It’s a little belated but we’ve just learned that GERALD SIMS – a stalwart of the Chicago soul and blues scene – died on May 8th. According to his family he died at his home in Burien, Washington from Alzheimer’s disease. He was 83.
Sims was active during the golden age of Chicago soul. He was a session guitarist at Chess Records where he featured on records by the Dells, Billy Stewart, the Radiants, Etta James, Ramsey Lewis, Willie Dixon, Little Milton, Chuck Berry and many more. Moonlighting to other labels his guitar can be heard on recordings by Mary Wells, the Chi-Lites, Gene Chandler, and Minnie Riperton amongst others. Maybe his most famous sessions were Jackie Wilson’s ‘Higher And Higher’ and Fontella Bass’s ‘Rescue Me’.
Sims was also an acclaimed songwriter. Amongst his credits are ‘Love Makes A Woman’ and ‘Here Comes The Teardrops’ . As an artist he fronted the Daylighters (check out their lovely ‘Cool Breeze’) while proper soul collectors will have fond memories of his solo ‘You’ll Never Be Sorry ‘ – a classic 60s Chicago soul sound!
