited his first permanent
guitarist, the estimable Matt Murphy, who added some serious
fret fire to "The Come Back," "Sassy Mae,"
and "Memphis Slim U.S.A."
Before the decade was through, the pianist landed at Vee-Jay
Records, where he cut definitive versions of his best-known
songs with Murphy and a stellar combo in gorgeously sympathetic
support (Murphy was nothing short of spectacular throughout).
Slim exhibited his perpetually independent mindset by leaving
the country for good in 1962. A tour of Europe in partnership
with bassist Willie Dixon a couple of years earlier had
so intrigued the pianist that he permanently moved to Paris,
where recording and touring possibilities seemed limitless
and the veteran pianist was treated with the respect too
often denied even African-American blues stars at home back
then. He remained there until his 1988 death, enjoying his
stature as expatriate blues royalty.
He composed the blues standards "Every Day I Have the
Blues" and "Mother Earth". He was a big man
with a big voice, and an immaculate touch on the piano.
Memphis Slim got his start playing the blues at the Midway
Café, at 357 Beale Street (southeast corner of Fourth
and Beale Street's) in Memphis in 1931.
After his early career in Memphis, where he emulated barrelhouse
piano players like Roosevelt Sykes and Speckled Red, he
moved to Chicago, Illinois and recorded for Okeh Records
(as Peter Chatman & His Washboard Band) in 1940. The
same year he also recorded for Bluebird Records as Memphis
Slim. He played piano as Big Bill Broonzy's partner until
1944. Broonzy, also a sophisticated performer, urged him
to develop his own style. This polish gave Memphis Slim
opportunities not only in the juke joints he had been playing,
but also in the "uptown" nightclubs.
In 1944, he set out with his own jump blues band, recording
his most famous numbers on Hy-Tone Records. In later years,
he had memorable partnerships with guitarist Matt Murphy
and bassman Willie Dixon. After a 1961 European tour with
Dixon, he left the United States in 1962 and moved permanently
to Paris, where he had a thriving career.
In all, he recorded more than 20 albums under his own name,
and appeared on many more recordings as a sideman.
In the last years of his life, he teamed up with respected
Jazz Drummer George Collier (George Slepyan). The two toured
Europe together and became great friends. George died in
Paris in August 1987. Slim appeared very little after George's
death
George's Son Matt Slepyan has carried on the tradition of
his father and has become a widely respected singer. He
has lead several well known bands covering tracks written
and recorded by Memphis Slim. His most recent band is respected
function band, The Interseptors. The Interseptors are popular
in the East of Kent, UK.
Two years before his death, Memphis Slim was named a Commander
in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Ministry of
Culture of the Republic of France. Memphis Slim died on
24 February, 1988 in Paris at the age of 72. During his
lifetime, he cut over 500 recordings and influenced blues
pianists that followed him for decades.
