Guitar Slim

Eddie " Guitar Slim " Jones ( born December 10, 1926 in Greenwood, Mississippi; † February 7, 1959 in New York City ) was an American blues guitarist and singer. His most famous hit The Things That I Used to Do counts the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to 500 songs that shaped rock ' n ' roll.

After his military service in World War II Jones began playing in clubs in the area around New Orleans. His models were T-Bone Walker and Clarence " Gatemouth " Brown.

His extravagant shows soon made him known: he was wearing brightly colored suits and dyed his hair to match; with the guitar, he was walking around in the audience, accompanied by an assistant, who had to go along the 100 meter long cable amp; sometimes he climbed on the shoulders of this wizard or played outside the club, where he brought the traffic to a standstill. He experimented with distorted guitar, a sound that was recorded a decade later by rock stars such as Jimi Hendrix again.

In 1950, he slept with the pseudonym "Guitar Slim". In 1951 he made ​​his first recordings. He had a first hit in 1952 with Feelin ' Sad, which was taken up by Ray Charles. Was published in 1954 The Things That I Used to Do on Specialty Records, until now a blues standard. Other hits have included It Hurts To Love Someone and Down Through The Years. His band on tour and in the studio was led by bassist Lloyd Lambert.

Jones was a violent drunkard and a notorious womanizer. The excessive consumption of alcohol bothered him. In 1959 he retired to pneumonia, from which he died in combination with alcohol during a tour. He was only 32 years old.

Guitar Slim was buried in Thibodaux, Louisiana, where he had last lived with his guitar. One of his sons went to the musical legacy of his father and appeared as Guitar Slim, Jr. on.

2007 Guitar Slim was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.