Song:The Things That I Used To Do
Album:You're Gonna Miss Me: The Complete Singles Collection
The Things That I Used To Do topped the R&B charts in 1953. It was the only chart single for Eddie "Guitar Slim" Jones. And though Jones died prematurely, his use of distortion has influenced many guitarists. He was born Dec. 10, 1926 in Greenwood, MS. His mother died when he was five and he was raised by his grandmother. As a teen he worked in the cotton fields and spent his free time singing and dancing in juke joints. He was a good enough dancer that he was nicknamed "Limber Leg". After WWII military service, Jones played New Orleans clubs. Willie D. Warren taught him to play guitar and Jones was influenced by T-Bone Walker and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. In 1950 he started calling himself Guitar Slim. He was known for his wild stage act. Jones wore brightly colored suits and he dyed his hair to match it. And he had an assistant follow him through the audience with a 350 foot amp cord. Sometimes he would go into the street and stop traffic. Jones played guitar with a lot of distortion and that was a big influence on many guitarists. That's a common technique now. He signed with Specialty Records and The Things That I Used To Do topped the R&B charts in 1953 for 14 weeks. Jones wrote the song and it was arranged and produced by Ray Charles. Today the song is a blues standard. James Brown charted with his cover in 1964. Jones moved to Atco in 1956 but he never seemed to click there despite working with Jerry Wexler among others. This Jasmine comp has all of his Specialty and Atco singles. His Atco recordings are considered to be much tamer than his Specialty recordings. When his career faded, Jones became an alcoholic and he died of pneumonia on Feb. 7, 1959 at age 32. Buddy Guy, Albert Collins and Frank Zappa all acknowledged Jones as an influence and Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan recorded covers of The Things That I Used To Do. Jones' son Rodney Armstrong toured with Stevie Ray Vaughan and today he performs in New Orleans clubs as Guitar Slim Jr. Here's a video for The Things That I Used To Do by Guitar Slim.
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