⬇️ HARMONICA SLIM ⬇️
(Richard Riley S. Riggins)
(3CD)
.jpg)
BIOGRAPHY
Raised by his parents Leonard and Fanny, the child divides his time between school and farm work. One day, he found, by chance, an harmonica in the mud that makes him discover music. By 1949, the young harmonicist moved to Fresno on the west coast where he worked in railways.
Later, he will move to Oakland in 1963 and found work in a steel mill. But it is in the neighboring town of Richmond that he made the decisive meeting of K.C. Douglas. in 1966. Became a close friend, Harmonica Slim accompany Douglas during several years, including on his superb "Mercury blues" (released by Arhoolie). Shortly after, Slim cut a few sides for the Blues Connoisseur label of Don Lindenau in july 1973 with guitarist Ron Thompson. But recorded songs (8 tracks recorded but only 4 tracks issued) do not seem to have been included in LP or CD.
At that time, he participated in two editions of the San Francisco Blues Festival (1973 and 1974) organized by Tom Mazzolini. When his friend and partner K.C. Douglas died in 1975, he came back in Fresno. He quickly became a mainstay of the local scene. Thanks to Chris Millar, who has just founded Fedora label, Harmonica Slim can cut new titles (the first in twenty years). According to the liner notes from producer and drummer Chris Millar, five songs were recorded during a sunday afternoon in Wild Blue club.
Accompanied by Blues West band - created for this occasion and led by Millar - Harmonica Slim shows his down-home harmonicist skills through two beautiful covers of Big Joe Williams and three own compositions also worth listening. This renewed interest allows him to take part in Utrecht's Blues Estafette in 1994. This selection, generally excellent, is now difficult to find.
