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Indeed, Slim once boasted that “I live 3 days to y’alls one”.
However, his troubled and serious side was evident in his lyrics, so much so that in
1958 Atco advertised him as - “Guitar Slim is a philosopher. His songs are exclusively
concerned with the earthy truisms of life”.
This approach did not produce any more hits, and eventually his lifestyle caught up
with him, when on 7th February 1959, he collapsed after a gig in Newark, NY. He had
suffered an attack of bronchial pneumonia that his wrecked immune system could
not fight, and was thus dead at the age of 32. He was buried in Thibodeaux, Louisiana,
with a headstone that gives no indication of the flamboyant character who lies there.
His ferocious guitar playing, with its blasts of blistering runs, lives on, particularly in
the styles of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Guy, and many others, but most
surprisingly one of his greatest admirers was Frank Zappa. His music is still available
on cd, particularly the Jasmine label compilation “You’re Gonna Miss Me - the
Complete Singles Collection 1951-1958”. If you are not familiar with his music, you
are in for a treat!
