St. Louis Jimmy Oden
Encyclopedia
James Burke "St. Louis Jimmy" Oden (June 26, 1903 – December 30, 1977) was an American
blues
vocalist and songwriter
.
Born in Nashville
, Tennessee
, United States
, Oden sang and taught himself to play the piano
in childhood. In his teens
, he left home to go to St. Louis
, Missouri
(c. 1917 ) where piano-based blues
was prominent. He was able to develop his vocal talents and began performing with the pianist
, Roosevelt Sykes
. After more than ten years playing in and around St. Louis, in 1933 he and Sykes decided to move on to Chicago
.
In Chicago he was dubbed St. Louis Jimmy and there he would enjoy a solid performing and recording
career for the next four decades. While Chicago became his home base, Oden traveled with a group of blues players to various places throughout the United States
. He recorded a large number of records
, his best known coming in 1941 on the Bluebird Records
label
called "Goin' Down Slow
." Oden wrote a number of song
s, two of which, "Take the Bitter with the Sweet" and "Soon Forgotten," were recorded by his friend, Muddy Waters
.
In 1948 on Aristocrat Records
Oden cut "Florida Hurricane", accompanied by the pianist Sunnyland Slim
and the guitarist Muddy Waters.
In 1949, Oden partnered with Joe Brown to form a small recording company called J.O.B. Records
. Oden appears to have ended his involvement within a year, but with other partners the company remained in business till 1974.
After a serious road accident in 1957 he devoted himself to writing and placed material with Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf
("What a Woman!") and John Lee Hooker
. In 1960 he made an album with Bluesville Records
, and sang on a Candid Records
session with Robert Lockwood, Jr. and Otis Spann
.
Oden died of bronchopneumonia
, at the age of 74, in 1977 and was interred in the Restvale Cemetery
in Alsip, Illinois
, near Chicago.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
vocalist and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
.
Born in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Oden sang and taught himself to play the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
in childhood. In his teens
Adolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
, he left home to go to St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
(c. 1917 ) where piano-based blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
was prominent. He was able to develop his vocal talents and began performing with the pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, Roosevelt Sykes
Roosevelt Sykes
Roosevelt Sykes was an American blues musician, also known as "The Honeydripper". He was a successful and prolific cigar-chomping blues piano player, whose rollicking thundering boogie-woogie was highly influential.-Career:Born in Elmar, Arkansas, Sykes grew up near Helena but at age 15, went on...
. After more than ten years playing in and around St. Louis, in 1933 he and Sykes decided to move on to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.
In Chicago he was dubbed St. Louis Jimmy and there he would enjoy a solid performing and recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
career for the next four decades. While Chicago became his home base, Oden traveled with a group of blues players to various places throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He recorded a large number of records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
, his best known coming in 1941 on the Bluebird Records
Bluebird Records
Bluebird Records is a sub-label of RCA Victor Records originally created in 1932 to counter the American Record Company in the "3 records for a dollar" market. Along with ARC's Perfect Records, Melotone Records and Romeo Records, and the independent US Decca label, Bluebird became one of the best...
label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
called "Goin' Down Slow
Goin' Down Slow
"Goin' Down Slow" or "Going Down Slow" is a blues song written by St. Louis Jimmy Oden, originally released in 1941. Howlin' Wolf included the song on his 1962 Rocking Chair Album.The song alternates between sung and spoken passages...
." Oden wrote a number of song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
s, two of which, "Take the Bitter with the Sweet" and "Soon Forgotten," were recorded by his friend, Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
.
In 1948 on Aristocrat Records
Aristocrat Records
Aristocrat Records, sometimes referred to The Aristocrat of Records, was founded in April 1947 by Charles and Evelyn Aron, together with their partners Fred and Mildred Brount and Art Spiegel. By September Leonard Chess had invested in the young record company. Over time, Leonard bought the others...
Oden cut "Florida Hurricane", accompanied by the pianist Sunnyland Slim
Sunnyland Slim
Albert "Sunnyland Slim" Luandrew was an American blues pianist, who was born in the Mississippi Delta, and later moved to Chicago, Illinois, to contribute to that city's post-war scene as a center for blues music...
and the guitarist Muddy Waters.
In 1949, Oden partnered with Joe Brown to form a small recording company called J.O.B. Records
J.O.B. Records
J.O.B. Records was a Chicago based record label, founded by businessman Joe Brown and bluesman St. Louis Jimmy Oden in 1949. It specialized in Southern Blues and city based R&B. In 1952, the label's recording of "Five Long Years" by Eddie Boyd became a hit and reached number one in the R&B chart....
. Oden appears to have ended his involvement within a year, but with other partners the company remained in business till 1974.
After a serious road accident in 1957 he devoted himself to writing and placed material with Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf
Howlin' Wolf
Chester Arthur Burnett , known as Howlin' Wolf, was an influential American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player....
("What a Woman!") and John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
. In 1960 he made an album with Bluesville Records
Bluesville Records
Bluesville Records is a subsidiary of Prestige Records, launched in the 1960s with the primary purpose of documenting the work of the older classic bluesmen passed over by the changing audience...
, and sang on a Candid Records
Candid Records
Candid Records was founded as a subsidiary of Archie Bleyer's Cadence label in New York City in 1960. The jazz writer and civil rights activist, Nat Hentoff, worked as the label's A&R director, aiming to create a representative catalog of the jazz of the day...
session with Robert Lockwood, Jr. and Otis Spann
Otis Spann
Otis Spann was an American blues musician, who many consider the leading postwar Chicago blues pianist.-Career:Born in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, Spann became known for his distinct piano style....
.
Oden died of bronchopneumonia
Bronchopneumonia
Bronchopneumonia or bronchial pneumonia or "Bronchogenic pneumonia" is the acute inflammation of the walls of the bronchioles...
, at the age of 74, in 1977 and was interred in the Restvale Cemetery
Burr Oak Cemetery and Restvale Cemetery
Burr Oak Cemetery is a cemetery located in unincorporated Cook County, Illinois, adjacent to Alsip, a suburb slightly southwest of Chicago. As one of the few cemeteries focused on the needs of the African-American community, it is the final resting place of many black celebrities, including...
in Alsip, Illinois
Alsip, Illinois
Alsip is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 19,725 at the 2000 census. It is a suburb of Chicago.Alsip was settled in the 1830s by German and Dutch farmers. The village is named after Frank Alsip, the owner of a brickyard that opened there in 1885...
, near Chicago.
External links
- [ Oden biography] at Allmusic websiteWebsiteA website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
- J.O.B. Records discography