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EARLY LIFE Jones was born in Greenwood, Mississippi , USA. His mother died when he was five, so his grandmother raised him and he spent his teen years in the cotton fields. He spent his free time at the local Juke Joint s and starting sitting in as a singer or dancer; he was good enough to be nicknamed "Limber Legs." CAREER After returning from World War II military service, he started playing clubs around New Orleans, Louisiana . Bandleader Willie Warren had introduced him to the guitar, and he was particularly influenced by T-Bone Walker and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown . About 1950 he adopted the stage name "Guitar Slim" and started becoming known for his wild stage act. He wore bright-colored suits and dyed his hair to match them, had an assistant follow him around the audience with up to 350 feet of cord between amplifier and guitar, and would occasionally get up on his assistant's shoulders, or even take his guitar outside the club and bring traffic to a stop. His sound was just as unusual — he was playing with Distorted guitar more than a decade before rock guitarists did the same, and his gospel-influenced vocals were easily identifiable. |
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