Things That I Used to Do

Guitar Slim recorded The Things That I Used to Do in New Orleans in 1953 with Ray Charles arranging and playing piano. The Specialty session placed Slims intense vocal and distorted electric guitar over a tight rhythm and blues band arrangement. Released by Specialty in 1954, The Things That I Used to Do reached number 1 on the Billboard R&B chart and became Guitar Slims biggest hit. Its dramatic guitar tone and gospel-charged arrangement made it one of the major blues and R&B records of the mid-1950s. The Things That I Used to Do became a blues standard and influenced later electric guitar players through Slims sustain-heavy lead sound. Later versions by Buddy Guy, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Chuck Berry kept the song prominent in blues and rock repertoires.