Slim Idaho

Mitch Drumm · Post by **Mitch Drumm** » 25 Feb 2011 4:29 am

Only for a fellow Raccoon---

I don't think Picosong stuff stays there forever. Not sure.

At any rate:

with Claude Casey:

http://picosong.com/5wb

with Paul Howard

http://picosong.com/5wr

with Cowboy Copas:

http://picosong.com/5wx

Russ Wever · Post by **Russ Wever** » 25 Feb 2011 1:56 pm

Only for a fellow Raccoon---

Woo, Woo !

John Sutherland · Post by **John Sutherland** » 31 Jul 2013 12:41 pm

Don't know if anyone is reading this thread anymore, but I have Slim's late 30's to early 40's Epiphone Electar Amplifier which he recovered in leather, and put "SLIM" on the left, and "IDAHO" on the right hand side of the amp. It was in bad shape when I got it, but I had an old radio guy go through it, and it is all functional now, and quite the prize. If anyone knows where exactly in Fredericksburg, VA his accident was, please chime in - I live there. Thanks.

Russ Wever · Post by **Russ Wever** » 31 Jul 2013 1:27 pm

. . . for everyone that's been curious about Slims amp settings, here's your chance !

Blake Hawkins · Post by **Blake Hawkins** » 31 Jul 2013 7:36 pm

John,
I think you will find that a lot of us still look at this thread and have good memories of Slim and his steel work.
I never met him but over the years I've had friends
who did know him and a couple who actually played with him in Atlanta at the WSB Barn Dance.
Sadly, they have all left us too.
You have a fine treasure in that amp.

John Sutherland · Post by **John Sutherland** » 1 Aug 2013 2:37 am

I was hoping to contact the gentleman in Richmond, VA who has his triple decker slide, and reunite the 2 pieces. If anyone knows him, please alert him to the thread. Thank you.

Jon Light · Post by **Jon Light** » 7 Dec 2013 6:20 am

Russ--I'm setting ALL my amps like that from now on!

Yes, John--that would have been cool to find the guitar. I see that you are selling the amp now. Best of luck.

Mike Sweeney · Post by **Mike Sweeney** » 9 Dec 2013 2:51 am

Blake,

The man has returned the guitar to Slim's family in South Carolina.

Blake Hawkins · Post by **Blake Hawkins** » 9 Dec 2013 3:07 am

That's a wonderful thing to do. Especially at this time of year. God Bless Him.

Dave Sichak · Post by **Dave Sichak** » 31 Jan 2022 9:06 pm

Good evening Friends of the Steel Guitar,

Been a while since I've been on here. I've just finished writing a bio for Slim Idaho (aka Dewey Hubbard Aderhold Jr.). I get a kick out of discovering steel players and trying to document their careers where possible. This one has been on my to do list for a couple years.

Why? Benny Kissinger wrote a song (and performed it) - Slim's Steel. The story I hear / read is that after his death, they would turn down the house lights and a spotlight would shine on his triple-necked steel guitar on the stage. Benny did his song and as you might expect, brought the house down.

I've seen it mentioned he played for Bob Wills, but have seen nothing to verify that. I know he did play with Paul Howard's Arkansas Cotton Pickers (one ad spelled his name Adderholt). He was also with Jack Gillette's Tennessee Ramblers for a times and I have a couple pictures of him with the group with his steel.

In 1964, Ginger Willis wrote a bit about the history and impact of the steel guitar in country music (remember, this is about 16 years after Slim's death) and made this observation:

"...The first electric guitar (Hawaiian) had six strings, same as the original, but the box itself was smaller and the amplifier gave it the different sound that was soon picked up by recording stars. For instance, all Hank Williams' records featured a solo on this new instrument now called the steel guitar. Jerry Byrd, Slim Idaho, Shot Jackson, Little Roy Wiggins and Don Helms were some of the early pioneers of this new sound." (CSR No. 84 - May 1964)

Then about 20 years later, the late Dr. Wayne W. Daniel (and who I knew and corresponded with for over 15 years until his health failed) wrote in his book Pickin' On Peachtree in 1990 (p. 183):

"The unique sound of the steel guitar, an instrument inspired by the Hawaiian music that reached a peak of popularity in this country around the time of World War I, had, by 1940, become familiar to hillbilly-music enthusiasts. By then electrified and made popular by such virtuosos as Leon McAuliffe ... the steel always seem to have been featured on the "(WSB) Barn Dance." Among the many steel guitarists who played on the show were Eddie Ross, Billy Strickland, Jesse Carpenter, Little George Tanner, Jimmy Colvard, Dewey Aderhold, and Boots Woodall.

Observation No. 1 - with references like the two writers nearly 20 and 40 years after his death and being mentioned withe well known folks - why is this guy not in the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame?

Observation No. 2 - I have seen in earlier posts going back over five years on this forum about his date of birth. I did some digging. His World War II draft card registration shows a birth date of April 28, 1925 and was signed on April 28, 1943 - his 18th birthday. That is what his grave stone shows. But the 1930 census records for the Aderhold family shows that Dewey was 3 years old in 1930 - which would mean he may have been born a couple years later. The 1940 census shows him at 14 years old. I'm thinking that maybe his draft card date he signed was an effort on his part to enlist in the armed services and serve his country even though he was 'officially' not old enough and they were probably not asking for any proof back then. If that wasn't enough, the Virginia death record document shows his birth date as April 20, 1924.

You can find his bio on my website if so inclined. I keep finding things. The most recent fun was discovering the KFH Barn Dance Frolic show in Wichita KS that featured the Ark Valley Boys.

I've been updating a couple of other steel guitarist stories on my site as well - they've been kind of ongoing projects as I keep finding things and I've rearranged their flow a bit for easier reading. Beryl Harrell. Roy Honeycutt.