Slim Gaillard
Bulee "Slim" Gaillard (January 9, 1911 – February 26, 1991), also known as McVouty, was an American jazz singer and songwriter who played piano, guitar, vibraphone, and tenor saxophone. Gaillard was noted for his comedic vocalese singing and word play in his own constructed language called "Vout-o-Reenee", for which he wrote a dictionary. In addition to English, he spoke five languages (Spanish, German, Greek, Arabic, and Armenian) with varying degrees of fluency. He rose to prominence in the late 1930s with hits such as "Flat Foot Floogie (with a Floy Floy)" and "Cement Mixer (Put-Ti-Put-Ti)" after forming Slim and Slam with Leroy Eliot "Slam" Stewart. During World War II, Gaillard served in the US Army Air Forces. In 1944, he resumed his music career and performed with such notable jazz musicians as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Dodo Marmarosa. In the 1960s and 1970s, he acted in films—sometimes as himself—and also appeared in bit parts in television series such as Roots: The Next Generations. Gaillard resumed touring the circuit of European jazz festivals during the 1980s. |
Birth and Death Data: Born Detroit, Died February 26, 1991 (London)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1937 - 1951
Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist, songwriter, composer
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor | BS-023419 | 10-in. | 5/23/1938 | The flat foot floogee | Wingy Manone Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
| Victor | BS-023518 | 10-in. | 5/31/1938 | The flat foot floogee | Benny Goodman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal ensemble | songwriter | |
| Victor | BS-026646 | 10-in. | 8/25/1938 | Tutti frutti | Bon Bon ; Harry Roberts ; Jan Savitt ; Top Hatters | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal duet | songwriter | |
| Victor | BS-033903 | 10-in. | 2/24/1939 | Jump session | Charlie Barnet Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
| Victor | BS-035081 | 10-in. | 3/23/1939 | Jump session | Don Redman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female-male vocal duet | songwriter | |
| Victor | BS-038204 | 10-in. | 6/28/1939 | Vas vilst du gaily star | Mildred Craig ; Emery Deutsch Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with female vocal solo and vocal ensemble | songwriter | |
| Victor | BS-042613 | 10-in. | 8/28/1939 | Vol vistu gaily star | Clambake Seven ; Tommy Dorsey | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
| Victor | BS-042945 | 10-in. | 10/12/1939 | Vol vistu gaily star | Smoothies | Mixed vocal trio, with jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
| Victor | D8VB-4056 | 10-in. | 12/15/1948 | Down by the station | Denny Dennis ; Lucy Ann Polk ; Sentimentalists ; Tommy Dorsey Orchestra | Female-male vocal duet, with vocal group and jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
| Mercury | C519 | 10-in. | 1951 | Laughing in rhythm | Slim Gaillard's Peruvians | vocalist, composer | ||
| Mercury | C520 | 10-in. | 1951 | Soony roony | Slim Gaillard's Peruvians | vocalist, composer | ||
| ARC | 22318 | 10-in. | 1/20/1938 | Flat fleet floogie | Slim and Slam | Male vocal duet, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist, songwriter | |
| ARC | 22319 | 10-in. | 1/19/1938 | Chinatown, my Chinatown | Slim and Slam | Male vocal duet, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist | |
| ARC | 22320 | 10-in. | 1/20/1938 | That's what you call romance | Slim and Slam | Male vocal duet, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist, songwriter | |
| ARC | 22321 | 10-in. | Oh! Lady be good | Slim Gaillard | vocalist | |||
| ARC | 22441 | 10-in. | 2/17/1938 | Ti-pi-tin | Slim and Slam | Male vocal duet, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist | |
| ARC | 22847 | 10-in. | 5/3/1938 | 8, 9 and 10 | Slim and Slam | Male vocal duet, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist, songwriter | |
| ARC | 22848 | 10-in. | 5/3/1938 | Dancing on the beach | Slim and Slam | Male vocal duet, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist, songwriter | |
| ARC | 22849 | 10-in. | 5/3/1938 | Oh, lady be good | Slim and Slam | Male vocal duet, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist | |
| ARC | 22850 | 10-in. | 5/3/1938 | Ferdinand the Bull | Slim and Slam | Male vocal duet, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist | |
| Master | M404 | 10-in. | 4/15/1937 | There's no two ways about it | Frankie Newton Uptown Serenaders | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist | |
| Master | M405 | 10-in. | 4/15/1937 | Cause my baby say's it's so | Frankie Newton Uptown Serenaders | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Gaillard, Slim," accessed December 24, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106973.
Gaillard, Slim. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 24, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/106973.
"Gaillard, Slim." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 24 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Slim Gaillard
Discogs: Slim Gaillard
Allmusic: Slim Gaillard
Grove: Slim Gaillard
IMDb: Slim Gaillard
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Gaillard, Slim - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n93115984
Wikidata: Slim Gaillard - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q628353
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/56799400
MusicBrainz: Slim Gaillard - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/48b82408-3db2-4a96-bd97-129fbdeddfc4
Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/332235 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/332235
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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