Floyd Dixon (February 8, 1929 – July 26, 2006) was an American rhythm-and-blues pianist and singer.

Life and career

Dixon was born in

Marshall, Texas Marshall is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Harrison County, Texas, Harrison County and a cultural and educational center of the Ark-La-Tex region. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the population of ...

. Some sources give his birth name as Jay Riggins Jr., although Dixon himself stated that Floyd Dixon was his real name and that his parents were Velma and Ford Dixon. Growing up, he was influenced by

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

. His family moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1942. There Dixon met Charles Brown, who had an influence on his music. The self-dubbed "Mr. Magnificent", Dixon signed a recording contract with

Modern Records Modern Records (Modern Music Records before 1947) was an American record company and label formed in 1945 in Los Angeles by the Bihari brothers. Modern's artists included Hadda Brooks, Etta James, Joe Houston, Little Richard, Ike & Tina Turn ...

in 1949, specializing in

jump blues Jump blues is an uptempo style of blues, jazz, and boogie woogie usually played by small groups and featuring horn instruments. It was popular in the 1940s and was a precursor of rhythm and blues and rock and roll. Appreciation of jump blues wa ...

and sexualized songs like "Red Cherries", "Wine Wine Wine", "Too Much Jelly Roll" and "Baby Let's Go Down to the Woods". Both "Dallas Blues" and "Mississippi Blues", credited to the Floyd Dixon Trio, reached the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

in 1949, as did "Sad Journey Blues", issued by Peacock Records in 1950. Dixon replaced Charles Brown on piano and vocals in the band Johnny Moore's Three Blazers in 1950, when Brown departed to start a solo career. The group recorded for Aladdin Records and reached the R&B chart with "Telephone Blues" (credited to Floyd Dixon with Johnny Moore's Three Blazers). Staying with the record label, Dixon had a small hit under his own name in 1952 with "Call Operator 210". He switched to Specialty Records in 1952 and to Cat Records, a subsidiary of

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

in 1954. " Hey Bartender" (later

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of ...

by the Blues Brothers) and "Hole in the Wall" were released during this time. In the 1970s Dixon left the

music industry The music industry are individuals and organizations that earn money by Songwriter, writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music and sheet music, presenting live music, concerts, ...

for a quieter life in Texas, though he did occasional tours in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1984 he was commissioned to write "Olympic Blues" for the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

. In 1993, Dixon received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. In the mid-1990s, he secured a contract with Alligator Records, releasing the critically acclaimed album '' Wake Up and Live!'' On June 1 and 2, 2006, Dixon hosted a concert with Pinetop Perkins and

Henry Gray Henry Gray (1827 – 13 June 1861) was a British anatomist and surgery, surgeon most notable for publishing the book ''Gray's Anatomy''. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) at the age of 25. Biography Gray was born ...

, celebrating the intergenerational aspect of blues piano. The band was led by Kid Ramos and included

Larry Taylor Samuel Lawrence Taylor (June 26, 1942 – August 19, 2019) was an American bass guitarist, best known for his work as a member of the blues rock band Canned Heat. Before joining Canned Heat, he had been a session musician, session bassist for T ...

and Richard "Bigfoot" Innes. Kim Wilson, Fred Kaplan (from the Hollywood Blue Flames) and

Lynwood Slim Lynwood Slim (born Richard Dennis Duran, August 19, 1953, Los Angeles, California; died August 4, 2014) was an American blues harmonica player and singing, singer. Slim was best known as a singer in the style of smooth easy jazz/blues, as well as ...

also performed. This concert was recorded and released on the DVD ''Time Brings About a Change'' by HighJohn Records on March 6, 2013. Dixon died of

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as renal failure or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney fa ...

Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...

, in July 2006, at the age of 77, having suffered from cancer. A public memorial service was held in Grace Chapel, at the Inglewood Park Cemetery.

Discography

Chart singles

LP releases

* ''Live in Sweden'' (Great Dame 001), 1975 * ''Opportunity Blues'' (Route 66 KIX-1), 1976 (compilation of recordings from 1948 to 1961) * ''Rockin' This Joint Tonite: Ace Holder / Kid Thomas / Floyd Dixon Featuring Johnny Guitar Watson'' (JSP 1002), 1978 * ''Houston Jump'' (Route 66 KIX-11), 1979 (compilation of recordings from 1947 to 1960) * ''Empty Stocking Blues'' (Route 66 KIX-27), 1985 (compilation of recordings from 1947 to 1953)

CD releases

* '' Wake Up and Live!'' (

Alligator An alligator, or colloquially gator, is a large reptile in the genus ''Alligator'' of the Family (biology), family Alligatoridae in the Order (biology), order Crocodilia. The two Extant taxon, extant species are the American alligator (''A. mis ...

4841), 1996 * ''Mr. Magnificent Hits Again'' (HMO 2450), 1999 * ''Fine! Fine! Thing!'' (Highjohn 1739), 2005 * ''Time Brings About a Change...A Floyd Dixon Celebration'' (Highjohn 5206), 2006

CD compilations

* ''Marshall Texas Is My Home'' ( Specialty 7011), 1991; also issued on Ace CHD-361, 1993 * ''Floyd Dixon: His Complete

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...

Recordings'', 2-CD set ( Capitol-EMI 36293), 1996 * ''The Cocktail Combos: Nat King Cole / Charles Brown / Floyd Dixon'', 3-CD set (Capitol-EMI 52042), 1997 * ''Cow Town Blues: The Seminal 1948–1950 Modern Recordings'' (Ace CHD-740), 2000 * ''Floyd Dixon: Hey Bartender! His Very Best 1949–1959'' (

Jasmine Jasmine (botanical name: ''Jasminum'', pronounced ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family of Oleaceae. It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are wid ...

JASMCD-3065), 2016 * ''The Floyd Dixon Singles Collection 1949–1962'', 3-CD set (Acrobat ACTRCD-9074), 2018

References

External links

Floyd Dixon biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dixon, Floyd 1929 births 2006 deaths American blues singers American blues pianists American male pianists People from Marshall, Texas Texas blues musicians Imperial Records artists Modern Records artists Kent Records artists Specialty Records artists Deaths from kidney failure in California West Coast blues musicians 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male musicians Burials at Inglewood Park Cemetery