Biography
St. Louis Jimmy Oden penned one of the blues' most timeless pieces in "Goin' Down Slow," a song that has outlasted countless others. His own career proved equally durable, stretching from sessions in the early 1930s into the later 1960s.
Had he not relocated to St. Louis near the close of the 1910s, Oden might instead have carried the nickname "Nashville Jimmy." There he connected with pianist Roosevelt Sykes amid the city's thriving 1920s blues scene, forging a partnership that continued across many subsequent years. During the 1930s and 1940s he maintained a steady recording schedule, cutting sides for Champion, Bluebird—where "Goin' Down Slow" became a hit in 1941—Columbia, Bullet in 1947, Miracle, Aristocrat (where Sunnyland Slim's piano and a young Muddy Waters on guitar supported the 1948 track "Florida Hurricane"), Mercury, Savoy, and Apollo.
Later one-off releases on Duke, again featuring Sykes at the piano, and on Parrot, which included a 1955 remake of "Goin' Down Slow," paved the way for Oden's first full-length album in 1960 on Prestige's Bluesville imprint. That set once more spotlighted "Goin' Down Slow," this time with guitarist Jimmie Lee Robinson and a lively New York rhythm section providing the backing. Beyond performing, Oden supplied Muddy Waters with the compositions "Soon Forgotten" and "Take the Bitter with the Sweet."
Had he not relocated to St. Louis near the close of the 1910s, Oden might instead have carried the nickname "Nashville Jimmy." There he connected with pianist Roosevelt Sykes amid the city's thriving 1920s blues scene, forging a partnership that continued across many subsequent years. During the 1930s and 1940s he maintained a steady recording schedule, cutting sides for Champion, Bluebird—where "Goin' Down Slow" became a hit in 1941—Columbia, Bullet in 1947, Miracle, Aristocrat (where Sunnyland Slim's piano and a young Muddy Waters on guitar supported the 1948 track "Florida Hurricane"), Mercury, Savoy, and Apollo.
Later one-off releases on Duke, again featuring Sykes at the piano, and on Parrot, which included a 1955 remake of "Goin' Down Slow," paved the way for Oden's first full-length album in 1960 on Prestige's Bluesville imprint. That set once more spotlighted "Goin' Down Slow," this time with guitarist Jimmie Lee Robinson and a lively New York rhythm section providing the backing. Beyond performing, Oden supplied Muddy Waters with the compositions "Soon Forgotten" and "Take the Bitter with the Sweet."
Albums