1975 James P. Slim Martin Country Bluegrass Musician - 1-Page Vintage Article

Description

1975 James P. Slim Martin Country Bluegrass Musician - 1-Page Vintage Article
Original, Vintage Magazine Article
Page Size: Approx. 8" x 11" (21 cm x 28 cm)
Condition: Good
Slim and
Wilma
Martin
at WALB
Albany,
Georgia
during
the late
1940’s.
SLIM MARTIN-
THE MAN WHO BROUGHT IN THE
GEORGIA MAIL:
IN MEMORIAM
Recently the country and bluegrass
music world lost one of its lesser known
but nonetheless significant figures -
James P. Martin. Slim, as he was better
known, is probably best remembered by
contemporary fans for his festival
appearances with Charlie Monroe. How-
ever, in an earlier era he gained a degree
of fame as a long-time member of the
Kentucky Pardners and also as a sideman
with Molly O’Day’s Cumberland Mountain
Folks and the Bailey Brothers. Slim sang
noteworthy old-time country duets with
his wife, Wilma, and possessed consider-
able talents as a comedian.
Born at Murphy, North Carolina in
1920, Slim Martin aspired to be a
professional musician from his youth. As a
teenager, he listened to area mountain
string bands like the Mainers while
simultaneously developing proficiency on
both harmonica and fiddle. After
graduation from high school, he joined a
band , the North Georgia Ramblers. They
went to Fredericksburg, Virginia and
played on radio and also toured with a tent
show. Later, he switched to a group
known as Jack Ritchie and his Texas
Rhythm Rangers with whom Slim played
theaters from Maryland and West
Virginia to North Carolina. He left the
Rangers at Fayetteville and came to
Burlington, North Carolina and a new
station. Here Slim met his wife, Wilma,
with whom he worked for the rest of his
life. He also worked with Lester Flatt.
When Lester left to join Charlie Monroe’s
Kentucky Pardners, it was not long until
Slim joined them.
Slim and Wilma worked with the
Kentucky Pardners off and on for many
years. During this time, he played fiddle
and harmonica on many radio stations and
live shows. He participated in two Charlie
Monroe record sessions for Victor in 1947
and 1951. In Chicago in the former year,
he did what was probably his most
memorable harp work, playing on the
classic train song, “Bringin’ In The
Georgia Mail.” He helped Charlie write
one of his better known numbers, “I’m
Cornin’ Back, But I Don’t Know When.”
As Slim recalled, they practiced their
arrangement of the “Georgia Mail” for
about three months prior to entering the
studio.
In 1949, Slim worked with Molly
O’Day’s Cumberland Mountain Folks, first
at WBIG, Greensboro and later at WROL,
Knoxville. He recorded eight sides with
them in April at Nashville, playing either
harmonica or twin fiddles with Skeets
Williamson. Lynn and Molly recorded one,
of Slim’s compositions, “With You On My
Mind” as a duet at that session.
When the Davis’ left Knoxville, Slim
returned to Greensboro, but soon he and
Wilma joined the Bailey Brothers at
WPTF, Raleigh. After two years with
Charlie and Danny, Slim went back with
the Kentucky Pardners and still later
worked at Lebanon, Pennsylvania with
Jack Hain doing considerable amounts of
comedy. During this time, he also guested
frequently at the WWVA Jamboree with
the Baileys and Tater Tate who played
there often.
In more recent years, Slim worked as a
disc jockey at Greensboro and he and
Wilma played frequently in that area. He
played on the sound track of two motion
pictures - “Preacherman” and its sequel,
“Preacherman Meets Widder Woman” - in
which he played character roles in both
films. Slim recalled how the New York ac-
tors seemed so amazed at first at the
perfection of his southern country accent
before they realized he was just being his
natural self. He recorded a couple of
singles and did an 8-track tape which
featured a variety of his talents including
a comedy recitation called "Mundy, the
Drinking Mule.” When Charlie Monroe
emerged from retirement in 1972, Slim
and Wilma played with him as often as
conditions would permit. His death in
early July will make him a sadly missed
personality on the bluegrass scene.•
14847-AL-7512-34