Guitar Slim

Birth Name:

Eddie Lee Jones

Birth Date:

December 10, 1926

Birth Place:

Greenwood, Mississippi

Death Date:

February 7, 1959

Place of Death:

Cecil Hotel, Harlem, New York City, New York

Age:

Cause of Death:

Bronchial pneumonia

Cemetery Name:

Moses Allen Chapel Calvary Cemeteries

Claim to Fame:

Music

In the 1950s, no blues guitarist even came close to equaling the flamboyant Guitar Slim on stage. A masterful guitarist who pioneered the use of the distorted guitar solo, Slim would appear on stage resplendent in a blue suit, blue shoes, blue hair and about 350 feet of microphone cord that allowed his valet to carry him on his shoulders and out into the street during a performance. His greatest hit came with the million-selling song "The Things That I Used to Do", produced by Johnny Vincent for Specialty Records. It is listed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2007.

Fun Facts

As of this date, there is not a single live recording or video of Guitar Slim performing. And if you see the name of Guitar Slim Junior performing in and around the New Orleans club scene, you are correct in assuming that he is Eddie Jones son.

In the few photos that exist he can be seen holding a gold-top Les Paul guitar. If you were wondering which Hard Rock Cafe that guitar hangs in, you can stop looking. Guitar Slim was buried with his guitar.

Manager Percy Stovall had a method for handling Guitar Slim on the road. He would ration his alcohol consumption by making Slim’s valet gave him a pint of gin and one bottle of red wine each day because you didn’t want to fool with Slim’s routine.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Moses Allen Chapel Calvary Cemeteries

530 East 12th Street

Thibodaux, Louisiana,

USA

North America

Grave Location:

Eddie Jones Plot

Grave Location Description

Located next to the Louisiana National Guard Armory in Thibodaux, drive to the intersection of East 12th Street and Goode Street and park. Look for the historical marker along the sidewalk and about 40 feet away, 3 graves in from the sidewalk you will find the final resting place of the legendary Eddie “Guitar Slim” Jones.