Sunnyland Slim: House Rent Party

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 Oden. 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 Apollo's jazz and blues catalogs. Among the artist's recordings acquired were Chicago blues pianist and elder statesman Sunnyland Slim, (born Albert Luandrew).

Over forty years after the event, Delmark's release House Rent Party showcases Slim's Apollo recordings. The album features nine previously unreleased tracks "Hard Time (When Mothers Gone)," "I'm in Love," "Nervous Breakdown," and "Old Age Has Got Me," combined with alternate takes on the songs "I'm Just a Lonesome Man" and "Sad Old Sunday." A key figure in turning the blues from a rural to an urban art form, Sunnyland's instantly recognizable barrel house piano style and rising falsetto helped define the golden age of Chicago blues.

Operating on the South side, Slim traveled from Mississippi to Memphis, settling in Chicago in the 1930s. By the 1940s, he had recorded eight sides for RCA Victor label. Songs such as "Across the Hall Blues," I Got a Broken Heart," "I'm Broken," and "Walking Shoes," earned the traveling bluesman a permanent residency in the Windy City's emerging blues scene.

It would be Slim's recordings, during August 26th and 28th of 1949—on the Apollo recording label that document the genesis of the new urbanized style.

From the onset, House Rent Party catapults the listener to the scene of 1940s Chicago. Sunnyland's "I'm Just a Lonesome Man" is a steady rolling blues featuring guitar work from Sam Casimer. Slim's voice is powerful, and his piano is articulate and to the point.

Switching to St. Louis Jimmy Oden on lead vocal, "Sad Ole Sunday," finds Oden lamenting the loss of his mother while Slim hammers out cascading piano responses. Oden, a successful singer and songwriter originally from Nashville, Tennessee, recorded the hits "Going Down Slow," "Take the Bitter with the Sweet" and "Soon Forgotten," also later recorded by his friend Muddy Waters.

Another highlight on the album is the singing and piano work of Willie Mabon. The song "Boogie Man," a fun little number with down home country harmonica, contrasts with the more sincere blues numbers on the album. Also featured on the disk are "Chicago Woman" and "That's Alright" by Jimmy Rogers. Rogers would join the original Muddy Waters band in the 1950s. A Blues Hall of Famer, Rogers' song, "That's All Right" was inducted by the organization in 2016 as a "Classic of Blues Recording," which identified it as a blues standard.

In preserving Slim's legacy, Delmark's House Rent Party successfully sheds light on the importance of this legendary Chicago Blues giant. Sunnyland Slim was not just a true embodiment of a pure Mississippi Delta piano style, but an innovator of a new kind of blues.