Curley James Weaver was an American blues musician, also known as Slim Gordon.
Background
Weaver was born in Covington, Georgia, and raised on a farm near Porterdale. His mother, Savannah "Dip" Shepard Weaver, was a well-respected pianist and guitarist, who taught Curley and her friend"s sons, "Barbecue Bob" Hicks and Charlie Hicks.
Career
Early years The three formed a group with harmonica player Eddie Mapp and played locally. Early career Weaver moved to Atlanta, in 1925, where he worked as a laborer and performed on the streets and at social events. He first recorded in 1928, for Columbia Records, and subsequently released records on several different labels.
He recorded on his own during the 1920s and 1930s, first in the style taught by his mother and later with the spreading Piedmont style, but he was best known for duets with Blind Willie McTell, with whom he worked until the 1950s, and for his work with Barbecue Bob, Fred McMullen, and the harmonica and guitar player Buddy Moss.
Later years After World World War II Weaver recorded in New York and Atlanta, both as a solo artist and with McTell. His final recordings were in 1949.
He lost his sight in the 1950s after working on the railroad. He died of uremia in Almon, Georgia, in 1962, at the age of 56.
Membership
He was also a member of the recording groups the Georgia Browns (Weaver, Moss, and McMullen) and the Georgia Cotton Pickers (Bob, Weaver, and Moss), examples of the sort of bands that played house parties in those days.