St. Louis Jimmy(1903-1977)
- Soundtrack
St. Louis Jimmy (aka "St. Louis Jimmy Oden") was born James Burke Oden
in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1903. He left Nashville at around age 14
and moved to St. Louis, MO, where he teamed up with blues pianist
Roosevelt Sykes and they played various
clubs and private parties around the city. In 1932 he and Sykes left
St. Louis for Chicago. There they cut several records for the Champion
label and became part of the city's blues club scene. He eventually
became more successful as a composer than a piano player, and he wrote
songs for such artists as Muddy Waters,
James Cotton and
Otis Spann. He also had a hit with his own
composition, "Going Down Slow", in 1941. From the 1940s onward he
performed with various blues artists and recorded for several smaller
regional labels. His health started failing in the 1960s, and by 1970
it had deteriorated to the point where he was forced to retire from
performing.
He died in 1977.
He died in 1977.