Floyd Dixon

Floyd Dixon (born February 8, 1929 in Marshall , Texas as Jay Riggins Jr. , † July 26, 2006 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American R&B pianist and singer, who referred to himself as "Mr. Magnificent" . He is attributed to the jump and West Coast blues , is considered a pioneer of soul and influenced musicians like Ray Charles .

biography

Dixon grew up on the Texas border with Louisiana and came into contact with blues , gospel , jazz and country music at an early age . As a child he taught himself to play the piano.

In 1942 the family moved to Los Angeles, California, where Dixon met blues musician Charles Brown , who became his mentor. After recording with the band of Johnny Otis , Dixon got his first own recording contract with Modern Records in 1949 and had considerable success with the Dallas Blues and Mississippi Blues in the R&B charts . His hits in the first half of the 1950s, which he recorded for Aladdin , include "Telephone Blues", "Wine Wine Wine", "Too Much Jelly Roll" and "Hey Bartender" - later re-recorded by the Blues Brothers .

In the 1960s, Dixon largely withdrew from the music business and only went on tour occasionally. In 1975 an album with his old hits was released in Sweden and brought him a comeback. He performed in Europe and gave a. a. with Charles Brown and Robert Cray concerts. In 1984 he wrote the "Olympic Blues" for the Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

In 1993 Dixon received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation . He played at the Monterey Jazz Festival and the Chicago Blues Festival. In 1996 he released the critically acclaimed album Wake Up And Live , which won a Handy Award . In 2005 the album Fine! Fine! Thing! .

Floyd Dixon died of kidney failure in 2006 at the age of 77, just weeks after touring with Pinetop Perkins and Henry Gray.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ All Music Guide (see web links).

Web links

• Biography in the All Music Guide
• Shades Of Blue biography
• Biography at All About Jazz
• Floyd Dixon at Discogs (English)