Born in Viroqua, Wisconsin, he learned to play drums as a boy. Later he took up xylophone and at 13 changed to piano. He studied with a local teacher throughout high school. At 17 his parents moved to Chicago where he continued his musical training. He met Rosy McHargue, a well known clarinetist, who took him to hear many leading musicians including Bix Beiderbecke and Earl Hines. His first job was with Johnny Tobin at the Beach View Gardens. He later moved to Los Angeles where he worked with Henry Halstead, Earl Burtnett and Lennie Hayton, before joining Ben Pollack in 1934.
He played with the Jimmy Dorsey Band in the 1930s and was a charter member of the Will Bradley Orchestra when it formed in 1939. Known to bandmates as "Daddy Slack," he played the piano solo on Bradley's recording of "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar", one of the early white boogie-woogie hits and a classic of the Big Band era.
After forming his own band in 1942 and signing with the newly-founded Capitol Records, he recorded three songs at the third Capitol recording session on May 21, 1942. His recording of "Cow Cow Boogie," sung by the 17-year-old Ella Mae Morse, was the second record Capitol issued on July 1, and by July 25 it had reached number 1 on the hit parade. It was Capitol's first gold single.
T-Bone Walker was a member of Slack's band from 1942 to 1944 and Slack later accompanied Walker on his first solo recording for Capitol, Mean Old World. This band also had a hit with "Strange Cargo."
Slack continued to record with Capitol until at least 1950, recording some 80 tracks for the label.
Slack also recorded as an accompanist for Big Joe Turner, Johnny Mercer, Margaret Whiting, and Lisa Morrow.
In the original version of the song "Down the Road a Piece", recorded in 1940 by the Will Bradley Orchestra, Slack is mentioned in the lyrics:
If you wanna' hear some boogie then I know the place
It's just an old piano and a knocked-out bass.
The drummer-man's a guy they call 8-beat Mack
You remember Doc and old "Beat Me Daddy" Slack.
Man it's better than chicken fried in bacon grease
Come along with me boys, it's just down the road a piece.
"Eight Beat Mack" refers to drummer Ray McKinley, and "Doc" refers to the band's bass player, Doc Goldberg.
His 1955 album Boogie Woogie on the 88 featured a horn section including jazz musicians Shorty Sherock and Herbie Harper among others, and with arrangements by Benny Carter.
He also co-wrote the 1945 classic "The House of Blue Lights" first recorded with singer Ella Mae Morse, and later by Chuck Miller, The Andrews Sisters, Chuck Berry, and Jerry Lee Lewis.
I Lost My Sugar In Salt Lake City
Freddie Slack Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh, why did I go there
I should have stayed down in New Orleans
And never gone nowhere
A girl with sweet talk from Kansas City
Her words were sweet like wine
She bought him diamonds and limousines
When night comes a-creepin'
For me there's no sleeping
What she sews, she'll be reapin'
'Cause she done me wrong
I cried my heart out in Salt Lake City
The day I heard the news
He left me deep in my solitude
With a Salt Lake City blues
With a Salt Lake City blues
In Freddie Slack's song "I Lost My Sugar in Salt Lake City," the artist expresses the regret of leaving his lover in New Orleans to venture into Salt Lake City. He questions his decision-making skills and expresses his regrets for not sticking to his roots. The lyrics suggest that he met a girl in Salt Lake City, who turned out to be manipulative and cunning. She enchanted him with sweet talk, diamonds, and limousines and eventually stole him away from his original love. The song is very emotional, with the artist crying his heart out and being caught in a state of insomnia. He is angry at the girl who stole his love and warns her of the consequences of her betrayals. The song captures the feelings that accompany betrayal, the sadness of losing a loved one, and the regrets that come with leaving one's true love.
Line by Line Meaning
I lost my sugar in Salt Lake City
I lost my lover in Salt Lake City
Oh, why did I go there
Why did I ever decide to travel to Salt Lake City?
I should have stayed down in New Orleans
I wish I hadn't left New Orleans
And never gone nowhere
I should have stayed put instead of traveling around
A girl with sweet talk from Kansas City
There was a woman from Kansas City who spoke sweetly
Her words were sweet like wine
She had a way with words that was captivating
She bought him diamonds and limousines
She showered him with luxurious gifts
She stole that man o' mine
She took him away from me
When night comes a-creepin'
When night falls upon me
For me there's no sleeping
I can't sleep at night
What she sews, she'll be reapin'
She will face the consequences of her actions
'Cause she done me wrong
Because she hurt me deeply
I cried my heart out in Salt Lake City
I wept uncontrollably in Salt Lake City
The day I heard the news
When I learned of his betrayal
He left me deep in my solitude
He abandoned me in my loneliness
With a Salt Lake City blues
Feeling sad and lost in Salt Lake City
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: JOHNNY LANGE, LEON RENE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Armand Di Meo
Having lived near Salt Lake City, this song makes me laugh because it is a strange place tor the events in this song to have taken place. Mercer did not write this song but it it is easily a song he could have written. He makes it his own.
methogonzo
So did Mercer actually sing the songs too?
rivlax
Mercer sang Mercer better than anyone. On iTunes there's a Capital Collector series album that is simply tremendous. His version of "One For My Baby (And One More For the Road" blows Sinatra out of the park. Every song on it is a gem.
rivlax
Mercer sang Mercer better than anyone. On iTunes there's a Capital Collector series album that is simply tremendous. His version of "One For My Baby (And One More For the Road" blows Sinatra out of the park. Every song on it is a gem.
odin422
Wasnt meant to be