A guitarist and singer of old-time cowboy songs, Slim Critchlow became known as a performer in the early '30s, when he sang on radio and became a friend of folklorist John A. Lomax. Critchlow, in his early twenties, was working as a national park ranger in Utah when he began doing live radio on a Salt Lake City radio station, with a repertoire and style that were more traditional and authentic than the cowboy music popularized via movies and records. In the early '60s he garnered some acclaim in the folk revival, performing at festivals and doing some recording. He played an eight-string guitar (the two top strings were doubled) and, when recorded in the late '50s and early '60s, sang in a warm, vibrant, relaxed voice, drawing mostly from tunes originating during the late 19th century. He died at the age of 60 in 1969, shortly before the release of an album of his recordings on Arhoolie; that album, with the addition of unreleased material, was issued on CD in 1999. ~ Richie Unterberger, Rovi
