{"id":11285,"date":"2019-01-11T07:21:36","date_gmt":"2019-01-11T13:21:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.252.102.210\/~micklabr\/?p=11285"},"modified":"2019-01-11T07:21:36","modified_gmt":"2019-01-11T13:21:36","slug":"slim-harpo-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/micklabriola.com\/slim-harpo-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Slim Harpo Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

James Isaac Moore<\/b> (January 11, 1924 \u2013 January 31, 1970),<\/sup><\/sup> better known by his stage name Slim Harpo<\/b>, was an American blues<\/a> musician, a leading exponent of the swamp blues<\/a>style, and “one of the most commercially successful blues artists of his day”.<\/sup> His most successful and influential recordings included “I’m a King Bee<\/a>” (1957), “Rainin’ In My Heart” (1961), and “Baby Scratch My Back<\/a>” (1966) which reached no. 1 on the R&B chart<\/a> and no.16 on the US pop chart<\/a>. A master of the blues harmonica<\/a>, his stage name<\/a> was derived from the popular nickname for that instrument, the “harp”.<\/sup><\/p>\n

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Moore was born in Lobdell, Louisiana<\/a>,<\/sup> the eldest child in his family. After his parents died he worked as a longshoreman and construction worker in New Orleans<\/a> in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Influenced in style by Jimmy Reed<\/a>, he began performing in Baton Rouge<\/a> bars under the name Harmonica Slim<\/b>, and also accompanied his brother-in-law Lightnin’ Slim<\/a> in live performances.<\/sup><\/p>\n

He started his own recording career in March 1957, working with the A&R<\/a> man and record producer<\/a> J. D. “Jay” Miller<\/a> in Crowley, Louisiana<\/a>.<\/sup> At his wife’s suggestion, he took the name Slim Harpo in order to differentiate himself from another performer called Harmonica Slim<\/a>.<\/sup> His first solo release, for Excello Records<\/a>, based in Nashville, Tennessee<\/a>, was “I’m a King Bee<\/a>“, backed with<\/a> “I Got Love If You Want It<\/a>” in 1957. The other musicians on the recording were Gabriel “Guitar Gable<\/a>” Perrodin (guitar), John “Fats” Perrodin (bass), and Clarence “Jockey” Etienne (drums).<\/sup> Harpo played guitar in his live shows, but he usually used other guitarists when recording.<\/sup> The record was a regional hit but failed to make the national charts.<\/p>\n