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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZMEMPHIS SLIM(b Peter Chatman, 3 Sep. '15, Memphis; d 24 Feb. '88, Paris) Blues singer, pianist, songwriter. He stood astride trad. and urban blues, at home in either. Hoboed through the South like many other bluesmen '30s, but settled in Chicago '37, often working with Big Bill Broonzy; made many records and was one of the first to take his art to Europe c'60, living in Paris from '63. Among his dozens of songs, 'Alberta' became one of Broonzy's specialities, and 'Every Day (I Have The Blues)' was a no. 2 R&B hit '55 sung by Joe Williams, from the album Count Basie Swings/Joe Williams Sings, which also incl. 'The Comeback'. Recorded '40--41 for OKeh with Washboard Sam (b Robert Brown, 15 July '10, Walnut Ridge AR; d 13 Nov. '66, Chicago; also a vocalist, also recorded with his half-brother Broonzy, etc), for Bluebird with Broonzy, Also recorded for ten more labels '46--59; on Prestige/Bluesville: played on Willie's Blues '59 with Willie Dixon, played and sang solo on All Kinds Of Blues '60 on Fantasy; with Canned Heat on Verve; instrumental Boogie Woogie Piano '61 made in Paris, once on a CBS LP (also The Paris Sessions on Stash). Other albums: Legacy Of The Blues Vol. 7 on GNP, The Blues Every Which Way on Verve with Dixon, Raining The Blues on Fantasy; plus Travelling With The Blues, This Is A Good Time To Write A Song (aka I'm So Alone), Live At Bayonne '60--61 on Storyville; With Guests Lowell Fulson, Carey Bell etc on Inner City; I'll Just Keep Singing The Blues '61 with small group incl. Sam Chatman on Muse; Live At Ronnie Scott's '86 with Paul Jones, Slim Gaillard and others on DRG; more on Chess, EPM, Musidisc, Candid. Not to be confused with pianist Cow Cow Davenport, who also used the name Memphis Slim, nor with the famous Chatmon family, whose surname is often spelled Chatman: singers/multi- instrumentalists Armentier 'Bo' Chatmon (b 21 March 1893, Bolton MS; d 21 Sep. '64, Memphis) and Sam Chatmon (b 10 Jan. 1897, Bolton; LPs on Flying Fish, Rounder) were half-brothers of Charlie Patton. |