Eddie ‘Guitar Slim’ Jones helped drive the electric guitar to new levels of power and intensity during his brief career in the 1950s. Jones was born in Greenwood, Mississippi, on December 10, 1926, according to his Specialty Records bio but earlier documents indicate his birth may have come two or three years in a rural area somewhere near Greenwood. After some early experience in Hollandale, Mississippi, as a singer and dancer, Jones developed a blasting guitar attack, which, combined with his gospel-inflected vocals, powered his rise to fame in New Orleans. There he recorded the blues classic ‘The Things That I Used to Do” for Specialty in 1953. The pianist on that record, which was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in the Classics of Blues Recording category in 1984, was Ray Charles. Guitar Slim was a flamboyant showman who sometimes appeared with his hair and shoes dyed to match his vibrantly colored suits. He would stroll the audience and walk outside playing guitar using a cord of 100 feet or more. He was a major influence on Buddy Guy, Albert Collins, Earl King, Chick Willis, Lonnie Brooks, and many others. Jones died of pneumonia during a trip to New York City on February 7, 1959.
