Slim Dortch

"Cowboy" Slim Dortch (born April 12, 1921 in Henry County , Tennessee , as Henry Pierce Dortch ; † February 11, 2000 in Poplar Bluff , Missouri ) was an American country and rockabilly musician. Although Dortch had a long career, he has been forgotten these days and is only known for two singles on Eugenia Records.

Life

Childhood and youth

Slim Dortch was born on a farm near Paris , Tennessee, where he helped out as a child. Dortch had two brothers and three sisters who also had musical talent. At 13 he learned to play the guitar ; Dortch built his first guitar from a canister and an old guitar neck. He later took part in a talent competition and won first prize, which led Dortch to decide to try his hand at being a professional musician.

Career

Dortch's first radio engagements came in 1938 and soon he was traveling across the country and performing on numerous radio stations. At the time, it was not uncommon for country musicians to move from station to station, because that was how they earned their living. Dortch stopped in Chicago (WJJD), St. Louis (WEW) and Dallas (KRLD).

In the early 1940s he played with the Modern Mountaineers at times , but did not play on their recordings, and appeared in the Saddle Mountain Roundup with stars such as Fred Rose , Fiddlin 'Arthur Smith and Ray Whitley . During the Second World War he was a soldier in the US Army , but continued his career after his release. Dortch later became a member of the Hoosier Hop on WOWO, Fort Wayne , Indiana . In the 1950s he continued to appear on the programs of various radio stations. In general, however, little is known about Dortch's activities during this time.

In 1964, Dortch reappeared in Memphis , Tennessee, where he recorded two singles for the small Eugenia label. The first record came out in 1964 with the rockabilly song Big Boy Rock on the A side and Mailing My Last Letter on the B side. In June of the same year another rockabilly single followed with Sixteen Miles / The Black Rose , which he recorded as "Cowboy" Slim Dortch. These are Dortch's only known recordings. After that it was quieter around him, but he was still on stage.

In 1993 Dortch released the album Below the Dixie Line . Dortch spent his final years in Missouri, where he died in 2000.

Discography

Singles

year	title	Label #
1964	Big Boy Rock / Mailing My Last Letter	Eugenia 1001
1964	Sixteen Miles / The Black Rose	Eugenia 1001
	? /?	Lightning Ball
	? /?	Lightning Ball

Eugenia used catalog number 1001 twice. There may be a third Lightning Ball single.

Albums

• 1993: Below the Dixie Line

Web links

• Slim Dortch on Find a Grave
• Discography with audio samples