Sunnyland Slim

Albert "Sunnyland Slim" Luandrew (September 5, 1907 – March 17, 1995) was an American blues pianist from the Mississippi delta. He later went to Chicago where he became one of the most important piano players in Chicago's blues scene. Sunnyland Slim was one of the most important persons in Chicago blues history, but he really never became a star because he did most of his work as sideman.
Life.
He was born on a farm near Vance, Mississippi. He taught himself to play piano and organ and began playing in a local church when he was 14. Soon played in juke joints in the whole delta area. In 1925 he went to Memphis, Tennessee where he played with local musicians like Little Brother Montgomery and Ma Rainey. There he also got his stage name writing a song about the Sunnyland train which ran between Memphis and St. Louis, Missouri. In 1942 he went to Chicago.
As the electric blues began Sunnyland Slim played with blues musicians like Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Robert Lockwood, Jr., and Little Walter. Muddy Waters partially owed his recording career at Chess Records to Sunnyland Slim who introduced him to the Chess brothers at his own birthday party. His first recording was as a singer with Jump Jackson's band on the Specialty label in September 1946 and his first recording as band leader was in 1947. Between 1948 and 1956 he recorded for Hytone, Opera, Chance, Tempo-Tone, Mercury, Apollo, JOB, Regal, Vee-Jay (unissued), Blue Lake, Club 51, Cobra. In 1988 he was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship. He went on touring and recording till his death in 1995.