T.V. Slim

about

Oscar "TV Slim" Wills (February 10, 1916, Houston, Texas - October 21, 1969, Kingman, Arizona) was an American singer, guitar and fiddle player, a producer and also a TV repairman. Wills recorded a series of original blues, from the purest Texas country blues to furious, New Orleans, rock'n roll style. "Flatfoot Sam" was his only commercial success. A musician since the late 1930s, Oscar Wills was resident in Louisiana in the fifties, singing blues and playing guitar (also harmonica, though not on record). His main influences were DeFord Bailey and Sonny Boy Williamson (II) on harmonica and Guitar Slim and Elmore James in the guitar domain. Wills was not recorded until he set up his own label, Speed Records, in the mid-1950s. By that time he also had his own band, the Heartbreakers, consisting of Mighty Joe Young on guitar, Eddie Williams on piano and Jimmy White on drums. Their first record was the piano- dominated "The Fight" (Speed 6863, 1955). Wills never was a full-time musician ; he was chiefly occupied running a television repair shop. This gave him his nickname, T.V. Slim, which is the label credit on all of his Speed recordings. Wills's brief moment in the spotlight came in 1957. He had written an uptempo song called "Flat Foot Sam", about an unfortunate soul who was "always in a jam". Mira Smith from Shreveport , the owner of Ram Records, had just set up a new label, Clif Records, in partnership with Cliff Hagen. "Flat Foot Sam" was first recorded for Clif (# 10

top songs

albums

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Chess Chartbusters Vol. 2

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Flatfoot Sam - Essential Masters

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The Greatest '50s Rock N' Roll Collection Ever

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House Rockin' 1950s Rhythm & Blues, Vol. 1

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The Best Of New Orleans Rhythm & Blues

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100 Electric Blues

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Gumbo Ya Ya - The Cosimo Matassa Story Volume 2

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Heavy Sugar: The Pure Essence Of New Orleans R&B

TEENAGE RIOT! 50.000.000 Delinquents CAN'T Be Wrong!!!

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Heavy Sugar: The Pure Essence Of New Orleans R&B [Part 1]

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Flatfoot Sam

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Chess New Orleans

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