Oscar "TV Slim" Wills (February 10, 1916, Houston, Texas - October 21, 1969… Read Full Bio ↴Oscar "TV Slim" Wills (February 10, 1916, Houston, Texas - October 21, 1969, Kingman, Arizona) was an American singer, guitar and fiddle player, a producer and also a TV repairman.

Wills recorded a series of original blues, from the purest Texas country blues to furious, New Orleans, rock'n roll style. "Flatfoot Sam" was his only commercial success.

A musician since the late 1930s, Oscar Wills was resident in Louisiana in the fifties, singing blues and playing guitar (also harmonica, though not on record). His main influences were DeFord Bailey and Sonny Boy Williamson (II) on harmonica and Guitar Slim and Elmore James in the guitar domain. Wills was not recorded until he set up his own label, Speed Records, in the mid-1950s. By that time he also had his own band, the Heartbreakers, consisting of Mighty Joe Young on guitar, Eddie Williams on piano and Jimmy White on drums. Their first record was the piano- dominated "The Fight" (Speed 6863, 1955). Wills never was a full-time musician ; he was chiefly occupied running a television repair shop. This gave him his nickname, T.V. Slim, which is the label credit on all of his Speed recordings.

Wills's brief moment in the spotlight came in 1957. He had written an uptempo song called "Flat Foot Sam", about an unfortunate soul who was "always in a jam". Mira Smith from Shreveport , the owner of Ram Records, had just set up a new label, Clif Records, in partnership with Cliff Hagen. "Flat Foot Sam" was first recorded for Clif (# 103), credited to T.V. Slim and his Heartbreakers. It made some noise in the Arkansas-Louisiana-Texas region, mainly due to heavy plugging on the Stan Lewis-sponsored R&B show on KWKH in Shreveport. Thanks to his connections with Leonard Chess, Stan Lewis managed to get the record leased to Chess Records for national distribution. Instead of reissuing the disc right away on one of his labels (Chess, Checker, Argo), Leonard Chess asked Wills if he could go to New Orleans and do a recut of "Flat Foot Sam" with Cosimo Matassa's Studio band. This second, much improved version was recorded in June 1957, with prominent roles for Robert Parker on tenor sax and Charles 'Hungry' Williams on drums. It was released in August on Argo 5277, under his own name, Oscar Wills. While the Clif release showed the song's writer as Clara Wills (probably Oscar's wife), writer's credit on the Argo single now went to O. Wills and S. Lewis. This was a fairly common practice at Chess : the artist / songwriter had to share the publishing with someone who would give the record exposure, Stan Lewis in this case. Why Leonard Chess still decided to reissue the Clif version on Checker 870 (in the same month as the Argo remake) is a mystery to me. Ironically, Billboard gave the original version of "Flat Foot Sam" a higher rating (77) than the Argo single (75). (Issue of August 26, 1957.)

As Wills had only recorded one song during the New Orleans session, the other side had to be filled by another artist. This became the instrumental "Nervous Boogie" by Paul Gayten, who had produced the June session. The two sides were almost too good to be on the same disc. In the end it was "Nervous Boogie" that generated the greatest demand, enough for a peak position of # 68 on the Billboard pop charts in December 1957. You won't find "Flat Foot Sam" in the index of any Joel Whitburn book, but it still was a good seller on the back of "Nervous Boogie" and has achieved the status of a minor rock n roll classic. There were rockabilly-styled cover versions by Tommy Blake on Sun and by Earl Reed's Rhythm Rockers on Cherokee (vocal by Johnny Scoggins) and in later years "Flat Foot Sam" was recorded by the Blues Band, Mickey Murray, Jim Byrnes, Hank Mizell, Mike Morgan, Brian Setzer, Terry Hanck and Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings. Mike Sanchez includes the song regularly in his live set. There even exists a group in Connecticut called Flat Foot Sam and the Educated Fools. Check them out (on Spotify, for instance), their music isn't bad at all. The song spawned two sequels, "Flat Foot Sam Met Jim Dandy" (aka "Flat Foot Sam Made A Bet") and "Flat Foot Sam Is Back", this time credited to T.V. Slim. He continued to record for his own Speed label, also after relocating to California in 1959. The second half of the 1960s saw further releases on tiny West Coast labels : Excell, Timbre, Pzazz (owned by Paul Gayten), and Ideel. One of my favourites is "T.V. Man" (Excell 104, 1966), about his experiences as a television repair man. Sadly, Oscar Wills died in a car crash in Arizona while returning from a gig in Chicago, on October 21, 1969. He never became a household name, but he had a powerful voice, played a mean guitar, and displayed humor in his songwriting.

- CD: T.V. Slim, Flat Foot Sam (Official 5660). Released in 1999, this Danish release contains most of his recorded output, 31 tracks. A mix of blues, up-tempo R&B and novelties.
- The Argo version of "Flat Foot Sam" has been reissued on many different compilations, where it is usually credited to T.V. Slim instead of Oscar Wills.

My Baby Is Gone
T.V. Slim Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I got a gal who's always late
Any time we have a date
But I love her
Yes I love her

I'm gonna walk right up to her gate
And see if I can get it straight
â??Cause I want her

I'm gonna ask her

Is you is or is you ain't my baby
Way you're acting lately makes me doubt
Youse is still my baby, baby
Seems my flame in your heart's done gone out

A woman is a creature that has always been strange
Just when you're sure of what you'll find
She's gone and made a change

Is you is or is you ain't my baby
Maybe baby's found somebody new
Or is my baby still my baby true

Is you is or is you ain't my baby

Maybe baby's found somebody new
Or is my baby still my baby true

Overall Meaning

The song, "My Baby Is Gone" by T.V. Slim, is a classic example of heartbreak and uncertainty in a relationship. The lyrics tell the story of a man who loves his woman, even though she's always late for their dates. Despite her behavior, he wants to confront her and find out what's going on, because he's worried she might have found someone new. The chorus, "Is you is or is you ain't my baby," is a clever play on words, but also conveys the singer's uncertainty about his relationship. He's not sure if she's still interested in him or if she's moved on.

The song offers a unique perspective on the ups and downs of love. It reveals the fear and insecurity that can arise when someone we care about changes their behavior or doesn't give us the attention we crave. The line, "A woman is a creature that has always been strange," adds an interesting layer to the story, suggesting that women are unpredictable and can be difficult to understand.

Despite its simplicity, the song is noteworthy for its catchy melody and clever lyrics. It also speaks to universal themes of love and loss that have resonated with audiences for generations. Overall, "My Baby Is Gone" is a poignant reminder that love is never easy, and that even the most devoted relationships can be challenged by doubts and uncertainty.

Line by Line Meaning

I got a gal who's always late
I have a girlfriend who is never on time.

Any time we have a date
Whenever we have planned to meet up.

But I love her
Despite her being late, I love her anyway.

Yes I love her
Confirming that he still loves her.

I'm gonna walk right up to her gate
I will go to her house.

And see if I can get it straight
To clear up any confusion.

â??Cause I want her
Because I want to be with her.

I'm gonna ask her
I will ask her a question.

Is you is or is you ain't my baby
Are you still my girlfriend or not?

Way you're acting lately makes me doubt
Your recent behaviour is making me uncertain about our relationship.

Youse is still my baby, baby
I hope that you are still the one for me.