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Clarence Sims (born November 7, 1934), best known by his stage name, Fillmore Slim, is an American
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
vocalist and guitarist with five albums to his credit. During the 1960s and 1970s, he was also a known
pimp Procuring, pimping, or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term "pimp" ...
in
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, referred to several times as "The West Coast Godfather of the Game" and "The Pope of Pimping".


Early life

Born and raised in
Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...
,
Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
, United States, Fillmore began learning about the blues at an early age. "I done lived the blues," he once said in an interview. "The blues is about picking cotton, working in the fields, living in the streets, and you know I did all these things." In 1955, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a musical career, playing by himself in the street and later starting a band called Eddy N and The Blues Slayers. During this time he had a relationship with
Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer and songwriter. Starting her career in 1954, James frequently performed in Nashville's R&B clubs, collectively known as the Ch ...
before she achieved her fame as a blues singer, and recorded a few 45 rpm records himself. His most successful record from this time was titled "You Got the Nerve of a Brass Monkey".


Pimping

Fillmore's life took a dramatic turn when one night, while playing a blues bar in
Midland, Texas Midland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Midland County with small portions extending into Martin County. The population was 132,524 as of the 2020 census. Located in the Permian Basin in West Texas, Midland is a ...
, he noticed a young woman who kept coming in and out of the bar. As he tells it, "Finally, she came up to me and said, "I like you. I want you to have this money." I asked her how she got all that money. She finally told me she was a hooker. I asked her what a hooker did, and she broke it on down for me." Upon returning to California, he relocated to San Francisco, bringing the girl along with him for extra income. He continued working as a musician, playing in Fillmore District clubs such as the Trees Pool Hall and the old Fillmore Theater. During this time, he opened for B. B. King and
Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (; born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, one of the most popular black female recording artists of the 1950s. Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performed and recorded in a ...
. Eventually, however, Fillmore found the lure of
pimp Procuring, pimping, or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term "pimp" ...
ing too strong and effectively left music behind. He built up a stable of prostitutes and had anywhere from ten to 22 women working Fillmore Street every day. His wardrobe consisted of sharkskin suits, alligator shoes and diamond watches, and he could often be seen cruising up and down Fillmore Street in a new Cadillac. In the documentary ''American Pimp'', Fillmore estimates that, in his entire career as a pimp, he had over 9,000 prostitutes.


Return to music

Fillmore Slim became friends with Eli's owner Troyce Key, who admired Slim's musical stylings and eventually recorded his first album, ''Born to Sing the Blues'' (as Clarence "Guitar" Sims), released in 1987. In 1996, Fillmore Slim updated/re-released, ''Born to Sing the Blues'', on the Mountain Top label. Several years of touring and playing gigs followed, which led to a record deal in 1999 with
Fedora Records A fedora () is a hat with a soft brim and indented crown.Kilgour, Ruth Edwards (1958). ''A Pageant of Hats Ancient and Modern''. R. M. McBride Company. It is typically creased lengthwise down the crown and "pinched" near the front on both sides ...
and an album called ''Other Side of the Road'', released in 2000. Fillmore has released more albums/CDs in the years since with a trilogy of CDs on Mountain Top Records: ''The Game'', ''The Legend of Fillmore Slim'', and ''The Blues Playa's Ball''; that told his story in his own words and music. Fillmore Slim's song writing talents, and musicianship have garnered several awards including being inducted into the Bay Area's West Coast Blues Hall of Fame in 2008, and the Lowell Fulson "Jus' Blues" Award in Memphis in 2011. Since his musical resurgence, Fillmore has found his largest fanbase to be in Europe, where he has played at the Zurich Blues Festival and the Blues Estafette in Utrecht, Holland, and France, among others.


Discography


''The Blues Playa's Ball'' (2011)

Track list (Disc 1): # "Funky Wino" # "San Francisco Down on Sixth Street" # "Hooker's Game" # "The Last Stage of the Blues" # "She's Nasty" # "Rebecca" # "
I'd Rather Go Blind "I'd Rather Go Blind" is a blues song written by Ellington Jordan with co-writing credits to Billy Foster and Etta James. It was first recorded by Etta James in 1967, released the same year, and has subsequently become regarded as a blues and so ...
" # "Bring Back the Funk" # "Playing the Blues Around the World" # "Thunder and Lightning" Track list (Disc 2): # "Strip Joint" # "The Ghetto" # "Fannie Mae" # "Go Ahead Woman" # "Fine French Woman" # "Fillmore's Hood" # "
Ain't That a Shame "Ain't That a Shame" is a song written by Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew. Domino's recording of the song, originally stated as "Ain't It a Shame", released by Imperial Records in 1955, was a hit, eventually selling a million copies. It reached ...
" # "Joe Louis Fan" # "Playa's Ball" # "I'd Rather Go Blind" xtended Cut


"Dressed To Kill" single (2009)


''The Legend of Fillmore Slim: Blues Man / King of the Game'' (2006)

Track list: # "The Legend of Fillmore Slim # "Trapped by the Devil" # "Nosey Woman" # "Love for the Third Time" # "Hey Little Brother" # "Watch Yo' Self" # "Jack You Up" # "My Friend Blue" # "Vegetable Man Intro" # "Vegetable Man" # "She Don't Love Me" # "Blues from the Heart" # "Tired of My Old Lady" # "Legend of Fillmore Slim Intro"


''The Game'' (October 2004)

Track list: # "The Game" ap Version# "Faster Than Time" # "Jody" # "Down for My Crown" # "My First Girlfriend" # "Big Brass Monkey" # "Can't Get Enough" # "Playboy" # "Mackin" # "Downtown Fresno" # "Texas Woman" # "The Game" lues Version


''Funky Mama's House'' (February 2004)

Track list: # "Funky Mama's House" # "Brown Sugar Eyes" # "Street Walker" # "Tabby Thomas' Place" # "Those Lonely, Lonely Nights" # "Ya-Ya" # "Down at Eli's" # "
Stagger Lee "Stagger Lee" (Roud 4183), also known as "Stagolee" and other variants, is a popular American folk song about the murder of Billy Lyons by "Stag" Lee Shelton, in St. Louis, Missouri, on Christmas 1895. The song was first published in 1911 and f ...
" # "Earl King" # "Saturday Night" # "I Cross My Heart"


''Other Side of the Road'' (2000)

Track list: # "Let's Talk About Love" # "Dial 911" # "Kicked Out" # "The Girl Can't Cook" # "Down on the Farm" # "Annabelle" # "Pretty Baby" # "Other Side of the Road" # "Louisiana Scat" # "Blue Monday"


''Born to Sing the Blues'' (1998)

CD re-release with seven additional tracks (and four omissions from the original vinyl recording). Released as Clarence "Guitar" Sims. Track list: # "Minding My Own Business" # "King Boy" # "Better Man"- # "When I Come Home" # "Watchdog"- # "3rd Rate Love Affair"- # "Send Her Home" # "Broke Baby" # "Lonely Heart and Broken Mind"- # "So Much Trouble" # "Body Language"- # "Things That I Used to Do"- # "Sims Boogie" # "Better Man" lternate Take# Interview with Clarence "Guitar" Sims


''It's Going to Be My Time After While'' (1996)

Released as Fillmore Sims. Track list: # "I'm Broke Baby" # "Slippin' Out" # "Slow Blues" # "All the People I Could Have Been" # "I Hear You Cryin'" # "Cuttin-N-Loosen" # "It's Going to Be My Time After While" # "Instrumental"


''Born to Sing the Blues'' (1987)

Original vinyl release. Released as Clarence "Guitar" Sims. Track list: # "She's Gone" # "Reap What You Sow" # "3rd Rate Love Affair" # "Watchdog" # "Don't Treat Me Right Blues" # "Things I Used to Do" (E. Jones) # "(I'll Be A) Better Man" # "Hard Luck Blues" (R. Brown) # "Body Language" # "Lonely Heart and Broken Mind"


References


External links


Fillmore Slim
on
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Allmusic Fillmore Slim
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fillmore Slim 1934 births Living people American pimps American blues guitarists American male guitarists 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians Fillmore District, San Francisco