Memphis Slim

• Genre: Piano Blues
• Hometown: Chicago

About

Recognized as one of the greats among Piano Blues artists, Memphis Slim is probably best known for penning the now standard "Every Day I Get The Blues," a song that's been performed at one time or another by just about every blues artist since it hit in 1940. Cutting his own swathe in the teeming blues scene of post-WWII Chicago with a mixture of boogieing barroom blues and uptown jazzy vocals, Memphis Slim effectively bridged the gap between down-and-dirty blues and more socially acceptable forms of jazz. That means white people liked it. His classy, city-slicker-with-a-fifth style gave birth to a host of similar-minded blues pianists.

- Mike McGuirk