- Slim Gaillard
Bulee "Slim" Gaillard (
January 4 ,1916 –February 26 ,1991 ) was an American jazz singer, songwriter, pianist, and guitarist, noted for hisvocalese singing andword play . A related singer in the idiom of humorous jazz singing isBabs Gonzales , who also flourished in the 1940s.Along with Gaillard's date of birth, his family lineage and place of birth are disputed. One account is that he was born in
Santa Clara, Cuba of a Greek father and an Afro-Cuban mother [ [http://www.pocreations.com/slimbio1.html 1] ] ; another is that he was born in Pensacola, Florida to a German father and an African-American mother [ [http://boogiewoogieflu.blogspot.com/2007/04/slim-gaillard.html 2] ] . There is also question as to whether he was actually born inDetroit . Regardless, Gaillard grew up in Detroit and moved to New York City in the 1930s.Gaillard first rose to prominence in the late 1930s as part of
Slim & Slam , a jazz novelty act he formed with bassistSlam Stewart . Their hits included "Flat Foot Floogie (with a Floy Floy)", "Cement Mixer (Puti Puti)" and the hipster anthem, "The Groove Juice Special (Opera in Vout)". The duo performs in the 1941 movie "Hellzapoppin'".Gaillard's appeal was similar to
Cab Calloway andLouis Jordan in that he presented a hip style with broad appeal (for example in his children's song "Down by the Station"). Unlike them, he was a master improviser whose stream of consciousness vocals ranged far afield from the original lyrics along with wild interpolations of nonsense syllables like "MacVoutie O-reeney". One such performance is celebrated in the 1957 novel "On the Road " byJack Kerouac .Gaillard later teamed with bassist Bam Brown; Slim and Bam can be seen in a 1948 motion picture featurette -- with the Gaillardese title "
O'Voutie O'Rooney " -- filmed live at one of their nightclub performances.In the late forties and early fifties, Gaillard frequently opened at
Birdland for such greats asCharlie Parker ,Flip Phillips , andColeman Hawkins . His 1945 session with Parker andDizzy Gillespie is notable, both musically and for its relaxed convivial air. Gaillard could play several instruments, and always managed to turn the performance from hip jazz to comedy: he would play the guitar with his left hand fretting from the top of the neck, or would play credible piano solos with his palms facing up.Gaillard appeared in several shows in the 1960s and 1970s, such as Marcus Welby, M.D., Charlie's Angels, Mission Impossible, Medical Center, and Along Came Bronson. He also appeared in the 1970s TV series "" and reprised some of his old hits on the
NBC primetime variety program, "The Chuck Barris Rah Rah Show". By the early 1980s he was touring the European jazz festival circuit, playing with such musicians asArnett Cobb . He also played withGeorge Melly andJohn Chilton 's Feetwarmers, appearing on their BBC television series.He later appeared in the
musical film "Absolute Beginners" (1986) singing "Selling Out".In 1992, the Belgian group De Nieuwe Snaar released an amusing ode (in Dutch) to Gaillard, on their CD "William".
Gaillard's daughter Janis Hunter is the ex-wife of R&B/soul legend
Marvin Gaye , and the mother of actress and singerNona Gaye (b. 1974) and son Frankie Christian Gaye (b. 1975).References
External links
* [http://www.ubu.com/ethno/soundings/gaillard.html Slim Gaillard at ubuweb]
*imdb|name=Slim Gaillard|id=0301254
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