Carolina Slim
Carolina Slim (August 22, 1923 – October 22, 1953) was an American Piedmont blues guitarist and singer. His best known tracks were "Black Cat Trail" and "I'll Never Walk in Your Door". He used various pseudonyms during his relatively brief recording career, including Country Paul, Jammin' Jim, Lazy Slim Jim and Paul Howard. In total he recorded 27 songs, but details of his life outside of his music career are scanty, and the exact reasons concerning the usage of differing names are also unclear.
Carolina Slim was born Edward P. Hughes in Leasburg, North Carolina, United States. He learned to play the guitar from his father, and was influenced by Lightnin' Hopkins and Blind Boy Fuller. He later found work as an itinerant musician around Durham, North Carolina.
In 1950, he relocated to Newark, New Jersey, and made his recording debut for the Savoy label, billed as Carolina Slim. His first single was "Black Chariot Blues" b/w "Mama's Boogie", recorded on July 24, 1950, and released on Acorn Records (Acorn 3015), a subsidiary of Savoy. In 1951 and 1952, he recorded eight tracks for the King label in New York, this time using the name of Country Paul. Henry Glover met Slim at these recordings, and later commented that Slim was "a very sickly young man at the time". Slim's style blended Piedmont blues, prominent in songs such as "Carolina Boogie" and his cover version of Fuller's "Rag Mama Rag", with the influence of Hopkins meaning that he increasingly veered towards Texas blues. Occasionally, Slim incorporated a washboard as well as his more regular guitar, as if to emphasise his Carolina rootstock.
His recordings were not hugely popular, but sold in sufficient amounts for him to retain his recording contract. In June 1952, Slim recorded four more tracks for Savoy, but these were to be his final offerings.
Carolina Slim died in Newark, New Jersey, from a heart attack suffered whilst undergoing surgery on a back complaint. He was 30 years old.
In 1994, Document released a compilation album, Complete Recorded Works 1950-1952, which incorporated all of his 27 tracks.
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