William J. Dicey (May 25, 1936 – March 17, 1993) was an American blues harmonicist, singer and songwriter. He recorded two live albums and one studio album in his own name, as well as playing the harmonica and singing on a number of other musician's recordings. He was a regular fixture in the

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blues scene from the 1970s to the time of his death.

Life and career

Dicey was born in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

, United States, and first played the harmonica at the age of three, but began an interest in blues harmonica styling five years later. Having been given a

Hohner Hohner Musikinstrumente GmbH & Co. KG is a German manufacturer of musical instruments, founded in 1857 by Matthias Hohner (1833–1902). It is a subsidiary of Matth. Hohner AG. The roots of the Hohner firm are in Trossingen, Baden-Württemberg ...

Marine Band model, Dicey began playing on street corners with black musicians from his neighborhood. By his mid-teens, Dicey was playing the drums in an otherwise all-black group, playing R&B numbers of the time. In 1953, the whole ensemble were drafted with Dicey joining the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

. Interest in music had waned by the time all the individuals had returned to civilian life, with Dicey giving up playing music in 1959. He relocated to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

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in the mid-1960s and took up playing the harmonica again, working with Buddy Moss on some ultimately unreleased recordings. Together they formed the Atlanta Blues Band, which toured colleges and clubs in the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

in the late-1960s. Around this time, Dicey settled in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where he became associated with Charles Walker. Dicey also became a regular session musician with

Spivey Records Spivey Records was a specialist blues record label founded by blues singer Victoria Spivey and jazz historian Len Kunstadt in 1961. The Records has released a series of blues and jazz albums between 1961 and 1985. History of Spivey Records The lab ...

. As a part of

Victoria Spivey Victoria Regina Spivey (October 15, 1906 – October 3, 1976), sometimes known as Queen Victoria, was an American blues singer, songwriter, and record company founder. During a recording career that spanned 40 years, from 1926 to the mid-1960s, s ...

's house band, Dicey subsequently provided backing on recordings made by

Roosevelt Sykes Roosevelt Sykes (January 31, 1906July 17, 1983) was an American blues musician, also known as "the Honeydripper". Career Sykes was born the son of a musician in Elmar, Arkansas. "Just a little old sawmill town", Sykes said of his birthplace. The ...

Big Joe Turner Joseph Vernon "Big Joe" Turner Jr. (May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was an American blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri. According to songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him". Turner's greatest fa ...

Lloyd Glenn Lloyd Colquitt Glenn (November 21, 1909 – May 23, 1985) was an American R&B pianist, bandleader and arranger, who was a pioneer of the "West Coast" blues style. Career Born in San Antonio, Texas, from the late 1920s, Glenn played with various ...

, Washboard Doc,

Louisiana Red Iverson Minter (March 23, 1932 – February 25, 2012), known professionally as Louisiana Red, was an American blues guitarist, harmonica player, and singer, who recorded more than 50 albums. A master of slide guitar, he played both traditional a ...

Sugar Blue James Joshua Whiting (born December 16, 1949), known professionally as Sugar Blue, is an American blues harmonica player. He is best known for playing on the 1978 Rolling Stones album '' Some Girls'', and well as his partnership with blues guita ...

and Eunice Davis. Dicey became a vital member of the New York blues scene over the next two decades. He was the founder and host of the Sunday jam session at the New York blues club, Dan Lynch's Bar and Grill, where his duties including booking acts and leading the club's resident musical ensemble. His tutelage provided an early musical outlet for both

the Holmes Brothers The Holmes Brothers were an American musical trio (music), trio originally from Christchurch, Virginia. Mixing sounds from blues, Soul music, soul, Gospel music, gospel, Country music, country, and rhythm & blues, they have released twelve stud ...

and

Popa Chubby Popa Chubby, (pronounced POP'-uh) stage name of Theodore Joseph "Ted" Horowitz (born March 31, 1960, in The Bronx, New York City, New York), is an American singer, composer, and guitarist. Life and career At age thirteen Horowitz began playin ...

. Dicey became known for being able to play the "C" harmonica in five keys. Still associated with Spivey Records, Dicey recorded a live album, ''Caught in the Act'', at Dan Lynch's in 1980. In 1983, ''Operator! Operator! I'm Trying to Get in Touch With My Baby Again!'' was another live album issued by Spivey Records, accredited to 'Bill Dicey With the Fabulous Holmes Brothers With Popsy'. The only studio album recorded by Dicey in his own name took place in London in 1987. Dicey's regular Dan Lynch's Bar and Grill guitarist, Richard Studholme, had moved back to his native England, and Dicey visited him there when the notion of recording an album bore fruit. Bill Dicey (harmonica, guitar, vocals), Richard 'Ted' Studholme (guitar), Phil Kitto (bass), and Kevin Spratt (drums) provided the music which was recorded at Samurai Studio, close to

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, London, with recording engineer, Jack Ezra. The resultant recording was released as ''Fool In Love'', on

JSP Records JSP Records is a British record label, founded in 1978 by John Stedman (John Stedman Promotions), releasing recordings by blues musicians such as Professor Longhair, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Witherspoon, Louisiana Red, Deitra Farr, Charlie Sayles, ...

. Three other tracks were recorded around that time for a

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session at the

Maida Vale Studios Maida Vale Studios is a complex of seven BBC sound studios, of which five are in regular use, in Delaware Road, Maida Vale, west London. It has been used to record thousands of classical music, popular music and drama sessions for BBC Radio 1, ...

by the same musicians; these comprised the bonus tracks that were included in the ''Fool in Love – The Complete Sessions'' re-release in 2019. Dicey died of cancer in March 1993, at the age of 56. His last words were, "This sucks". In addition to those recordings described above, Dicey's harmonica playing, and sometimes vocals, can be heard on

's ''Louisiana Red Sings the Blues'' (1972,

Atco Records ATCO Records is an American record label founded in 1955. It is owned by Warner Music Group and operates as an imprint of Atlantic Records. After several decades of dormancy and infrequent activity under alternating Warner Music labels, the com ...

Jerry McCain Jerry McCain, often billed as Jerry "Boogie" McCain (June 18, 1930 – March 28, 2012), was an American electric blues musician, best known as a harmonica player. Biography Born near Gadsden, Alabama, United States, he was one of five childr ...

Frank Frost Frank Otis Frost (April 15, 1936 or 1938 – October 12, 1999) was one of the foremost United States, American Delta blues harmonica players of his generation. Life and career Most sources state that Frost was born in 1936 in Auvergne, Jackson ...

, and

Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup Arthur William "Big Boy" Crudup (August 24, 1905 – March 28, 1974) was an American Delta blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known, outside blues circles, for his songs "That's All Right" (1946), "My Baby Left Me" and "So G ...

's ''Harpin' on It'' (1972, Carnival Gold Standard),

Paul Oscher Paul Allan Oscher (February 26, 1947 – April 18, 2021) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist. Primarily a harmonica player, he was the first permanent white member of Muddy Waters' band.Norman Darwen, "Obituary: Paul ...

's ''New York Really Has the Blues'' (1975,

), ''The Best of Louisiana Red'' (1995,

Evidence Records Evidence for a proposition is what supports the proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the proposition is true. The exact definition and role of evidence vary across different fields. In epistemology, evidence is what justifi ...

), and

Pinetop Perkins Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins (July 7, 1913 – March 21, 2011) was an American blues pianist. He played with some of the most influential blues and rock-and-roll performers of his time and received numerous honors, including a Grammy Lifet ...

' posthumous compilation, ''Chicago Boogie Blues Piano Man'' (2020,

Albums

*''Caught in the Act'' (live album) (1980,

) *''Operator! Operator! I'm Trying to Get in Touch With My Baby Again!'' (live album) (1983, Spivey) - credited to 'Bill Dicey With the Fabulous Holmes Brothers With Popsy' *''Fool in Love'' (1987,

) *''Fool in Love – The Complete Sessions'' (2019, JSP) – reissue of above with bonus tracks

References

External links

1972 interview with Dicey"Whoopin' & Hollerin'" @ YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dicey, Bill 1936 births 1993 deaths American blues harmonica players Harmonica blues musicians American blues singers Singers from Maryland Songwriters from Maryland 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers American male songwriters People from Annapolis, Maryland Deaths from cancer in Maryland 20th-century American songwriters

Life and career

Albums

See also

References

External links