Slim Gaillard

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Slim Gaillard
Gaillard with guitar at the Queen's Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1982
Background information
Birth name	Bulee Gaillard
Born	(1911-01-09)January 9, 1911
Died	February 26, 1991(1991-02-26) (aged 80) London, England
Genres	Jazz
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano, vibraphone, tenor saxophone
Years active	1930s–1989
Labels	Savoy, Dial, Verve
Formerly of	Slim & Slam

Bulee "Slim" Gaillard (January 9, 1911^[1] – 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.^[2]: 676

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 as a bomber pilot in the Pacific. 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.

In the 1980s, Gaillard resumed touring the circuit of European jazz festivals. He followed Dizzy Gillespie's advice to move to Europe and, in 1983, settled in London, where he died of cancer on February 26, 1991, after a long career in music, film and television, spanning nearly six decades.^{[2]: 679 [3]}