Slim Dunlap: Difference between revisions

{{Use mdy dates|date=OctoberDecember 20202024}}

| image = 23.11.2007, The Mad Ripple Hootenanny, HoM.jpg

| image_size = 220
| caption = Dunlap performing in 2007

| alt = Dunlap bent over his guitar while playing harmonica

| birth_name = BobRobert Bruce Dunlap

| occupation = {{hlist|Guitarist, |singer-songwriter}}

| years_active = 1972–20121971–2012

| label = {{hlist|[[Twin/Tone Records|Twin/Tone]], |[[Restless Records|Restless]]}}

| associated_actspast_member_of = [[Curtiss A]],{{hlist|Mrs. Frubb|Spooks,|Thumbs Up|[[The Replacements (band)|The Replacements]]}}

| website =

'''BobRobert Bruce''' "'''Slim'''" '''Dunlap'''<ref name="Mehr2017"/> (August 14, 1951 – December 18, 2024) was an American rock musician. He was a [[Minnesota]]-based guitarist and singer-songwriter who was best known as a member of [[The Replacements (band)|Thethe Replacements]] from 1987 to 1991, replacing original lead guitarist [[Bob Stinson]]. Dunlap also recorded two solo albums in the mid-1990s. Dunlap died on December 18, 2024, in Minneapolis, Minnesota after a 12 year battle with complications from a stroke he had suffered since 2012. Dunlap was 73 years old.

Dunlap was influenced by [[Hank Williams]] and [[Keith Richards]], and had been called "one of the last old-school cool guitar players".<ref name="Tan" /> Ralph Heibutzki at [[AllMusic]] said that he "epitomizes the journeyman musician who plays for the fun of it, when his day gig allows".<ref name="Heibutzki" /> His solo albums earned praise from [[Bruce Springsteen]], who called them "really, deeply soulful and beautiful."<ref name="NPR2014">{{cite news |last=Powers |first=Ann |date=January 15, 2014 |title=A Long Road To 'High Hopes': An Interview With Bruce Springsteen |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2014/01/14/262485987/a-long-road-to-high-hopes-an-interview-with-bruce-springsteen |work=[[National Public Radio]] |location= |access-date=2024-12-December 18, 2024}}</ref>

Minneapolis music writer Jim Walsh called Dunlap "the epitome of constraint. He plays what he wants when he wants, and because of that and so many other reasons, he is nothing short of a gunslinger—showing up at bars only occasionally, and when he does, shooting out the lights with a bluesman’sbluesman's salt-of-the-earth style.”"<ref name="Walsh2016">{{cite book |last=Walsh |first=Jim |author-link= |date=2016 |title=Bar Yarns And Manic-Depressive Mixtapes: Jim Walsh On Music From Minneapolis To The Outer Limits |url= |location=Minneapolis |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |page= |isbn= |access-date=2024-12-19}}</ref>

==BiographyEarly life==

Dunlap's work with Almsted established himself as an "intuitive, reliable musician who could fit any situation",<ref name="Heibutzki" /> and he attracted the attention of [[Paul Westerberg]] of [[The Replacements (band)|Thethe Replacements]], a [[Minnesota]]-based punk/alternative rock band. Westerberg was looking for a guitarist to replace [[Bob Stinson]], who had been asked to leave in the mid-1980s because of his drug and alcohol problems,<ref name="Tan" /> and approached Dunlap. Dunlap initially turned down the offer, but joined Thethe Replacements in 1987 on account of "his admiration for Westerberg's songwriting".<ref name="Tan" /><ref name="Heibutzki" /> Dunlap's day job at the time was working as a [[janitor]] at [[First Avenue (nightclub)|First Avenue]], a nightclub in Minneapolis, the same venue where Thethe Replacements had launched their career in the early 1980s.<ref name="Tan" /><ref>{{cite nameweb |last="Carr" |first=David |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/15/arts/music/first-avenue-is-dead-long-live-first-avenue.html |title=First Avenue Is Dead (Long Live First Avenue!) |newspaper=The New York Times |date=November 15, 2004 |access-date=June 17, 2011 |url-access=registration}}</ref> His wife, Chrissie, was also a former First Avenue staffer.<ref name="Current2024">{{cite news |last= |first= |date=March 21, 2024 |title=Chrissie Dunlap helped put First Avenue on the map |url=https://www.thecurrent.org/feature/2024/03/21/chrissie-dunlap-womens-history-month |work=The Current |location=St. Paul, Minnesota |access-date=2024-12-December 18, 2024}}</ref> Dunlap became the "replacement Replacement",<ref name="Tan" /> and remained with the band until their breakup in 1991, featuring on their last two studio albums.<ref name="Heibutzki" />

Dunlap was not driven to be a bandleader, once saying "I hate it, personally. I'd rather just play guitar and let the other guy lose all the money." He also took a small-scale approach to recording, spending less than $10,000 on his first post-Replacements solo record, compared to more than $200,000 for the other members' solo albums.<ref name="RockTalk">{{cite book |editor-last1=Kohut |editor-first1=Joe |editor-last2=Kohut |editor-first2=John J. |date=1994 |title=Rock Talk: The Great Rock and Roll Quote Book |url=https://archive.org/details/rocktalkgreatroc0000unse/ |location= |publisher=Faber & Faber |page= |isbn=0-571-19839-2 |access-date=2024-12-December 18, 2024}}</ref>

Towards the end of 1992 Dunlap started recording his own first solo album, ''[[The Old New Me]]'', which was released in 1993. It was followed by his second solo album, ''Times Like This'', in 1996.<ref name="Heibutzki" /> His former bandmate Curtiss A played harmonica on both records.<ref name="Collins2017">{{cite book |last=Collins |first=Cyn |author-link= |date=2017 |title=Complicated Fun: The Birth of Minneapolis Punk and Indie Rock, 1974-19841974–1984: An Oral History |url=https://archive.org/details/complicatedfunbi0000unse/ |location= |publisher=Minnesota Historical Society Press |page= |isbn= |access-date=December 18, 2024-12-18}}</ref> [[AllMusic]] called ''The Old New Me'' a "rootsy, engaging ride",<ref>{{cite nameweb |url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=the-old-new-me-r198800/review|pure_url=yes}} |title=The Old New Me |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |last="Heibutzki |first=Ralph |access-OldNewMe"date=June 17, 2011}}</ref> and ''Times Like This'' "the opposite of the Replacements' rowdy, unscripted alt-rock vitriol [that] wins on its own unobtrusive terms".<ref>{{cite nameweb |url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=times-like-this-r241446/review|pure_url=yes}} |title=Times Like This |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |last="Heibutzki |first=Ralph |access-TimesLikeThis"date=June 17, 2011}}</ref> Ira Robbins of ''Trouser Press'' praised his solo albums for their "raunch-a-roll energy and an invigorating dose of retro flair."<ref name="TrouserPress1997">{{cite book |last=Robbins |first=Ira A. |author-link= |date= |title=The Trouser Press Guide to '90s Rock |date=1997 |url=https://archive.org/details/trouserpressguid00robb/ |location=New York |publisher=Simon & Schuster |page= |isbn=978-0-684-81437-7 |access-date=2024-12-December 13, 2024}}</ref>

Dunlap performed at [[The Bottom Line (venue)|The Bottom Line]] in New York City in December 1997,<ref>{{cite nameweb |last="Powers" |first=Ann |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/09/arts/pop-review-in-folk-music-who-s-new-depends-on-who-s-judging.html |title=Pop Review; In Folk Music, Who's New Depends on Who's Judging |newspaper=The New York Times |date=December 9, 1997 |access-date=June 17, 2011}}</ref> and he and his own band were active in the Minneapolis area<ref name="Heibutzki" /> until February 2012 when he was hospitalized after suffering a severe stroke.<ref>{{cite nameweb |url="http://www.spinner.com/2012/02/21/replacements-article"slim-dunlap-stroke/ |title=Replacements' Slim Dunlap Hospitalized After Stroke |website=[[spinner.com]] |access-date=June 21, 2012}}</ref>

After Dunlap's stroke, a non-profit project, Songs For Slim, was established to raise money for him by having other artists cover his songs and other merchandise.<ref>{{cite nameweb |url="SongsForSlim"http://www.songsforslim.com/ |title=Songs For Slim |website=songsforslim.com |access-date=April 27, 2015}}</ref> The releases included an EP by his former bandmates from Thethe Replacements, ''[[Songs for Slim]]'', featuring cover art by [[Chris Mars]]. The EP included a version of Dunlap's song "Busted Up" as well as "Everything's Coming Up Roses" from the musical ''[[Gypsy (musical)|Gypsy]]'', [[Gordon Lightfoot]]'s "I'm Not Sayin'", and [[Hank Williams]]'s "Lost Highway".<ref name="loudersound"/>

A live album, ''Thank You Dancers!'', was released in 2020, and featured a performance recorded in 2002 at St. Paul's [[Turf Club (Saint Paul)|Turf Club]].<ref name="loudersound">{{cite news |last=Lewry |first=Fraser |date=2024-12-December 18, 2024 |title=Former Replacements guitarist Bob "Slim" Dunlap dead at 73 |url=https://www.loudersound.com/news/slim-dunlap-death |work=Louder Classic Rock |location= |access-date=2024-12-December 18, 2024}}</ref>

Dunlap earned the respect of many other musicians. Nashville singer-songwriter [[Tommy Womack]], in his 2002 song "The Replacements,", wrote that "Slim Dunlap is the proof of the existence of God, a guitar genius, a role model, a credit to the gene pool."<ref name="Walsh2007">{{cite book |last=Walsh |first=Jim |author-link= |date= |title=The Replacements: All Over But The Shouting: An Oral History |date=November 15, 2007 |url=https://archive.org/details/replacementsallo0000wals/ |location=St. Paul, Minnesota |publisher= MBI Pub. Co. and Voyageur Press |page= |isbn=978-0-7603-3062-3 |access-date=2024-12-December 13, 2024}}</ref>

Dunlap died at his home in Minneapolis on December 18, 2024, at the age of 73.<ref name="StarTribune2024MStarTribune-obit">{{cite news | last=Riemenschneider | first=Chris | title=Replacements Guitarist and Minnesota Music Hero Slim Dunlap Dies After Long Illness | work=Minnesota Star Tribune | date=December 18 December, 2024 | url=https://www.startribune.com/placeholder-obit-copy-for-slim-dunlap-do-not-publish-story-is-hidden-in-chorus/601196590 | access-date=December 18, 2024}}</ref><ref name="Pitchfork-obit">{{cite web |last1=Corcoran |first1=Nina |title=Slim Dunlap, Former Replacements Guitarist, Dies at 73 |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/slim-dunlap-former-replacements-guitarist-dies-at-73/ |website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork.com]] |access-date=December 25, 2024 |date=December 19, 2024}}</ref> In a statement, Dunlap's family said the cause of death was complications from his 2012 stroke. He died shortly after listening to his song "Hillbilly Heaven", from his live album ''Thank You Dancers!''<ref name="loudersound"/>

[[File:Slim Dunlap - First Avenue Star.jpg|thumb|Star honoring Slim Dunlap on the outside mural of the Minneapolis nightclub [[First Avenue (nightclub)|First Avenue]]]]Dunlap was honored with a star on the outside mural of the [[Minneapolis]] nightclub [[First Avenue (nightclub)|First Avenue]],<ref>{{cite nameweb |url="FirstAveStars"http://first-avenue.com/about/thestars |title=The Stars |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=First Avenue & 7th Street Entry |access-date=May 10, 2020}}</ref> recognizing performers that have played sold-out shows or have otherwise demonstrated a major contribution to the culture at the iconic venue.<ref>{{cite namenews |last="StarTribune2019"Bream |first=Jon |url=https://www.startribune.com/10-things-you-ll-learn-about-first-avenue-in-new-minnesota-history-center-show/509374312/ |title=10 things you'll learn about First Avenue in new Minnesota History Center show |work=[[Star Tribune]] |location=Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota |date=May 3, 2019 |access-date=May 10, 2020}}</ref> Receiving a star "might be the most prestigious public honor an artist can receive in Minneapolis," according to journalist Steve Marsh.<ref>{{cite namenews |last="MSPMag2019"Marsh |first=Steve |url=http://mspmag.com/arts-and-culture/first-avenue-star-wall/ |title=First Avenue's Star Wall |work=Mpls.St.Paul Magazine |location=Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota |date=May 13, 2019 |access-date=May 10, 2020}}</ref>

| rev2Score = {{rating|3.5|4}}<ref name="MusicHoundRock1999">{{cite book |editor-last1=Graff |editor-first1=Gary |editor-last2=Durchholz |editor-first2=Saniel |date=1999 |title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide |url=https://archive.org/details/musichoundrockes0000unse_j0b4/ |location= New York |publisher=Schirmer Trade Books |page= |isbn=978-0-8256-7256-9 |access-date=2024-12-December 19, 2024}}</ref>

<ref name="allmusic-discography">{{cite web | url = {{Allmusic|class=artist|id=slim-dunlap-p72674/discography|pure_url=yes}} | title = Slim Dunlap discography | publisher = [[AllMusic]] | access-date = June 15, 2011}}</ref>

<ref name="CarrHeibutzki">{{cite web | last url= Carr {{Allmusic| first class= David artist| url id=https:slim-dunlap-p72674//www.nytimes.com/2004/11/15/arts/music/15firs.html?_rbiography|pure_url=1yes}} | title =Slim First Avenue Is Dead (Long Live First Avenue!)Dunlap | work publisher= [[The New York TimesAllMusic]] |last=Heibutzki date|first=November 15, 2004Ralph | access-date = June 1715, 2011}}</ref>

<ref name="ContinuumTan">{{cite bookweb |titlelast=ContinuumTan Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World: Locations|first=Stephen |url=http://www.credoreferencebigozine2.com/entryfeature/contpmwl/minneapolis_st_paul_mn?p=533 |publishertitle=[[ContinuumTimes InternationalLike Publishing Group]]This |yearwork=2005bigOfeature |chapterdate=Minneapolis/StFebruary Paul10, MN2011 |access-date=June 1417, 2011 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>