Floyd Dixon (February 8, 1929 – July 26, 2006) was an American

rhythm-and-blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

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 M ...

. 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 which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

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 major ...

and

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

. 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 Etta James, Joe Houston, Little Richard, Ike & Tina Turner and John Lee ...

in 1949, specializing in

jump blues Jump blues is an up-tempo style of blues, 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 was renewed in the 1990s as ...

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 advertise ...

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 p ...

in 1949, as did "Sad Journey Blues", issued by

Peacock Records Peacock Records was an American record label, started in 1949 by Don Robey in Houston, Texas, United States. History " Hound Dog" by Big Mama Thornton was a hit for Peacock in 1953. Other significant rhythm and blues artists on Peacock were Ma ...

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 Aladdin Records was a record company and label founded in Los Angeles in 1945 by brothers Eddie and Leo Mesner. It was originally called Philo Records before changing its name in 1946. Aladdin was known for jazz, rhythm and blues, and rock mus ...

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 Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

under his own name in 1952 with "Call Operator 210". He switched to

Specialty Records Specialty Records was an American record label founded in Los Angeles in 1945 by Art Rupe. It was known for rhythm and blues, gospel, and early rock and roll, and recorded artists such as Little Richard, Guitar Slim, Percy Mayfield, and Lloyd P ...

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 its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

in 1954. "

Hey Bartender "Hey Bartender" is a song written by Dossie Terry, copyright filing EU389235 dated 10 March 1955 and renewed RE180048 on 11 March 1983. It was first recorded by Floyd Dixon in 1955 on Cat Records 114; the label credits "Terry" as composer. A co ...

" (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 co ...

by the

Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on ''Saturday Night Live''. Belushi and Aykroyd fronted the band, in character, respective ...

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

music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...

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 also 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 secon ...

. In 1993, Dixon received a Pioneer Award from the

Rhythm and Blues Foundation The Rhythm and Blues Foundation is an independent American nonprofit organization dedicated to the historical and cultural preservation of rhythm and blues music. The idea for the foundation came in 1987 during discussions about royalties with en ...

. In the mid-1990s, he secured a contract with

Alligator Records Alligator Records is an American, Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971. Iglauer was also one of the founders of the ''Living Blues'' magazine in Chicago in 1970. History Iglauer started the label using hi ...

, releasing the critically acclaimed album ''Wake Up and Live''. On June 1 and 2, 2006, Dixon hosted a concert with

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 Life ...

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 i ...

, celebrating the intergenerational aspect of blues piano. The band was led by

Kid Ramos Kid Ramos (born January 13, 1959) is an American electric blues and blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. Ramos has released four solo albums since 1995 on Black Top and Evidence Records. He has worked with James Harman, Roomful of B ...

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 Canned Heat from 1967. Before joining Canned Heat he had been a session bassist for The Monkees and Jerry Lee Le ...

and Richard "Bigfoot" Innes.

Kim Wilson Kim Wilson (born January 6, 1951) is an American blues singer and harmonica player. He is best known as the lead vocalist and frontman for the Fabulous Thunderbirds on two hit songs of the 1980s, " Tuff Enuff" (which was the group's only Top 40 ...

, 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 singer. Slim was best known as a singer in the style of smooth easy jazz/blues, as well as his harm ...

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 end-stage kidney disease, 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 failure is classified as eit ...

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...

, 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 Inglewood Park Cemetery, 720 East Florence Avenue in Inglewood, California, was founded in 1905. A number of notable people, including entertainment and sports personalities, have been interred or entombed there. History The proposed est ...

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 Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females. Variant ...

'' (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 is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additiona ...

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 An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...

CHD-361, 1993 * ''Floyd Dixon: His Complete

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...

Recordings'', 2-CD set (

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

-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 Modern may refer to: History * Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Phil ...

Recordings'' (Ace CHD-740), 2000 * ''Floyd Dixon: Hey Bartender! His Very Best 1949–1959'' (

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

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 West Coast blues musicians 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male musicians