Lightnin' Slim

Louisiana blues artist Lightnin' Slim used his sandpaper-rough yet expressive voice and raw, kinetic electric guitar playing to become a regional hit maker and an exemplar of the Excello Records sound in the late 1950s and early '60s. Coincidentally -- considering his stage name -- Slim's sound falls somewhere between the rough and tumble blues of Lightnin' Hopkins and the slightly smoother, more broad-based sound of sometime labelmate Slim Harpo. Slim benefited greatly from the blues revival of the '60s, playing concerts and festivals at home and in Europe until his death in 1974.