USA: Slim Gaillard - Searching For You: The Lost Singles Of McVouty (1958-1974)

Multi-instrumentalist & vocalist Slim Gaillard's joyous music appealed to adults and little children alike, with songs about love, traveling, potato chips, beer, and everything in between. Searching For You: The Lost Singles of McVouty (1958-1974) is the first collection of new Gaillard music officially released with the endorsement of the Gaillard family in decades. Very little is known about the label sources (i.e., Putti Records, SGM Records, Delgado, Blue Chip Records, etc.), but they all seem to have been made for companies likely owned by Slim that he was sending out to A&R men and radio stations trying to score regional hits. Most tracks in this collection come from co-producer Tom Samuels, who won a series of eBay auctions containing rare 45s. The package is designed by Burton Yount, with essays by producer Zev Feldman; Tom Samuels; author & archivist at the Louis Armstrong House Museum, Ricky Riccardi; Gaillard's children Mark Gaillard & Janis Gaye; plus an interview with legendary composer/saxophonist, John Altman (George Harrison, Bob Marley), Gaillard's musical director in the 1980s, who co-wrote "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life" (from Monty Python) and composed the film music to Titanic (1997).