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Memphis Slim
1915–1988
Blues pianist born Peter Chatman who moved to Paris in 1962 and spent the rest of his life as Europe’s resident bluesman.
was born John Len Chatman in Memphis in 1915 and made his name in Chicago from the late 1930s, leading the House Rockers and cutting hundreds of sides. In 1959 he formed a duo with , first left the United States in 1960, and returned to Europe in 1962 with the first American Folk Blues Festival tour — then stayed. He lived in Paris for the rest of his life, playing the Latin Quarter clubs, appearing constantly on French television, acting in films, and scoring one. France made him a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He died in Paris in 1988 and is buried in Memphis.
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