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St. Louis Jimmy Oden

Blues pianist and composer St. Louis Jimmy was born James Burke Oden on June 26, 1903, in Nashville, Tennessee. He moved to St. Louis in 1917, where he performed and picked up his name. Along with fellow pianist Roosevelt Sykes, he moved to Chicago in 1932. Oden recorded regularly during the 1930s and 1940s, scoring a big blues hit with "Going Down Slow" for Bluebird in 1941. This song alone has become an enduring blues classic and has been covered countless times over. His most sustained success was as a songwriter during the post war years in Chicago, where he was supplying songs to a range of artists, from Muddy Waters and Little Walter to Otis Spann and others. Always dissatisfied with his own playing, he usually was recorded as a singer, accompanied by his friends, Roosevelt Sykes and Sunnyland Slim. He continued to record quite prolifically throughout the ‘50’s, until a car accident slowed him down. Though he did attempt a few sides early in the decade,most of his 1960's period was associated with composing. Though he was never able to duplicate the success of "Goin' Down Slow," the song is St. Louis Jimmy's legacy to the blues.

Source: James Nadal

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Reassessing

House Rent Party

Read "House Rent Party" reviewed by Jason Young


Nothing sparks musical intrigue like a trip back in time. Such was the case when in 1992, Delmark Records released Sunnyland Slim's House Rent Party, featuring Jimmy Rogers, Willie Mabon and St Louis Jimmy. A part of their Apollo series, it gave blues enthusiasts an audio lens into the budding of Chicago blues.Tracing back to St. Louis, Missouri, Delmark has been a trusted label for jazz and blues music since 1953. In 1962, label owner Bob Koester purchased ...

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Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

House Rent Party

Delmark Records
1992

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Goin' Down Slow

Prestige Records
1960

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