Slim Harpo

Life and career Moore was born in Lobdell, Louisiana, the eldest child in his family. After his parents died he worked as a longshoreman and construction worker in New Orleans in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Influenced in style by Jimmy Reed, he began performing in Baton Rouge bars using the name "Harmonica Slim", and also accompanied his brother-in-law Lightnin' Slim in live performances.

He started his recording career in March 1957, working with the A&R man and record producer J. D. "Jay" Miller in Crowley, Louisiana. To differentiate himself from another performer called Harmonica Slim he took his wife's suggestion and adopted the name Slim Harpo. His first solo release, for Excello Records, based in Nashville, Tennessee, was "I'm a King Bee", backed with "I Got Love If You Want It" in 1957. Harpo played guitar in his live shows, but he usually used other guitarists when recording. The record was a regional hit, but failed to make the national charts.

He recruited Lightnin' Slim for his touring band in 1968,

A biography, titled Slim Harpo: Blues King Bee of Baton Rouge, by UK blues scholar Martin Hawkins was published in 2006. David Fricke of Rolling Stone magazine described the book as "a passionate, encyclopedic triumph, bringing the enigmatic Harpo to life and tracing his remarkable mainstream ascensionfrom the rich central-Louisiana blues scene to gigs at the Fillmore Eastwith deep local research and detailed portraits of the singer's peers, sidemen and record-business associates."

Discography

Singles 1957 - "I'm a King Bee" / "I Got Love if You Want It" (Excello 2113) 1958 - "Wondering and Worryin'" / "Strange Love" (Excello 2138) 1959 - "You'll Be Sorry One Day" / "One More Day" (Excello 2162) 1960 - "Buzz Me Babe" / "Late Last Night" (Excello 2171) 1960 - "Blues Hang-Over" / "What a Dream" (Excello 2184) 1961 - "Rainin' in My Heart" / "Don't Start Cryin' Now" (Excello 2194) - R&B chart number 17, US pop chart number 34 2015 - Buzzin' the Blues: The Complete Slim Harpo (Bear Family BCD-17339) 5-CD box set 2015 - I'm A King Bee 1957-1961 (Jasmine JASMCD-3047) 2015 - Buzz Me Babe: Excello Sides 1957-1962 (Soul Jam 600866)