SLIM GAILLARD

Bulee "Slim" Gaillard (January 4, 1911 or 1916 – February 26, 1991) was a Cuban-American jazz singer, songwriter, pianist, and guitarist, noted for his scat singing and word play. Despite record company publicity accounts that Gaillard was born in Santa Clara, Cuba of a Greek father and an Afro-Cuban mother, he was born in Pensacola, Florida to a german immigrant named Theopolous Rothschild and an African-American woman named Liza Gaillard. He grew up in Detroit and moved to New York City in the 1930s. Gaillard first rose to prominence in the late 1930s as part of Slim & Slam, a jazz novelty act he formed with bassist Slam Stewart. Their hits included "Flat Foot Floogie (with a Floy Floy)", "Cement Mixer (Puti Puti)" and the hipster anthem, "The Groove Juice Special (Opera in Vout)". Vout was Gaillard's private term for the hip argot. The duo perform in the 1941 movie read more...