#976 (1/19/26)

SUNNYLAND SLIM

Above: Photo of Sunnyland Slim working on a new composition. He was a blues singer, piano player, band leader, and songwriter. He moved to Chicago in the early 1940s. His recording career went from 1947 to 1985. During the 1940s/1950s, Sunnyland had records on Hy-Tone, RCA Victor, Aristocrat, Tempo-Tone, Mercury, Apollo, Regal, Nashboro, Chance, Ebony, Blue Lake, Club "51", Cobra, Opera, and JOB Records (aka "J.O.B."). On RCA Victor, he used the name "Dr. Clayton's Buddy". On Chance and Opera, it was "Delta Fox". His two records on Tempo-Tone (circa 1948) were with Muddy Waters. For Aristocrat, Sunnyland had three released records with Muddy Waters. Also, another with Muddy and St. Louis Jimmy, which is included in the "St. Louis Jimmy" section further below on this page.

Above Left: Label image of Aristocrat 1301A, recorded in September 1947 and released in March 1948. Was the misspelling of Sunnyland Slim and Muddy Waters' names on the labels done intentionally? Perhaps Sunnyland was contracted with another company such as Hy-Tone Records in late 1947/early 1948? The labels on both sides show "Sunny Land Slim" as the composer. BMI.com credits "Albert Luandrew", which is Sunnyland Slim's real name. Above Right: Label image of Aristocrat 1302A, recorded in September 1947 and released in March 1948. The labels on both sides credit "Muddy Water" as composer. BMI.com credits "McKinley Morganfield", which is Muddy Waters' real name. At Direct Right: Photo of a young Muddy Waters. Muddy had several records on Aristocrat by himself. There is a separate section for him further down on this page. The Billboard Review (2/28/48): SUNNY LAND SLIM (Muddy Waters) — ARISTOCRAT 1301 Fly Right, Little Girl (69) Low down blues shouting. Raucous. Good piano work. Johnson Machine Gun (72) Not for juvenile delinquents. Slim threatens dire doings with his "typewriter" via shouted blues. (NOTE: A ratings range of 40-69 was considered as "satisfactory" and 70-79 as "good".) CHICAGO DEFENDER, June 18, 1953: ....Back to the 708 CLUB after a successful engagement out of town is that versatile blues artist, SUNNYLAND SLIM and his new Trio, whose band broke attendance records everywhere they played while on tour. To complete the big blues program featured weekly at the 708 is MUDDY WATERS and ELMORE JAMES.... [See 708 Club ad further down at right.] LISTEN (Windows Media Player): 1. "Johnson Machine Gun" - Sunny Land Slim And Muddy Water - Aristocrat 1301A - 1948. 2. "Fly Right, Little Girl" - Sunny Land Slim And Muddy Water - Aristocrat 1301B - 1948. 3. "Gypsy Woman" - Muddy Water With Sunny Land Slim - Aristocrat 1302A - 1948. 4. "Little Anna Mae" - Muddy Water With Sunny Land Slim - Aristocrat 1302B - 1948. ALL FOUR SONGS played in sequence.

CHICAGO DEFENDER — DECEMBER 15, 1945. (NOTE: Did they intend that "...be picked up" could have a double-meaning?)

Above Left: Photo of Sunnyland Slim. Above Right: CHICAGO DEFENDER, June 7, 1952. NOTE: This clipping and the one just above it show that Sunnyland Slim and Muddy Waters had a long association with each other.

Above Left: Label image of Aristocrat 1304A, recorded in December 1947 and released in 1948. CASH BOX REVIEW (1/22/49): SUNNYLAND SLIM WITH MUDDY WATERS — ARISTOCRAT 1304 She Ain't Nowhere/My Baby, My Baby Pair of sides featuring Sunnyland Slim and Muddy Waters, and the set up of "She Ain't Nowhere" and "My Baby, My Baby." Top deck is done up in mellow blues tempo with Sunnyland shouting the lyrics in high style. Piano roll in the background adds to the meaning of the side and enhances the winning potential of the platter. Flip, in very slow tempo, has Sunnyland wailing about his "baby," with the background filling out in an effective manner to round out the side. Both tunes are done up with all the riff and holler one can possibly expect and should garner their fair share of coin play.

Above Right: Photo of Sunnyland Slim at his piano, as usual. LISTEN (Windows Media Player): 1. "She Ain't Nowhere" - Sunnyland Slim With Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 1304A - 1948. 2. "My Baby, My Baby" - Sunnyland Slim With Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 1304B - 1948. BOTH SONGS played in sequence.

EXTRA RECORDS — SUNNYLAND SLIM

At Left: Photo of Sunnyland Slim. No matter what piano was available at the time, he was ready and willing to play it. Above: CHICAGO DEFENDER, February 26, 1949. NOTE: Muddy Waters used the name "Blues Boys" for his combo. This is the only time I've seen this description for Sunnyland's group.

DR. CLAYTON aka PETER CLEIGHTON

Above Left: Label image of RCA Victor 20-3085-B, released in August 1948. The composer shown on the labels for both sides is "Albert Luandrew", Sunnyland's real name. This is Sunnyland's first record in his long recording career. It was recorded in 1947, but not released until 1948. Seems strange to use the pseudonym "Dr. Clayton's Buddy" when "(Sunnyland Slim)" is identified just below it, but some notoriety was supposedly gained from it. Dr. Clayton himself was Peter Cleighton, a renowned blues singer that Sunnyland had worked with in Chicago night clubs. Peter had passed away in January 1947. Above Right: Label image of JOB 102-A, recorded in February 1951 and released in 1951. The composer credit on both sides is Sunnyland Slim's real last name, but using two syllables. Sunnyland performed on twenty-one records for the JOB label (1951-1954). The above is the first released under his own name. Personnel on this record are Sunnyland Slim (piano, vocal), Robert Lockwood Jr. (guitar), Moody Jones (bass fiddle), and Alfred "Fat Man" Wallace (drums). At Direct Right: Photo of (L-R) Big Walter Horton, Floyd Jones, Sunnyland Slim, and Big Joe Williams. Horton was a preeminent harmonica player, who was in Muddy Water's band for one recordong session in January 1953. Both Jones and Williams were famed blues singers, guitarists, and songwriters. LISTEN (Windows Media Player): 1. "Across The Hall Blues" - Dr. Clayton's Buddy (Sunnyland Slim) And His Orchestra - RCA Victor 20-3085-B - 1948. 2. "Broke And Hungry" - Dr. Clayton's Buddy (Sunnyland Slim) And His Orchestra - RCA Victor 20-3085-A - 1948. 3. "Down Home Child" - Sunnyland Slim And His Trio - JOB 102-A - 1951. 4. "Sunnyland Special (Instrumental)" - Sunnyland Slim And His Trio - JOB 102-B - 1951. ALL FOUR SONGS played in sequence.

MUDDY WATERS

Above: Photo of Muddy Waters, who was loyal to his first record company, Aristocrat, staying with them and then their name change to Chess throughout his recording career. At Direct Right: A much later signed photo of Muddy Waters. CHICAGO DEFENDER, March 26, 1955: [In Muddy Waters own words....] My big break came when a talent scout for Leonard Chess, of Chess Records, heard me in a club. He understood. And he belived that what I was doing could be commercial in a big way. He took me to Leonard. Leonard thought my music was a big joke. He didn't believe in my blues. He thought it was a waste of money to invest in my career. But he didn't want to let the talent scout down and he took an immediate liking to me. My first record [under his name alone] for Chess [actually Aristocrat] was "I Feel Like Going Home" [featured below]. It went over like mad. Then the talent scout knew he had been right. Leonard knew that he had played a good hunch even if he hadn't wanted to.... A friendship developed between Leonard and myself for which I wouldn't take a million dollars. Here was a guy who had blind faith. He didn't believe in my blues, but he believed in me as a person when we started out. I got a big kick out of proving myself to him as a performer. I got more of a kick out of the fact that we became more than business associates — real intimate friends. I tell everyone who asks that the one person responsible for my success is Leonard. I had lots of records that sold in the hundreds of thousands. My most successful ones, the ones that sold a half million or more, are "Screamin' And Cryin'", "Rollin' Stone", "Still A Fool", Hootchie Kootchie Man", "I'm Ready", and "Just Make Love To Me". ....Disc jockeys all over the nation gave me a break. If it hadn't been for them, I would still be playing for people as a favor. I wouldn't dare to begin to name the radio people who have helped me. It would take all the pages in the Defender. But I couldn't sleep if I didn't say that among them, Sam Evans, of Chicago, went out of his way to push me and my music....

Above Left: Label image of Aristocrat 1305B, recorded in December 1947 and released in June 1948. Aristocrat's 1300 series continued to be used for Muddy Waters records, except for his last releases which were in the 400 series. It's interesting that a company who had become primarily rhythm and blues oriented would misspell "rhythm" as "rythm" on their labels. Apparently, nobody noticed the misspelling as it continued on Muddy's records 1307 and 1310 (further down this page). #1310 was released in June 1949, a full year after #1305. Above Right: Label image of Aristocrat 1306, recorded in August 1948 and released in October 1948. Aristocrat was inconsistent about assigning "A" and "B" to their sides. Record #1305 has "A" and "B" sides, 1306 doesn't, 1307 does, 1310 does, and 1311 doesn't. The labels on all four above sides show "Muddy Waters" as the composer. BMI.com credits "Muddy Waters" for "I Can't Be Satisfied", and "McKinley Morganfield" (Muddy's real name) for "I Feel Like Going Home", "Train Fare Blues", and "Sittin' Here Drinkin'". At Direct Right: Photo of Muddy Waters and his ever-present guitar. The Billboard Review (7/10/48): MUDDY WATERS — ARISTOCRAT 1305 I Feel Like Going Home (52) Poor recording distorts vocal and steel guitar backing. I Can't Be Satisfied (54) Same complaint as flip-side a shade more distinct. (NOTE 1: A ratings range of 40-69 was considered as "satisfactory".) (NOTE 2: Strange that this obvious distortion problem hadn't been corrected.) LISTEN (Windows Media Player): 1. "I Feel Like Going Home" - Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 1305B - 1948. 2. "I Can't Be Satisfied" - Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 1305A - 1948. 3. "Sittin' Here And Drinkin'" - Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 1306 - 1948. 4. "Train Fare Home" - Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 1306 - 1948. ALL FOUR SONGS played in sequence.

Above: Photo of Muddy Waters And His Boys, circa 1953 in Chicago. (L-R) Muddy Waters (guitar), Unsure who (maracas), Otis Spann (piano), Henry Strong (harmonica), Elga "Elgin" Edmonds (drums), and Jimmy Rogers (guitar).

At Left: Photo of a young Muddy Waters. Good chance that's an Aristocrat 78-rpm record that he's holding. Above: Label image of Aristocrat 1307A, recorded in October or November 1948 and released in February 1949. Muddy is composer of both sides. LISTEN (Windows Media Player): 1. "You're Gonna' Miss Me" - Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 1307A - 1949. 2. "Mean Red Spider" - Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 1307B - 1949. BOTH SONGS played in sequence. CASH BOX, February 5, 1949: ..... Leonard Chess of Aristocrat Records singing praises over their new disk hit, Muddy Waters' "Mean Red Spider". Leonard says, "You can look for it to hit the top, it's simply terrific." CASH BOX, February 12, 1949: ....Aristocrat Records has a potential juke box winner in "Mean Red Spider" cut by Muddy Waters.... CASH BOX REVIEW (2/19/49): MUDDY WATERS — ARISTOCRAT 1307 — You're Gonna' Miss Me/Mean Red Spider Some real low-down country blues in the offing for music ops is this pair done up here by piper Muddy Waters. Both sides spill in medium slow fashion with Muddy warbling the heavy lyrics. Titled "You're Gonna Miss Me" and "Mean Red Spider", the pair show as fair tunes that should meet with their fair share of coin play. Guitar work on the pair adds to the polish of the platter throughout. Ops should listen in. CASH BOX, February 26, 1949: ....Evelyn Aron of Aristocrat Records says Muddy Waters is the hottest thing in the South; his latest Aristocrat disk "Mean Red Spider" is selling like mad there....

At Left: Photo of Muddy Waters and his wife, Geneva. Muddy wrote a song, "Little Geneva", and it was released on the Aristocrat label in 1949. It's featured just below. CHICAGO DEFENDER, March 26, 1955: [In Muddy Waters own words....] During my travels, I met and married a wonderful girl. Her name was Geneva Wade. She is from Lexington, Miss. I'd come across many, many women, but it seems like you know immediately when you find the one who's exactly right for you. Geneva was and is today. When I met her, even though I was a recording success, there were still people who scorned my music. Geneva encouraged me to ignore them and fight for what I wanted to accomplish. I'll never be able to put into words the way I feel about her, her love and support. Maybe some day I'll write a song and do it. We have a wonderful life together. We have a 19-year-old daughter, Azine, and a 14-year-old son, Charles. We have just bought a home in Chicago.

Above Left: Label image of Aristocrat 1310-B, recorded in October or November 1948 and released in June 1949. As usual, all four of the above sides were composed by Muddy Waters. Above Middle: CASH BOX, July 30, 1949. NOTE: Aristocrat was one of two companies that distributed Aristocrat in the Chicago area. Above Right: Label image of Aristocrat 1311, recorded in July 1949 and released in November 1949. This was the last release in Aristocrat's 1300 series, but not for Muddy, who had three more records in the 400 series.

"Little Geneva" was Muddy's tribute to his wife (see photo further above). LISTEN (Windows Media Player): 1. "Muddy Jumps One (Instrumental)" - Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 1310-B - 1949. 2. "Streamlined Woman" - Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 1310-A - 1949. 3. "Little Geneva" - Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 1311 - 1949. 4. "Canary Bird" - Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 1311 - 1949. ALL FOUR SONGS played in sequence.

Above: Label image of Aristocrat 412, recorded in February 1950 and released in March 1950. Muddy does the vocal and plays guitar, with Big Crawford playing the bass fiddle on this record. Muddy recorded "Rollin' And Tumblin'" for Aristocrat the month after the original Parkway version was recorded, but Aristocrat managed to release it ahead of the Parkway disc (see further below on this page for the Parkway record). It is Muddy Waters' last record on the Aristocrat label. His next release would be on the renamed record company's Chess label (Chess 1426, "Rollin' Stone"/"Walking Blues", recorded in the same Aristocrat 412 session and released in June 1950). At Right: Photo of Big Bill Broonzy and Muddy Waters circa 1950 in Chicago. Big Bill, of course, was a renowned blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He lived in Chicago, moving there in 1920. Dig those spats on Bill's shoes. LISTEN (Windows Media Player): 1. "Rollin' And Tumblin' (Part 1)" - Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 412 - 1950. 2. "Rollin' And Tumblin' (Part 2)" - Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 412 - 1950. BOTH SONGS played in sequence.

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER (August 13, 1949): $35,000 MYSTERY BLAZE RAZES ARISTOCRAT OFFICES CHICAGO—A Mystery blaze completely destroyed the general offices and store rooms of the Aristocrat Recording Company, 5249 Cottage Grove Avenue last week. According to officials of the company, damages estimated at $35,000 were suffered in the loss of equipment and close to 40,000 records of a long list of recently pressed tunes which had not been released. Officials stated that robbers broke into the offices, ransacked the premises looking for cash, and probably set fire to the place after a futile search which netted nothing. Late pressings by Andrew Tibbs, blues singer; Tom Archia and his combo, Duke Jenkins, Muddy Waters, and others were destroyed in the blaze. Fire officials have not been able to determine the origin. Temporary offices have been set up at 5253 Cottage Grove Avenue and, according to Dave Clark, public relations executive, the huge backlog of orders will be filled within the next week.

EXTRA RECORDS — MUDDY WATERS

Above Left: Label image of Chess 1480, recorded in July 1951 and released in September 1951. It comes as no surprise that Muddy composed the songs on all four sides of the above records. Above Right: Label image of Chess 1550, recorded in September 1953 and released in October 1953. This is the first recording session to include Muddy's regular pianist, Otis Spann. At Direct Right: CASH BOX, November 14, 1953. Cash Box Review (10/31/53): MUDDY WATERS — CHESS 1550 Blow Wind, Blow (B) Muddy Waters, accompanied by his ever present guitar, dishes up a middle tempo southern blues with gusto. Waters wails his baby who is out with another guy. Mad Love (B) The southern blues chanter delivers a slow blues in staccato that is very effective. Two solid sides for the Muddy Waters fans. (NOTE: A rating of B was considered as "very good".) The Billboard Review (10/31/53): MUDDY WATERS — CHESS 1550 Blow Wind, Blow (77) Waters has a swinging, rhythmic side here which gives him a chance to show off his vocal ability, as well as some first-rate guitar work. Side is potent and should do right well in the Southern states and many Northern areas. Good wax for the market. Mad Love (75) Muddy Waters tells his baby that he needs all her loving on this good Southern blues waxing. Should pull both spins and loot in the South. (NOTE: A ratings range of 70-79 was considered as "good".) LISTEN (Windows Media Player): 1. "Still A Fool" - Muddy Waters - Chess 1480 - 1951. 2. "My Fault" - Muddy Waters - Chess 1480 - 1951. 3. "Blow Wind, Blow" - Muddy Waters - Chess 1550 - 1953. 4. "Mad Love" - Muddy Waters - Chess 1550 - 1953. ALL FOUR SONGS played in sequence.

At Far Left: CHICAGO DEFENDER, August 5, 1950. NOTE: The Blues Rockers, shown at the bottom, had two records released on Aristocrat (1949-1950). At Close Left: CASH BOX, September 15, 1951. NOTE: The ad preparer must have had Howlin' Wolf on his mind. "Still A Wolf" should be "Still A Fool". Above: CASH BOX, September 22, 1951. NOTE: "Still A Fool" was corrected in the following week's Cash Box magazine. However, the ad preparer didn't include the record numbers this time.

MUDDY WATERS

Above Left: Label image of Chess 1571, recorded in April 1954 and released in May 1954. The actual words sung on the top side are "I Just Want To Make Love To You." It was composed by the ubiquitous Willie Dixon, achieving the "BMI Award Winning Song" honor for it. The flip-side, "Oh! Yeh", was also written by Willie Dixon. Willie James Dixon is credited with 422 titles at BMI, earning a total of 7 BMI Award Winning Songs. Above Right: THE BILLBOARD, June 5, 1954. NOTE 1: Although the advertisement is from the "Checker Record Co.", if you look closely, the white background is in the form of a chess knight. NOTE 2: Chess 1566 "No Place To Go" is by Howlin' Wolf and Checker 796 "You're Mine" is by Danny Overbea. At Direct Right: CASH BOX, June 5, 1954. CASH BOX, June 19, 1954: ....Muddy Waters' "Just Make Love To Me" had one of the fastest climbs we've seen in a long time. Though out just a few weeks, disk is right up on top locally as well as nationally.... CASH BOX, June 19, 1954: ....Muddy Waters is having a tough time replacing the harmonica player in his group, since the death of his present one this past week. (NOTE: Muddy's harmonica player was Henry Strong (in a photo further up on this page). Henry's girlfriend accidentally stabbed him with scissors during an argument.) CASH BOX, June 26, 1954: .... Another of Len and Phil Chess' stars, Muddy Waters, just back from a successful engagement in Birmingham. And simply thrilled to return and find his "Just Make Love To Me" in the No. 1 spot here in the Windy City.... LISTEN (Windows Media Player): 1. "Just Make Love To Me" - Muddy Waters - Chess 1571 - 1954. 2. "Oh! Yeh" - Muddy Waters - Chess 1571 - 1954. BOTH SONGS played in sequence.

LEROY FOSTER

Above Left: Photo of (Left) Leroy Foster, blues singer, guitarist, and drummer, standing with an unknown person. Leroy grew up in Mississppi and moved to Chicago in 1945. He recorded as "Leroy Foster", "Baby Face Foster", and "Baby Face". Prior to having one record issued under his name (and Muddy Waters) on the Aristocrat label (1949), he had two on Chicago Records, two more on their affiliated label, Harlem, and one on King's subsidiary label, Queen. Above Right: Photo of Leroy Foster with his wife, Betty, on their wedding day in 1947.

Above: Label image of Aristocrat 1234-A, recorded in October or November 1948 and released, about six months later, in April 1949. Leroy Foster is composer on both sides. At Right: CHICAGO DEFENDER, May 5, 1951. (An amazing lineup of blues artists!) NOTE 1: "J. B." is probably J.B. Lenoir, a blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. NOTE 2: St. Louis Jimmy is another blues singer who recorded for the Aristocrat label. He had one record for them, released in May 1949. On that one, Jimmy performed the vocals with "Muddy Waters And His Blues Combo and Sunnyland Slim", also credited on the labels, backing him instrumentally. Jimmy is included in this article further down the page. LISTEN (Windows Media Player): 1. "Locked Out Boogie" - Leroy Foster And Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 1234-A - 1948. 2. "Shady Grove Blues" - Leroy Foster And Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 1234-B - 1948. BOTH SONGS played in sequence.

EXTRA RECORDS — LEROY FOSTER

Above Left: Label image of Tempo-Tone TT-1002-A, recorded in May 1949 and released in 1949. Both sides were composed by Little Walter. Leroy Foster plays the guitar on both sides. At the start of the flip-side, "I Want My Baby", Little Walter sings "and Geneva one time...". "Geneva" was Muddy Waters' wife's name. The musicians on this record are Little Walter (vocal, harmonica), Sunnyland Slim (piano), Muddy Waters* (guitar) Leroy Foster (guitar), and Elga Edmonds (drums). *Name spelled incorrectly on the labels. Above Middle: Label image of Parkway 501, recorded in January 1950 and released in 1950. "Baby Face Leroy" is Leroy Foster (vocal, guitar). The other members of the trio were Little Walter (harmonica) and Muddy Waters (guitar). Little Walter and Muddy can also be heard backing Leroy vocally on the record. As shown on the label, the song was composed by Muddy Waters, who re-recorded it in February 1950. His version was released on Aristocrat 412 in March 1950. Above Right: Label image of Parkway 104, recorded in January 1950 and released in 1950. Leroy Foster composed and does the vocal on both sides. At Direct Right: Photo of "Baby Face" Leroy Foster and his guitar. THE BILLBOARD, February 4, 1950: PASSIS IN CHICAGO SETS UP OWN LABEL FOR BLUES, RHYTHMS CHICAGO—Another indie label distributor announced the formation of his own record label recently when Monroe Passis, chief of Chord Distributors here, set up his own Parkway disks, which will be exclusively a blues and rhythm diskery. Passis will operate the label as a separate subsidiary under Hit Record Distributors, 2320 South Michigan Avenue. Officers of the firm are Passis, prexy; Ernie Leaner, veepee in charge of artists and repertoire, and George Leaner, veepee in charge of sales and promotion. The Parkway label, which will go for 79 cents retail on 10-inch shellac, has two artists on its tee-off release, the Little Walter Trio and the Baby Face Leroy Trio. Thus far, Passis has the following distributors: Sam Klayman, Cincinnati, and Major Distributing, New York. (NOTE: The members in the "Little Walter Trio" were the same as the "Baby Face Leroy Trio", except Little Walter did the vocals. That record was on Parkway 502, "Moonshine Blues" and "Just Keep Lovin' Her", both songs composed by (Little) Walter Jacobs. Little Walter had a long and successful career on the Checker label, a subsidiary of Chess Records. His biggest hit was "My Babe" reaching #1 on Billboard's R & B Best Seller List in April-May 1955.)

THE CALL (Kansas City, Missouri), March 10, 1950: A new label makes its debut in Chicago with a new tune and new artists that will bear watching. The diskery sports the name of "Parkway" and has its first waxing a part 1 and 2 sided thing called "Rollin' And Tumblin'". Authored by Muddy Waters, one of the leading blues artists of the old school, the tune is done in a "way down home" manner by the Baby Face Leroy Trio, with Baby Face crying the vocal. Tempo for this primitive-sounding tune (instruments are guitar, drums, and harmonica) is fast paced.

CASH BOX REVIEW (4/8/50): BABY FACE LEROY TRIO — PARKWAY 501 Rollin' And Tumblin' Parts 1 and 2 Take the title of this one, add a fair enough vocal and some effective rhythm, and you've got the story on this platter. Titled "Rollin' and Tumblin'", the disk turns out to be just that, with a vocal by Baby Face LeRoy hogging the lime. Wax won't stop traffic, but it will grab off some juke box play.

LISTEN (Windows Media Player): 1. "Blue Baby" - Sunny Land Slim And Muddy Water (Vocal By Little Walter) - Tempo-Tone TT-1002-A - 1949. 2. "I Want My Baby" - Sunny Land Slim And Muddy Water (Vocal By Little Walter) - Tempo-Tone TT-1002-B - 1949. 3. "Rollin' And Tumblin' Part 1 and 2" - Baby Face Leroy Trio - Parkway 501 - 1950. 4. "Red Headed Woman" - Baby Face Leroy Trio - Parkway 104 - 1950. 5. "Boll Weevil" - Baby Face Leroy Trio - Parkway 104 - 1950. ALL FIVE SONGS played in sequence.

ST. LOUIS JIMMY

Above: Photo of St. Louis Jimmy, a blues singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was born James Burke Oden, getting his stage name while performing in St. Louis, where he teamed with Roosevelt Sykes, another blues singer. They both left St. Louis, moving to Chicago in 1932. There, at 29 years old, Jimmy started a long successful recording career. His first records were as "Jimmy Oden", "Old Man Oden", and "Big Bloke", but changed his name to "St. Louis Jimmy" when he went to Bluebird Records, an RCA Victor subsidiary label, in the early 1940s. Other labels that Jimmy recorded for in the 1940s include Bullet, Opera, RCA Victor/Bluebird, Miracle, Aristocrat, J.O.B., Mercury, and Apollo. In the 1950s, he recorded for Herald, Duke, and Parrot.

Above: Label images for both sides of Aristocrat 7001, recorded in September 1948 and released in May 1949. This is St. Louis Jimmy's only record on the Aristocrat label. Personnel on this record are St. Louis Jimmy (vocal), Sunnyland Slim (piano), Muddy Waters (guitar), Oliver Alcorn (tenor sax), and Ernest "Big" Crawford (bass fiddle). CASH BOX REVIEW (5/7/49): ST. LOUIS JIMMY — ARISTOCRAT 7001 Florida Hurricane/So Nice And Kind Pair of sides in the country blues manner by St. Louis Jimmy, and the set-up of "Florida Hurricane" and "So Nice And Kind" in the offing for music ops. Both sides of this platter weave slow tempo, with Jimmy strumming some heavy guitar throughout. It's real low-down blues, the kind that draws consistent play in phonos throughout the land. Music ops should listen in to these sides—and then get 'em on the boxes. (NOTE: Jimmy was a piano player, but did only the vocal on this record. Sunnyland Slim played the piano and Muddy Waters "strummed" the guitar.)

Above Middle: CHICAGO DEFENDER, April 2, 1949: ST. LOUIS JIMMY, the "Blues Man", who jumped to fame a few years back with his recording of "Going Down Slow", returned to the platter parade this week when he cut eight sides for Aristocrat, including two originals, "So Nice And Kind" and "Florida Hurricane", which he presents in the original St. Louis Jimmy Style. NOTE: "Going Down Slow" was issued as by "St. Louis Jimmy" on Bluebird B-8889-B in December 1941. In 1948, he recorded an "answer record" titled "Coming Up Fast", released on Opera 4A in 1949 (see further below on this page). He re-recorded "Going Down Slow" for Parrot Records in 1956 (also see further below on this page). LISTEN (Windows Media Player): 1. "So Nice And Kind" - St. Louis Jimmy (Muddy Waters And His Blues Combo With Sunnyland Slim) - Aristocrat 7001 A - 1949. 2. "Florida Hurricane" - St. Louis Jimmy (Muddy Waters And His Blues Combo With Sunnyland Slim) - Aristocrat 7001 B - 1949. BOTH SONGS played in sequence.

Above: Photo of Muddy Waters, St. Louis Jimmy, and husband and wife, Chris Barber and Ottilie Patterson, taken in Chicago in 1959. Chris was from England and Ottilie from Northern Ireland. He was a jazz bandleader and she a blues singer in his band. They were married in 1959.

EXTRA RECORDS — ST. LOUIS JIMMY

Above Left: Label image of Opera 4A, recorded in October 1947 and released in 1947. Matrix numbers indicate the sides had been recorded for Chicago's Hy-Tone label. All four above sides were composed by St. Louis Jimmy. It was his only record on the Opera label. The line-up for this record is St. Louis Jimmy (vocal), Roosevelt Sykes (piano), Lamont "Guitar Pete" Franklin (guitar), and possibly Alfred Elkins (bass fiddle). Above Right: Label image of Miracle M-134, recorded in circa August 1948 and released in 1949. In blues slang, a "biscuit roller" is a "delectable young woman". It's Jimmy's only record on the Miracle label. On this Miracle record, it's St. Louis Jimmy (vocal), Roosevelt Sykes (piano), Eddie Chamblee (tenor sax), unknown guitar, bass fuddle, and drums. LISTEN (Windows Media Player): 1. "Coming Up Fast" - St. Louis Jimmy - Opera 4A - 1947. 2. "One Doggone Reason" - St. Louis Jimmy - Opera 4B - 1947. 3. "Biscuit Roller" - St. Louis Jimmy - Miracle M-134 - 1949. 4. "I'm Sorry Now" - St. Louis Jimmy - Miracle M-134 - 1949. ALL FOUR SONGS played in sequence.

Above: THE BILLBOARD, July 30, 1949. NOTE: Although Eddie Chamblee's M-133 and Tommy Dean's M-135 records were included in the advertisement, St. Louis Jimmy's M-134 was not.

Above Left: Label image of Mercury 8137, recorded in April 1949 and released in 1949. Both sides were composed by St. Louis Jimmy. It was his only record on Mercury. The line-up for this record is St. Louis Jimmy (vocal), Roosevelt Sykes (piano), Lamont "Guitar Pete" Franklin (guitar), and possibly Alfred Elkins (bass fiddle). Above Right: Label image of J.O.B. 101B, recorded in circa August 1949 and released in 1949. J.O.B. was founded in 1949 by businessman Joe Brown and St. Louis Jimmy. Wonder if the initials J.O.B. were for "Jimmy/Joe Oden Brown". The labels show both sides were composed by Oden (Jimmy) and Brown. It's Jimmy's only record on the J.O.B. (aka JOB) label. For this one, it was St. Louis Jimmy (vocal), Sunnyland Slim (piano), Sam Casimir (guitar), and Andrew Harris (bass fiddle). At Direct Right: Photo of Jack L. Cooper, a Chicago radio disk jockey. Per the Radio Hall Of Fame, he is considered to be the first black radio announcer in America. CASH BOX REVIEW (6/4/49): ST. LOUIS JIMMY - SUNNYLAND SLIM ORCH. — MERCURY 8137 I'll Never Be Satisfied/Shame On You Baby Pair of sides done up in the lowdown blues fashion, with St. Louis Jimmy and the Sunnyland Slim ork serving it up. Both sides of the platter spin in slow tempo, with Jimmy warbling the heavy blues wordage with lots of gusto. Steady guitar strum in the background makes for nice listening, while Jimmy's vocal work rounds out the sides in effective manner. Both sides rate ops listening time—and possibly more. LISTEN (Windows Media Player): 1. "Shame On You Baby" - St. Louis Jimmy - Mercury 8137 - 1949. 2. "I'll Never Be Satisfied" - St. Louis Jimmy - Mercury 8137 - 1949. 3. "Jack L. Cooper" - St. Louis Jimmy - J.O.B. 101B - 1949. 4. "Mother's Day" - St. Louis Jimmy - J.O.B. 101A - 1949. ALL FOUR SONGS played in sequence.

Above Left: Label image of Parrot 823, recorded in April 1956 and released in May 1956. It was St. Louis Jimmy's only record on either Chicago's Parrot Records or subsidiary Blue Lake. The labels for both sides credit "Burton & Oden". John Burton was the president of Parrot Records at the time. James Oden is St. Louis Jimmy's real name. On this record, the vocal is by Jimmy backed by the Red Saunders Band: Sonny Cohn (trumpet), Riley Hampton (alto sax), Paul Bascomb (tenor sax), McKinley Easton (bars), Earl Washington (piano), unknown (guitar), prob Jimmy Richards (bass fiddle), Red Saunders (drums). Above Right: CASH BOX, June 16, 1956. NOTE: Parrot Records heavily promoted Jimmy's disk in both The Billboard and Cash Box magazines with several large ads. At Direct Right: Photo of St. Louis Jimmy. He was an accomplished pianist, but usually let someone else play that instrument when recording as a vocalist. CASH BOX, June 9, 1956: ....Joe Burton of Parrot Records sees even bigger things from his "Murder In The First Degree" and "Going Down Slow". He claims it could be a two-sided-hit for the new company.... (NOTE: Renowned Chicago disk jockey, Al Benson, started Parrot Records in late 1952.) CASH BOX, June 16, 1956: ....Parrot Records disking of "Going Down Slow" certainly isn't. John Burton claims this side, coupled with "Murder In The First Degree", sung ably by St. Louis Jimmy, is a real hot item.... (NOTE: John Burton had bought Parrot/Blue Lake a few months earlier. This St. Louis Jimmy record is the first produced by him as the new owner. It also was the last record released on the Parrot label, going down quickly.) CASH BOX, June 30, 1956: ....St. Louis Jimmy is sentenced to a top seller, "Murder In The First Degree", informs John Burton, the Parrot Records president.... LISTEN (Windows Media Player): 1. "Murder In The First Degree" - St. Louis Jimmy - Parrot 823 - 1956. 2. "Going Down Slow" - St. Louis Jimmy - Parrot 823 - 1956. BOTH SONGS played in sequence.

NOTE: Restoration of photos, clippings, record label images, and audio is by Tony Fournier.

ARISTOCRAT RECORDS - PART ONE FEATURES ARISTOCRAT'S BEGINNINGS. ARTISTS INCLUDED ARE SHERMAN HAYES, WYOMA WINTERS, THE 5 BLAZES, JACKIE CAIN, GEORGE DAVIS, ROY KRAL, JUMP JACKSON, MELROSE COLBERT, TOM ARCHIA, SHEBA GRIFFIN, BENNY KELLY, JO JO ADAMS, GENE AMMONS, AND FLOYD SMITH. ARISTOCRAT RECORDS - PART TWO FEATURES IN-DEPTH COVERAGE OF CLARENCE SAMUELS, ANDREW TIBBS, THE DOZIER BOYS, PRINCE COOPER TRIO, AND SAX MALLARD ORCHESTRA.

Listen to this article's audio selections using Windows Media Player:           1. "Johnson Machine Gun" - Sunny Land Slim And Muddy Water - Aristocrat 1301A - 1948.           2. "Fly Right, Little Girl" - Sunny Land Slim And Muddy Water - Aristocrat 1301B - 1948.           3. "Gypsy Woman" - Muddy Water With Sunny Land Slim - Aristocrat 1302A - 1948.           4. "Little Anna Mae" - Muddy Water With Sunny Land Slim - Aristocrat 1302B - 1948.           5. "She Ain't Nowhere" - Sunnyland Slim With Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 1304A - 1948.           6. "My Baby, My Baby" - Sunnyland Slim With Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 1304B - 1948.           7. "Across The Hall Blues" - Dr. Clayton's Buddy (Sunnyland Slim) And His Orchestra - RCA Victor 20-3085-B - 1948.           8. "Broke And Hungry" - Dr. Clayton's Buddy (Sunnyland Slim) And His Orchestra - RCA Victor 20-3085-A - 1948.           9. "Down Home Child" - Sunnyland Slim And His Trio - JOB 102-A - 1951.         10. "Sunnyland Special (Instrumental)" - Sunnyland Slim And His Trio - JOB 102-B - 1951.         11. "I Feel Like Going Home" - Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 1305B - 1948.         12. "I Can't Be Satisfied" - Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 1305A - 1948.         13. "Sittin' Here And Drinkin'" - Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 1306 - 1948.         14. "Train Fare Home" - Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 1306 - 1948.         15. "You're Gonna' Miss Me" - Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 1307A - 1949.         16. "Mean Red Spider" - Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 1307B - 1949.         17. "Muddy Jumps One (Instrumental)" - Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 1310-B - 1949.         18. "Streamlined Woman" - Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 1310-A - 1949.         19. "Little Geneva" - Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 1311 - 1949.         20. "Canary Bird" - Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 1311 - 1949.         21. "Rollin' And Tumblin' (Part 1)" - Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 412 - 1950.         22. "Rollin' And Tumblin' (Part 2)" - Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 412 - 1950.         23. "Still A Fool" - Muddy Waters - Chess 1480 - 1951.         24. "My Fault" - Muddy Waters - Chess 1480 - 1951.         25. "Blow Wind, Blow" - Muddy Waters - Chess 1550 - 1953.         26. "Mad Love" - Muddy Waters - Chess 1550 - 1953.         27. "Just Make Love To Me" - Muddy Waters - Chess 1571 - 1954.         28. "Oh! Yeh" - Muddy Waters - Chess 1571 - 1954.         29. "Locked Out Boogie" - Leroy Foster And Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 1234-A - 1948.         30. "Shady Grove Blues" - Leroy Foster And Muddy Waters - Aristocrat 1234-B - 1948.         31. "Blue Baby" - Sunny Land Slim And Muddy Water (Vocal By Little Walter) - Tempo-Tone TT-1002-A - 1949.         32. "I Want My Baby" - Sunny Land Slim And Muddy Water (Vocal By Little Walter) - Tempo-Tone TT-1002-B - 1949.         33. "Rollin' And Tumblin' Part 1 and 2" - Baby Face Leroy Trio - Parkway 501 - 1950.         34. "Red Headed Woman" - Baby Face Leroy Trio - Parkway 104 - 1950.         35. "Boll Weevil" - Baby Face Leroy Trio - Parkway 104 - 1950.         36. "So Nice And Kind" - St. Louis Jimmy (Muddy Waters And His Blues Combo With Sunnyland Slim) - Aristocrat 7001 A - 1949.         37. "Florida Hurricane" - St. Louis Jimmy (Muddy Waters And His Blues Combo With Sunnyland Slim) - Aristocrat 7001 B - 1949.         38. "Coming Up Fast" - St. Louis Jimmy - Opera 4A - 1947.         39. "One Doggone Reason" - St. Louis Jimmy - Opera 4B - 1947.         40. "Biscuit Roller" - St. Louis Jimmy - Miracle M-134 - 1949.         41. "I'm Sorry Now" - St. Louis Jimmy - Miracle M-134 - 1949.         42. "Shame On You Baby" - St. Louis Jimmy - Mercury 8137 - 1949.         43. "I'll Never Be Satisfied" - St. Louis Jimmy - Mercury 8137 - 1949.         44. "Jack L. Cooper" - St. Louis Jimmy - J.O.B. 101B - 1949.         45. "Mother's Day" - St. Louis Jimmy - J.O.B. 101A - 1949.         46. "Murder In The First Degree" - St. Louis Jimmy - Parrot 823 - 1956.         47. "Going Down Slow" - St. Louis Jimmy - Parrot 823 - 1956.             ALL FORTY-SEVEN ABOVE SONGS played in sequence.           ALL TWENTY-EIGHT ABOVE ARISTOCRAT AND CHESS LABEL SONGS played in sequence.           At Right: CASH BOX, March 11, 1950.           (Note: From just a few months before their name change to "Chess Records".)

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