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Most recently Slim Andrews resided in Auburn, Maine with his wife, Carole Ann.
Slim was a lifelong country music singer, songwriter, guitarist and recording artist.
He co-founded the Maine Country Music Hall of Fame in 1978 and in 2008 was instrumental
in establishing the Hall of Fame Museum in Mechanic Falls, the only museum of its kind east
of Nashville.
He was inducted into the Maine Country Music Hall of Fame in 2002. Until very shortly before his
death, Slim was very active in the day-to-day business of the Hall of Fame serving as Chairperson
of the Induction Committee and museum tour guide, par excellence. He made several recent
appearances on local television including Maine Public and WMTW Channel 8.
I cherish sweet memories of Slim, a kind, warm, gentle man with a sharp wit and
bright sense of humor. He had a way of making those he met feel like an old friend.
He puts people at ease and valued, respected, and appreciated them. His infinite knowledge
of Maine country music history was astounding.
Slim was forever dedicated to family, work, and music. He was a man who faced many life
challenges and losses but who bravely soldiered on, giving it his all, no matter the
circumstances. “I’ve been blessed,” he would say through it all, as one door closed,
and another opened.
Jim Flynn of Lewiston, a good friend of Slim Andrews’ who himself passed away in 2019, was a
notable Maine country music songwriter and educator. The excerpt below is from a tribute
Jim wrote in 2018, highlighting Slim’s life and legacy:
“Slim Andrews will be remembered by the Maine Country Music Community as a dedicated country
music artist and as a leader and catalyst for growth in Maine country music during the
70's and 80's and in the first two decades of the 21st century. Slim Andrews'
influence on Maine country music has made it one of the most popular of the performing arts
in the State of Maine.
“As a dedicated country music artist, which was always Slim's first love, he spent
seven decades on stage performing. It all started in 1942 when Slim gave his first
public performance at age 11 when he won a talent contest at the Community Theater in New Auburn, Maine. Seventy years later Slim is still actively engaged in Maine country music.
“Slim was born on June 14, 1931 in the Roxbury area of Boston, Massachusetts. After
spending the first six months of his life in Boston, Slim and his family moved to
Auburn, Maine, and remained there until the death of his beloved mother in 1944.
In 1946 he moved back to Dorchester, Massachusetts, and that's when Slim got his life
into second gear. After his high school graduation, and later subsequently his honorable
discharge from the U.S. Army where Slim entertained fellow troops on special assignments
occasionally while stationed in Germany, he returned home and married his high school
sweetheart and fathered five sons and one daughter.
From 1952 to 1954 he played mostly in churches with an accordion player on Sunday
evenings. In 1958 he put together a group called The Berkshire Mountain Boys based
in Brockton and for the next 13 years Slim and The Berkshire Mountain Boys played a
whole lot of country music.
“Slim returned to Maine in 1971 and began to influence the direction that Maine country
music would take. He and Gini Eaton, who later became his second wife, ran a country
music establishment in Windham, Maine named The Silver Spur offering live country
music and dancing.
Soon Slim and Gini formed the Slim Andrews Enterprises Booking Agency, which brought
many well-known acts from Nashville into the State of Maine, other New England states,
and upstate New York. Slim and Gini introduced the first State of Maine Country Music
All Star-Review of Top Maine Talent that included other New England award-winning acts.
In 1977, along with Barry Deane, they founded the Maine Country Music Association, the first
of its kind in Maine. Slim became its first acting president. In 1980, Slim was recognized
by the Maine Sunday Telegram as one of Maine’s most influential drivers of country music.
“With the leadership Slim continued to provide, the Maine Country Music Hall of Fame
was established in 1978, followed by the Maine Country Music Hall of Fame Museum in
2008, now located at The Silver Spur in Mechanic Falls. If you have never
seen it, you’re missing out on an outstanding display of the history of country music
in Maine.
“In addition to Slim lending his strong administrative skills to the advancement of country
music in Maine, he was still performing as many as 70 plus live appearances a year. He was
also recording albums of songs he had written and others he had written with his son,
Jamie Huntington.
“Slim Andrews is one of the most popular independent country music artists on the International
Independent Country Music Radio Network and the Joyce Ramgatie International Mainstream Top
200 Artists Chart and Top 40 Single Chart. In 2017, Slim's songs were played
85,139 times on Indie Radio, he appeared on 95% of the Top 200 Artists posted that
year, and he also appeared on 45% of the Top 40 Single Charts.
He recorded a new song called, "In My Old Pickup Truck", a tribute to Johnny Cash,
which was released to radio in early January 2018. What's so special about this
recording is that it was Slim's first new recording in seven years, that it was
recorded at the Maine Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, and that because of Slim's
loss of vocal power resulting from his throat cancer battles, he decided to recite the lyrics
of the song instead of singing them. That took courage because he had never done a full
recitation before on any of his recordings.
“Each of Slim's songs averages 14,000 plays a year. The fact that Slim, at the age
of 86 is generating more air play than ever before in his life and reaching millions of
listeners in the process, is absolutely astounding. It's an achievement never before
equaled by any 86-year-old Maine country music artist in the history of Maine country music.
Before 2018 is over, it is predicted that Slim will have a three-year record of having
his songs played 200,000 times on Indie radio.
“Slim Andrews is one-of-a-kind. His courage and perseverance over the years is extremely
admirable. He has had several bouts with cancer, including throat cancer. He has lost
two wives and three sons to various illnesses, and yet somewhere along the way he
found the strength to write a song called "Born to Win".
He also wrote an award-winning song called "The Autumn of Our Lives", a tribute t
o his present wife, Carole Ann, who is loved not only by Slim but by everyone who knows her.
Where God finds these inimitable men like Slim, I can't say. I can say that Slim Andrews
is in a class all by himself.”
Jim Flynn, Lewiston, 2018.
For more information search Wikipedia for an in-depth summary of Slim Andrews’ early life,
military service, music career, and awards, including a complete discography; or visit the
Maine Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Mechanic Falls, Maine.
The Museum is open seven days a week by appointment. To book a visit please call
Ken at 207-654-2227. Donations in Slim’s memory may be made to the Maine Country Music Hall of Fame
and Museum, PO Box 62, Athens, ME 04912.
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