Willie Dixon

Willie Dixon

Dixon at Harry Hope's, in Cary, Illinois, 1979
Background information
Birth name William James Dixon
Born (1915-07-01)July 1, 1915
Vicksburg, Mississippi, U.S.
Died January 29, 1992(1992-01-29) (aged 76)
Burbank, California
Genres Blues, rock and roll, Chicago blues, jump blues, rhythm and blues, gospel
Occupation(s) Musician, songwriter, arranger, record producer, boxer
Instruments Vocals, double bass, guitar
Years active 1939–92
Labels Chess, Cobra, Columbia, Bluesville, Checker, Verve, MCA, Legacy, Columbia, Yambo
Associated acts Big Three Trio, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Lowell Fulson, Sonny Boy Williamson, Chuck Berry, Otis Rush, Buddy Guy, Magic Sam, Junior Wells, Otis Spann
Website www.willie-dixon.com

William James "Willie" Dixon (July 1, 1915 – January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer.[1] A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the upright bass and the guitar and as a vocalist, he is perhaps best known as one of the most prolific songwriters of his time. Next to Muddy Waters, Dixon is recognized as the most influential person in shaping the post–World War II sound of the Chicago blues.[2]

Dixon's songs have been recorded by countless musicians in many genres as well as by various ensembles in which he participated. A short list of his most famous compositions includes "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You", "Little Red Rooster", "My Babe", "Spoonful", and "You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover". These tunes were written during the peak of Chess Records, 1950–1965, and performed by Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, and Bo Diddley; they influenced a generation of musicians worldwide.[3]

Dixon also was an important link between the blues and rock and roll, working with Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley in the late 1950s. His songs have been covered by some of the biggest artists of more recent times, such as Cream, Jeff Beck, the Doors, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Steppenwolf, Bob Dylan, and Jimi Hendrix. The debut albums by the first six of those artists all feature at least one of his songs, a measure of his influence on rock music. Dixon is an inductee in the Blues, Rock and Roll, and Songwriters Halls of Fame.

Biography

Dixon at Monterey Jazz Festival, 1981

Early life

Dixon was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, on July 1, 1915.[1] His mother, Daisy, often rhymed things she said, a habit her son imitated. At the age of seven, young Dixon became an admirer of a band that featured pianist Little Brother Montgomery. He sang his first song at Springfield Baptist Church at the age of four[4] Dixon was first introduced to blues when he served time on prison farms in Mississippi as a young teenager. Later in his teens, he learned how to sing harmony from a local carpenter, Theo Phelps, who led a gospel quintet, the Union Jubilee Singers, in which Dixon sang bass; the group regularly performed on the Vicksburg radio station WQBC.[5] He began adapting his poems into songs and even sold some to local music groups.

Adulthood

Dixon left Mississippi for Chicago in 1936. A man of considerable stature, standing 6 and a half feet tall and weighing over 250 pounds, he took up boxing, at which he was successful, winning the Illinois State Golden Gloves Heavyweight Championship (Novice Division) in 1937.[6] He became a professional boxer and worked briefly as Joe Louis's sparring partner, but after four fights he left boxing in a dispute with his manager over money.

Dixon met Leonard Caston at a boxing gym, where they would harmonize at times. Dixon performed in several vocal groups in Chicago, but it was Caston that persuaded him to pursue music seriously.[7] Caston built him his first bass, made of a tin can and one string. Dixon's experience singing bass made the instrument familiar.[8] He also learned to play the guitar.

In 1939, Dixon was a founding member of the Five Breezes, with Caston, Joe Bell, Gene Gilmore and Willie Hawthorne. The group blended blues, jazz, and vocal harmonies, in the mode of the Ink Spots. Dixon's progress on the upright bass came to an abrupt halt with the advent of World War II, when he refused induction into military service as a conscientious objector and was imprisoned for ten months.[1] He refused to go to war because he would not fight for a nation in which institutionalized racism and racist laws were prevalent.[9] After the war, he formed a group named the Four Jumps of Jive. He then reunited with Caston, forming the Big Three Trio, which went on to record for Columbia Records.

Pinnacle of career

Dixon (right), with his friend Joe Louis Walker

Dixon signed with Chess Records as a recording artist, but he began performing less, being more involved with administrative tasks for the label. By 1951, he was a full-time employee at Chess, where he acted as producer, talent scout, session musician and staff songwriter. He was also a producer for the Chess subsidiary Checker Records. His relationship with Chess was sometimes strained, but he stayed with the label from 1948 to the early 1960s. During this time Dixon's output and influence were prodigious. From late 1956 to early 1959, he worked in a similar capacity for Cobra Records, for which he produced early singles for Otis Rush, Magic Sam, and Buddy Guy.[10] He later recorded for Bluesville Records.[11] From the late 1960s until the mid-1970s, Dixon ran his own record label, Yambo Records, and two subsidiary labels, Supreme and Spoonful. He released his 1971 album, Peace?, on Yambo and also singles by McKinley Mitchell, Lucky Peterson and others.[12]

Dixon is considered one of the key figures in the creation of Chicago blues. He worked with Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Otis Rush, Bo Diddley, Joe Louis Walker, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Koko Taylor, Little Milton, Eddie Boyd, Jimmy Witherspoon, Lowell Fulson, Willie Mabon, Memphis Slim, Washboard Sam, Jimmy Rogers, Sam Lay and others.

In December 1964, the Rolling Stones reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart with their cover of Dixon's "Little Red Rooster".[13]

In his later years, Dixon became a tireless ambassador for the blues and a vocal advocate for its practitioners, founding the Blues Heaven Foundation, which works to preserve the legacy of the blues and to secure copyrights and royalties for blues musicians who were exploited in the past. Speaking with the simple eloquence that was a hallmark of his songs, Dixon claimed, "The blues are the roots and the other musics are the fruits. It's better keeping the roots alive, because it means better fruits from now on. The blues are the roots of all American music. As long as American music survives, so will the blues." In 1977, unhappy with the small royalties paid by Chess's publishing company Arc Music, Dixon and Muddy Waters sued Arc and, with the proceeds from the settlement, founded their own publishing company, Hoochie Coochie Music.[14]

In 1987, Dixon reached an out-of-court settlement with Led Zeppelin after suing them for plagiarism in their use of his music in "Bring It On Home" and lyrics from his composition "You Need Love" (1962) in their track "Whole Lotta Love".[15]

Dixon's health deteriorated increasingly during the 1970s and the 1980s, primarily as a result of long-term diabetes. Eventually one of his legs was amputated.[1]

Dixon was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980, at the inaugural session of the Blues Foundation's ceremony.[16] In 1989 he received a Grammy Award for his album Hidden Charms.[17]

Death and legacy

Dixon died of heart failure[18] in Burbank, California, on January 29, 1992,[1] and was buried in Burr Oak Cemetery, in Alsip, Illinois. After his death, his widow, Marie Dixon, took over the Blues Heaven Foundation and moved the headquarters to Chess Records.[19] Dixon was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the category Early Influences (pre-rock) in 1994.[20] On April 28, 2013, both Dixon and his grandson Alex Dixon were inducted into the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame.[21]

The actor and comedian Cedric the Entertainer portrayed Dixon in Cadillac Records, a 2008 film based on the early history of Chess Records.[22][23]

Tributes

Discography

Albums

Year Title Label Number Comments
1959 Willie's Blues Bluesville BVLP-1003 with Memphis Slim
1960 Blues Every Which Way Verve MGV-3007 with Memphis Slim[24]
1960 Songs of Memphis Slim and "Wee Willie" Dixon Folkways FW-2385 [25]
1962 Memphis Slim and Willie Dixon at the Village Gate Folkways FA-2386 live, with guest Pete Seeger
1963 In Paris: Baby Please Come Home! Battle BM-6122 with Memphis Slim, 1962
1970 I Am the Blues Columbia PC-9987 with the Chicago All Stars; also released on DVD in 2003
1971 Willie Dixon's Peace? Yambo 777-15 with the Chicago All Stars
1973 Catalyst Ovation OVQD-1433 quadraphonic pressing
1976 What Happened to My Blues Ovation OV-1705
1983 Mighty Earthquake and Hurricane Pausa PR-7157
1985 Willie Dixon: Live (Backstage Access) Pausa PR-7183 with Sugar Blue and Clifton James, Montreux, 1985
1988 Hidden Charms Bug C1-90593 Grammy-winning album
1989 Ginger Ale Afternoon Varèse Sarabande VSD-5234 soundtrack for movie of the same name
1990 The Big Three Trio Legacy C-46216 recorded 1947–1952
1993 Willie Dixon's Blues Dixonary Roots RTS 33046 EAN: 8712177013760
1995 The Original Wang Dang Doodle: The Chess Recordings MCA 9353 compilation (some unreleased) from 1954–1990
1996 Crying the Blues: Live in Concert Thunderbolt CDTB-166 live with Johnny Winter & the Chicago All Stars, Houston, 1971
1998 Good Advice Wolf 120,700 live with the Chicago All Stars, Long Beach, 1991
1998 I Think I Got the Blues Prevue 17
2001 Big Boss Men: Blues Legends of the Sixties Indigo (UK) IGOXCD543 live, Houston, 1971–72 (six tracks)
2008 Giant of the Blues Blues Boulevard Records 250196 EAN: 5413992501960

As sideman

With Sam Lazar

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Eder, Bruce. "Willie Dixon – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
  2. ↑ Trager, Oliver (2004). Keys to the Rain: The Definitive Bob Dylan Encyclopedia. Billboard Books. pp. 298–299. ISBN 0-8230-7974-0.
  3. ↑ Dicaire, David (1999). Blues Singers: Biographies of 50 Legendary Artists of the Early 20th Century. McFarland. p. 87. ISBN 0-7864-0606-2.
  4. ↑ Long, Worth (1995). "The Wisdom of the Blues—Defining Blues as the True Facts of Life: An Interview with Willie Dixon." African American Review 29.2. pp. 207–12. JSTOR. Web. October 2, 2015.
  5. ↑ Dixon, Willie; Snowden, Don (1990). I Am the Blues: The Willie Dixon Story. Boston: Da Capo Press. pp. 25, 34. ISBN 0306804158, ISBN 9780306804151.
  6. ↑ Snowden, Don (1997).
  7. ↑ Eder, Bruce (2010). "Leonard Caston". Biography of Leonard Caston. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
  8. ↑ Long, Worth (1995). "The Wisdom of the Blues—Defining Blues as the True Facts of Life: An Interview with Willie Dixon." African American Review 29.2. pp. 207–212. JSTOR. Web. October 2, 2015.
  9. ↑ Baird, Jim (2014). "Book Review: Willie Dixon: Preacher of the Blues." Journal of American Folklore 127: 100–101. ProQuest.Web. October 3, 2015.
  10. ↑ Dixon, Willie; Snowden, Don (1990). I Am the Blues: The Willie Dixon Story. Boston: Da Capo Press. pp. 103–112. ISBN 0-306-80415-8.
  11. ↑ "Prestige Bluesville discography". Wirz.de. Retrieved 2006-11-17.
  12. ↑ Dixon, Willie; Snowden, Don (1990). I Am the Blues: The Willie Dixon Story. Boston: Da Capo Press. p. 244. ISBN 0-306-80415-8.
  13. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records. p. 458. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  14. ↑ Inaba, Mitsutoshi (2010). Willie Dixon: Preacher of the Blues. Scarecrow Press. p. 67. ISBN 0-8108-6993-4.
  15. ↑ Inaba, Mitsutoshi (2010). Willie Dixon: Preacher of the Blues. Scarecrow Press. p. 197. ISBN 0-8108-6993-4.
  16. ↑ "1980 Hall of Fame Inductees". Blues Foundation. Retrieved February 17, 2008.
  17. ↑ "Willie Dixon Timeline". Chicago: Blues Heaven Foundation. 2007. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  18. ↑ Doc Rock. "Dead Rock Stars Club entry – accessed February 2008". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
  19. ↑ Barretta, Scott (2008). "Voices from Chicago: Jackie Dixon." Living Blues 05: 38–39. ProQuest. Web. October 3, 2015.
  20. ↑ Rule, Sheila (January 20, 1994). "Rock Greats Hail, Hail Their Own at Spirited Hall of Fame Ceremony". New York Times. Retrieved February 17, 2008.
  21. ↑ "2013 Chicago Blues Hall of Fame". Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  22. ↑ Simmons, Leslie (January 22, 2008). "Brody, Wright join musical Chess club". Reuters. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
  23. ↑ Mayberry, Carly (February 12, 2008). "Alessandro Nivola to play blues mogul in "Chess"". Reuters. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
  24. ↑ "Verve Records Discography: 1960". Jazzdisco.org. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  25. ↑ "Songs of Memphis Slim and "Wee Willie" Dixon". Smithsonian Folkways. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved January 1, 2010.

Barretta, Scott. "Voices from Chicago: Jackie Dixon." Living Blues 05 2008: 38–9. ProQuest. Web. October 3, 2015.

Further reading

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