Sunnyland Slim
Sunnyland Slim, born Albert Luandrew on September 5, 1906, near Vance, Mississippi, was a blues pianist and singer. He grew up on a Mississippi Delta farm and moved to Memphis in 1925 to play with famous blues musicians. He took the stage name Sunnyland Slim from the song "Sunnyland Train," about a railroad between Memphis and St. Louis. In 1942 he moved to Chicago, joining the city’s growing electric blues scene. There he played with Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Robert Lockwood Jr., and Little Walter. His piano style features a strong left-hand bass with vamping chords and tremolo on the right, and his voice is loud and declamatory.
His first recording as a singer was with Armand "Jump" Jackson's band for Specialty Records in September 1946. He made his first records as a bandleader for Hy-Tone and Aristocrat in late 1947. He also released one record for RCA Victor under the name Dr. Clayton's Buddy, Illinois Central backed with Sweet Lucy Blues. In the late 1960s he befriended the band Canned Heat and played piano on Turpentine Moan on their Boogie with Canned Heat album. Canned Heat members later contributed to Sunnyland Slim's 1969 Liberty Records album Slim's Got His Thing Goin' On, which also featured Mick Taylor.
Sunnyland Slim received the National Heritage Fellowship in 1988 from the National Endowment for the Arts, the United States government’s top honor in folk and traditional arts. He continued to perform until his death in March 1995 in Chicago from kidney failure at the age of 88.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 06:19 (CET).