Willie Dixon

Willie Dixon
Dixon in 1979 in Cary, Illinois at Harry Hopes, Photo: Len Carlson
Background information
Birth name	William James Dixon
Born	(1915-06-01)June 1, 1915 Vicksburg, Mississippi,US
Died	January 29, 1992(1992-01-29) (aged 76) Burbank, California, United States
Genres	Blues, Chicago blues
Occupation(s)	musician, producer, songwriter
Instruments	upright bass, vocals
Years active	late 1940s - 1992
Labels	Chess, Columbia, Bluesville, Checker, Verve, MCA, Legacy, Columbia, Yambo
Website	Official Homepage Blues Heaven Foundation Official Homepage

William James "Willie" Dixon (July 1, 1915 – January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, singer, songwriter and bass player. He was one of the founders of Chicago blues. He wrote a lot of songs which are still standards of Chicago blues. (i.e. "Little Red Rooster", "Hoochie Coochie Man", "Evil", "Spoonful", "Back Door Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You", "I Ain't Superstitious", "My Babe", "Wang Dang Doodle", and "Bring It On Home") The songs are from the 1950s when Dixon worked as producer for Chess Records. He also played upright bass on many of the label's records.

Life

Dixon was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi on July 1, 1915. He learned the blues during his time on prison farms in Mississippi as an early-teenager. Dixon sang bass for The Jubilee Singers, a local gospel group that was often in the program of the local radio station WQBC. He began to change poems he wrote into songs which he sold to local groups.

1936 he went to Chicago like many others from the Mississippi delta. There he begun boxing and won the Illinois State Golden Gloves Heavyweight Championship (Novice Division) in 1937. During his boxing time he met Leonard "Baby Doo" Caston, who convinced him to a musical career. Before the Second World War Dixon sang in different vocal groups. After the war he reunited with Caston and formed the "Big Three Trio".

Dixon signed with Chess Records as a recording artist but soon was involved in the record business. By 1951 he was producer, talent scout, session musician and staff songwriter. 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, and others. By his work with Chuck Berry he was a link between blues and early rock and roll.

From the late 1960s until the middle 1970s, Dixon ran his own record label, Yambo Records. He formed different all star bands which often went on tours in Europe. He also became an advocate for the blues. He founded the Blues Heaven Foundation. The Foundation preserves the blues legacy and secures copyrights and royalties for blues musicians who were often exploited in the past.

In the 1970s and 1980s his health became weaker and weaker because of his diabetes. Dixon died of heart failure in Burbank, California on January 29, 1992.

Honors

• Blues Hall of Fame (1980)
• Grammy (1989) for Hidden Charms
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the "early influences" (pre-rock) category (1994)

Discography

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
1960	Songs of Memphis Slim and "Wee Willie" Dixon	Folkways	FW-2385
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
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
1988	The Chess Box	Chess Records		A compilition with Willie Dixons most important songs
1989	Ginger Ale Afternoon	Varèse Sarabande	VSD-5234	soundtrack for movie of the same name
1990	The Big Three Trio	Legacy	C-46216	from 1947–1952
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)

Reading

• Dixon, Willie; Snowden, Don (1989). I Am the Blues. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80415-8.