James Henry “Jimmy” Dawkins (October 24, 1936 – April 10, 2013) was an American

Chicago blues Chicago blues is a form of blues music developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of the first half of the twentieth cen ...

and

electric blues Electric blues refers to any type of blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the late 19 ...

guitarist and singer. He is generally considered to have been a practitioner of the "West Side sound" of

Career

Dawkins was born in

Tchula, Mississippi Tchula is a town in Holmes County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,650 at the 2020 census, down from 2,332 in 2000. A 2015 article in ''The Guardian'' described it as the poorest community in the United States. History The firs ...

. He moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

in 1955, where he worked in a box factory, started to play in local blues clubs, and gained a reputation as a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

. In 1969, thanks to the efforts of his friend Magic Sam, his first album, ''Fast Fingers'', was released by

Delmark Records Delmark Records is an American jazz and blues independent record label. It was founded in 1958 and is based in Chicago, Illinois. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when then owner, and founder, Bob Koester released a record ...

. It won the Grand Prix du Disque from the Hot Club de France. In 1971, Delmark released his second album, ''All for Business'', with the singer

Andrew Odom Andrew Odom (December 15, 1936 – December 23, 1991) was an American Chicago blues and electric blues singer and songwriter. Born in Denham Springs, Louisiana, United States, he is best known for the close resemblance of his singing style to ...

and the guitarist

Otis Rush Otis Rush Jr. (April 29, 1934 – September 29, 2018) was an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter. His distinctive guitar style featured a slow-burning sound and long bent notes. With qualities similar to the styles of other 1950s art ...

. Dawkins toured in the late 1970s, backed up by James Solberg (of Luther Allison and the

Nighthawks A nighthawk is a nocturnal bird. Nighthawk(s) or Night Hawk(s) may also refer to: * ''Nighthawks'' (painting), by Edward Hopper, 1942 Books and comics * ''Nighthawk'' (novel), a 2017 novel by Clive Cussler * ''Night Hawk'' (comics), a British ...

) on guitar and Jon Preizler (the Lamont Cranston Band, Luther Allison, and

Albert King Albert Nelson (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), known by his stage name Albert King, was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps ...

), a

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

-based

Hammond B-3 organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated ...

player known for his soulful

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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

-influenced style. Other musicians that toured with Dawkins in the late 1970s were Jimi Schutte (drums), Sylvester Boines (bass), Rich Kirch and Billy Flynn (guitars). Dawkins toured in Europe with this group of musicians. He also toured in Japan and recorded more albums in the United States and Europe. He contributed a column to the blues magazine '' Living Blues''. In the 1980s he released few recordings but started his own record label, Leric Records, and was more interested in promoting other artists, including

Tail Dragger Jones James Yancey Jones (born September 30, 1940), known professionally as Tail Dragger Jones, is an American Chicago blues singer. He has performed since the 1960s and released four albums to date. Jones gained a certain notoriety in 1993, after be ...

, Queen Sylvia Embry, Little Johnny Christian, and

Nora Jean Bruso Nora Jean Bruso (born June 21, 1956) is an American Chicago and electric blues singer and songwriter. She has penned over 700 songs, and worked with Carl Weathersby and Dave Specter. Fellow blues singer, Koko Taylor once commented, "Nora Jean s ...

(née Wallace). Dawkins died of undisclosed causes on April 10, 2013, aged 76.

Discography

Solo

* ''Fast Fingers'' (1969),

* ''All for Business'' (1971), Delmark Records * ''Jimmy Dawkins'' (1971) * ''Tribute to Orange'' (1971) * ''Transatlantic 770'' (1972) * ''Blisterstring'' (1976), Delmark Records * ''Come Back Baby'' (1976), Storyville Records * ''Hot Wire '81'' (1981), with Rich Kirch, Sylvester Boines, and Jimi Schutte, recorded in Paris * ''Jimmy and Hip: Live!'' (1982) * ''Feel the Blues'' (1985) * ''All Blues'' (1986) * ''Chicago on My Mind: Living the Blues'' (1991), recording in 1971, Vogue Records * ''Kant Sheck Dees Bluze'' (1992), Earwig Music Company * ''Blues and Pain'' (1994) * ''B Phur Real'' (1995) * ''Me, My Guitar & the Blues'' (1997) * ''Vol. 2: I Want to Know'' (1999), recorded in 1975, Storyville Records * ''Born in Poverty'' (1999), recorded in 1972 & 1974, Black & Blue Records * ''American Roots: Blues'' (2002), compilation 1994–1997 * ''West Side Guitar Hero'' (2002) * ''Tell Me Baby'' (2004)

With other artists

* ''Blues Queen Sylvia & Jimmy Dawkins: Midnight Baby'' (1983) * ''Jimmy Dawkins / Chicago Beau / Blue Ice Bragason: Blues from Iceland'' (1991) * ''Sunnyland Slim & Big Voice Odom: Chicago Blues Festival 1974 with Jimmy Dawkins'' (2005)

As sideman

With Luther Allison *''

Love Me Mama ''Love Me Mama'' is the debut album by the American blues musician Luther Allison recorded in Chicago in 1969 and released by the Delmark label.Carey Bell *''

Carey Bell's Blues Harp ''Carey Bell's Blues Harp'' is the debut album by the American blues musician Carey Bell, recorded in Chicago in 1969, that was released by the Delmark label.Living Blues'', Vol. 108

External links

Jimmy Dawkins Biography at Joes-corner.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawkins, Jimmy 1936 births 2013 deaths People from Tchula, Mississippi Chicago blues musicians American blues guitarists American male guitarists Blues musicians from Mississippi American blues singers Singers from Mississippi Delmark Records artists Guitarists from Illinois Guitarists from Mississippi 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians Black & Blue Records artists Earwig Music artists