Kings of the Keyboard: Memphis Slim

"Started out in Memphis in 1932
Playing blues and a little boogie, too
But I left that town...."

Harlem Bound, Memphis Slim

Memphis Slim's sinuous piano playing and soulful vocals have cast a long shadow over the history of Twentieth Century blues. He cut over 500 recordings with more than 20 albums under his own name. As the lyric says, Slim , born John Len Chatman in 1915 in Memphis, started out tickling the ivories at the Midway Cafe on Beale Street in 1931. He emulated the "barrelhouse" style of players like the legendary Roosevelt Sykes. One of the best examples of this style is Slim's rollicking "Joogie Boogie" on Smithsonian's Folkways label. The same collection showcases his sense of humor , as well as his collaboration with bassist Willie Dixon, on "Beer Drinking Woman"

" Walked into a beer tavern
To show a girl a good time
When I entered I had 45 dollars
When I left I had one thin dime
Wasn't that a beer drinking woman.."

Beer Drinking Woman, Memphis Slim

Chatman/Slim moved to Chicago in 1934, where he ended up recording for both Okeh Records - as Peter Chatman and His Washboard Band - as well as the Bluebird Label under the name Memphis Slim. He accompanied legendary bluesman Big Bill Broonzy until 1944, and came into his own with his band the House Rockers in 1947. Slim moved to France in 1962 where he died in Paris at the age of 72 in 1988.

One of my favorite Slim cuts is "Three Woman Blues", a plaintive lament about how hard it is to love somebody "when they don't love you.." accompanied by superior and very melodic keyboard work . The same lyric is echoed in Bessie Smith's "Empty Bed Blues". Another standout is the classic blues standard "Key To The Highway", which Memphis Slim renders in the same mournful vocal style, a song also covered by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee as well as rocker Steve Miller.

But the winner in my book is "Harlem Bound", in which Slim sums up his musical career in less than three minutes of frantic but smooth piano playing , ending with a mock conductor's call as the pianist travels closer to his ultimate destination:

"Cleveland...Pittsburgh...Newark, New Jersey...125th Street - that's where I get off !"

Harlem Bound, Memphis Slim

Sometimes there's nothing better than a seamless and rocking piano tune, the hallmark of Memphis Slim's extensive contribution to the blues.