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Slim Gaillard Collection

For singer Slim Gaillard, his instrument was less his voice than the language styling he used while performing.

Slim Gaillard

7 old time radio show recordings
(total playtime 1 hours, 37 min)
available in the following formats:

1 MP3 CD
or
2 Audio CDs


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Play a sample episode from December 15, 1945:

"Atomic Cocktail"



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Text on OTRCAT.com ©2001-2024 OTRCAT INC All Rights Reserved. Reproduction is prohibited.

Slim Gaillard
(1916 – 1991)

A common trait of the great Jazzmen was absolute, if unconventional, mastery of their instruments. For singer Slim Gaillard, his instrument was less his voice than the language styling he used while performing. Slim even invented his own language, called "Vout". Although made up of seemingly nonsensical words, Slim made an entire dictionary of Vout words and expressions over the years.

Gaillard's linguistic talents developed through necessity as a youth. The official records say he was born in Detroit, Michigan, 1916, but he claimed to be a native of Santa Clara, Cuba. His mother was an Afro-Cuban beauty, and as a youngster, Gaillard was occasionally allowed to sail with his father, a German-Jewish steward working on a steamship. When he was 12-years-old, Gaillard went ashore on the island of Crete and the ship sailed without him. He picked up a few words of Greek, working as a shoemaker's assistant, and was eventually hired on a ship working in the Eastern Mediterranean. Finally, after turning fifteen, he signed onto a ship crossing the Atlantic. The boat stopped in New York, but he stayed aboard until arriving in Detroit.

There were thriving Greek and Arab communities in the Motor City where Gaillard fit in. He tried to get a job with Ford but was turned away for being too young. Instead, he worked odd jobs, including prize-fighting and driving a hearse filled with bootleg rum for the Purple Gang. While he was working for the Purples, Gaillard was able to take music lessons in the evening. When Duke Ellington came through town, Gaillard used his connections to get backstage meet the Jazz great who encouraged him and praised his formal music studies.

With this encouragement, Gaillard moved to New York where he worked the "professional amateur" vaudeville circuit, shifting his act from tap-dancing to guitar to singing to boogie-woogie piano to appeal to the amateur-show fans. He eventually teamed with bassist Slam Stewart to form the Jazz-novelty act "Slim & Slam" and they had a hit with "Flat Foot Floogie (with a Floy Floy)". The act broke up when both men were drafted in 1943 and Slim qualified as a B-26 pilot in the Pacific.

After mustering out, Gaillard's popularity began to increase with the rising popularity of Bebop. He took a long break from music in the sixties, managing a hotel in San Diego for a time and buying an orchard near Tacoma, Washington. In 1982, Dizzy Gillespie convinced Gaillard to travel to Europe and begin touring and recording again. He became the toast of the London Jazz scene where he settled until succumbing to cancer on February 26, 1991.

Text on OTRCAT.com ©2001-2024 OTRCAT INC All Rights Reserved. Reproduction is prohibited.

These classic recordings are available in the following formats:

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  • MP3 CDs are delivered by mail. These archival quality MP3 CDs are playable in your computer and many MP3 player devices.



    7 recordings on 1 MP3 CD for just $5.00. Total playtime 1 hours, 37 min
    7 recordings on 1 MP3 CD for just $5.00
    total playtime 1 hours, 37 min
    Add MP3 CD Collection to Cart

    1. 7 shows - total playtime 1 hours 37 minutes
    2. Command Performance 460211.mp3
    3. Jubilee 441030 106 Earl Hines June Richmond.mp3
    4. Jubilee 450108 116 Lucky Millinder Slim Gaillard Trio.mp3
    5. Slim Gaillard 450000 Laguna.mp3
    6. Slim Gaillard 451215 Atomic Cocktail.mp3
    7. Slim Gaillard Baby Wont You Please Come Home.mp3
    8. Slim Gaillard Well Take Em Joe.mp3
  • MP3 downloads are available instantly after purchase!



    7 recordings on 1 MP3 Collection Download for just $5.00. Total playtime 1 hours, 37 min
    7 recordings on 1 MP3 Collection Download for just $5.00
    total playtime 1 hours, 37 min
    Add Instant Download Collection to Cart

    1. 7 shows - total playtime 1 hours 37 minutes
    2. Command Performance 460211.mp3
    3. Jubilee 441030 106 Earl Hines June Richmond.mp3
    4. Jubilee 450108 116 Lucky Millinder Slim Gaillard Trio.mp3
    5. Slim Gaillard 450000 Laguna.mp3
    6. Slim Gaillard 451215 Atomic Cocktail.mp3
    7. Slim Gaillard Baby Wont You Please Come Home.mp3
    8. Slim Gaillard Well Take Em Joe.mp3
  • Standard Audio CDs are delivered by mail on archival quality media with up to 60 minutes on each CD and play in all CD players



    7 recordings on 2 Audio CDs. Total playtime 1 hours, 37 min
    7 recordings on 2 Audio CDs
    total playtime 1 hours, 37 min

    Slim Gaillard Disc A001

    1. Slim Gaillard Baby Wont You Please Come Home
    2. Slim Gaillard Well Take Em Joe
    3. Jubilee 441030 106 Earl Hines June Richmond
    4. Slim Gaillard 450000 Laguna
    5. Jubilee 450108 116 Lucky Millinder Slim Gaillard Trio
    6. Slim Gaillard 451215 Atomic Cocktail

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Slim Gaillard Disc A002

    1. Command Performance 460211

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00

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