 In Dallas, Sims performed in clubs with the blues guitarists T-Bone Walker and Smokey Hogg.In 1948 he recorded two singles for Blue Bonnet Records, but his first success came in 1953 when he recorded his song "Lucy Mae Blues" for Art Rupe's Specialty Records, which was a regional hit.The "Encyclopedia of the Blues" called "Lucy Mae Blues" a "masterpiece of rhythm and good humor".