Alec Seward

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title: "Alec Seward" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1901-births", "1972-deaths", "american-blues-guitarists", "american-male-guitarists", "american-blues-singers", "songwriters-from-virginia", "country-blues-musicians", "singers-from-virginia", "piedmont-blues-musicians", "20th-century-american-singers", "20th-century-american-guitarists", "guitarists-from-virginia", "20th-century-american-male-singers", "american-male-songwriters", "20th-century-american-songwriters"] description: "American singer" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alec_Seward" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American singer ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist"]

Field	Value
name	Alec Seward
birth_name	Alexander T. Seward
alias	Slim Seward
Guitar Slim
Blues Servant Boy
King Blues
Georgia Slim
Duke Bayou
birth_date
birth_place	Charles City County, Virginia, United States
death_date
death_place	New York, United States
instrument	Vocals, guitar
genre	Country blues, Piedmont blues
occupation	Singer, guitarist, songwriter
years_active	1924–1972
label	Various
::

| name = Alec Seward | image = | caption = | image_size = | birth_name = Alexander T. Seward | alias = Slim Seward Guitar Slim Blues Servant Boy King Blues Georgia Slim Duke Bayou | birth_date = | birth_place = Charles City County, Virginia, United States | death_date = | death_place = New York, United States | instrument = Vocals, guitar | genre = Country blues, Piedmont blues | occupation = Singer, guitarist, songwriter | years_active = 1924–1972 | label = Various | website =

Alec Seward (born Alexander T. Seward, March 16, 1901 – May 11, 1972) was an American Piedmont blues and country blues singer, guitarist and songwriter. Some of his records were released under pseudonyms, such as Guitar Slim, Blues Servant Boy, King Blues and Georgia Slim. His best-remembered recordings are "Creepin' Blues" and "Some People Say".

Biography

Seward, one of fourteen siblings, was born in Charles City County, Virginia. Like Gabriel Brown, Ralph Willis and Brownie McGhee, he relocated from the South to New York, in his case in 1924.{{cite book | first= Tony | last= Russell | year= 1997 | title= The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray | edition= | publisher= Carlton Books | location= Dubai | isbn= 1-85868-255-X | page= 190}}{{cite book | first= Bruce | last= Bastin | year= 1995 | title= Red River Blues | url= https://archive.org/details/redriverblues00bruc | url-access= registration | edition= | publisher= University of Illinois Press | location= Champaign | isbn= 0-252-01213-5 | page= 333}}

Seward befriended Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry and retained his Piedmont blues styling despite changes in musical trends. He and the blues musician Louis Hayes (who later became a minister in northern New Jersey) performed together, variously billed as the Blues Servant Boys, Guitar Slim and Jelly Belly, and the Back Porch Boys. During the 1940s and 1950s Seward played and recorded with Lead Belly, Woody Guthrie, McGhee and Terry. Around 1947 Seward, Guthrie, and Terry recorded several chain gang songs, including "Chain Gang Special", and some other older songs adapted to having chain gang themes. They were later released on the compilation album Best of the War Years.

Under his own name, Seward issued Creepin' Blues (1965, Bluesville), with harmonica accompaniment by Larry Johnson. Later in the decade Seward worked in concert and at folk blues festivals.

Seward died of natural causes in May 1972, at the age of 71, in New York City.

He is not to be confused with Eddie "Guitar Slim" Jones, Guitar Slim Jr., James "Guitar Slim" Stephenson or Norman "Guitar Slim" Green.

Selected discography

• Creepin' Blues (1965, Bluesville)
• Late One Saturday Evening (1996, Blues Alliance)
• The Back Porch Boys (2002, Delmark)

References

References

1. (2013). "Blues: A Regional Experience". Praeger.
2. Campbell, Al. "Alec Seward". [[Allmusic]].com.
3. Doc Rock. "The 1970s". TheDeadRockStarsClub.com.
4. Henderson, Alex. "Alec Seward, ''The Back Porch Boys''". Allmusic.com.
5. "Alec Seward: Discography: Albums". AllMusic.com.
6. "Alec Seward: Discography: Compilations". AllMusic.com.

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