Slim & Slam

Formed in 1936, the novelty act Slim & Sam united guitarist and vocalist Slim Gaillard with bassist Slam Stewart. Their initial joint recording, "Flat Foot Floogie," delivered their strongest commercial impact, though further modest successes such as "Tutti Frutti" and "Laughin' in Rhythm" surfaced through the early 1940s. By 1945 Bam Brown had taken over the bass chair from Stewart and appeared on additional novelty releases including "Cement Mixer" and "Poppity Pop"; the same year Gaillard shared a stage with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, an encounter that produced the recording Slim's Jam. For the balance of the decade Gaillard collaborated with sidemen such as Zutty Singleton and Dodo Marmarosa without regaining his earlier chart traction. He stepped away from music altogether in the 1960s to run a motel in San Diego, yet resurfaced for occasional concert dates during the 1970s.