Mud Boy and the Neutrons was a

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

music band who influenced the Memphis alternative rock scene from the 1970s to the 1990s. They released three albums on labels like New Rose Records (France) and Koch International. The group featured

Jim Dickinson James Luther Dickinson (November 15, 1941 – August 15, 2009) was an American record producer, pianist, and singer who fronted, among others, the band Mud Boy and the Neutrons, based in Memphis, Tennessee. Biography Dickinson was born in Lit ...

on keyboards, vocals and guitar, Sid Selvidge on acoustic guitar and vocals, Lee Baker on electric guitar, and Jimmy Crosthwait on washboard. Baker, who made a guest appearance on

Big Star Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1971 by Alex Chilton (vocals, guiar), Chris Bell (vocals, guitar), Jody Stephens (drums), and Andy Hummel (bass). The group broke up in early 1975, and reorganized with a new l ...

's ''

Third/Sister Lovers ''Third'' (reissued in 1985 as ''Third/Sister Lovers'') is the third album by American rock band Big Star. Sessions started at Ardent Studios in September 1974. Though Ardent created promotional, white-label test pressings for the record in 197 ...

'' album and led his own Lee Baker & The Agitators group, died on September 10, 1996. At that time Mud Boy and the Neutrons temporarily disbanded, but reformed in 2005 to perform at a festival of Memphis music held at The Barbican in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. This concert was filmed but to date remains unreleased. The group has always been known for deliberately making their offbeat public performances rare, special events; they never toured. Their music style included elements of varying

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

-oriented music styles including

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 ...

, "swamp" music, R&B,

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

, and

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

Tav Falco's Panther Burns Tav Falco's Panther Burns, sometimes shortened to (The) Panther Burns, is a rock band originally from Memphis, Tennessee, United States, led by Tav Falco. They are best known for having been part of a set of bands emerging in the late 1970s and ...

and others from the area were inspired by the band. Two sons of Dickinson (Luther and Cody), influenced by the group, formed the

North Mississippi Allstars North Mississippi Allstars is an American blues and southern rock band from Hernando, Mississippi, founded in 1996. The band is currently composed of brothers Luther Dickinson (guitar, lowebow, vocals) and Cody Dickinson (drums, keyboards, elect ...

with other musicians in the 1990s; Selvidge's son Steve founded a group called

Big Ass Truck Big Ass Truck (BAT) is an American rock band from Memphis, Tennessee which incorporates elements of hip-hop, rock, funk and psychedelia in their music. The band includes a DJ spinning records, that provides beats, loops, and samples during record ...

in the same period. Dickinson died on August 15, 2009. Sid Selvidge died from cancer on May 2, 2013, at the age of 69 (he was born Jul 21, 1943).

Discography

* ''Known Felons in Drag'' (1986) * ''Negro Streets at Dawn'' (1993) * ''They Walk Among Us'' (1995) Compilations * ''Play New Rose For Me'' (1987) * ''It Came From Memphis, Volume 1'' (1995) * ''It Came From Memphis, Volume 2'' (2001) * ''On Air: Live Music From The WEVL Archives'' (1996)

References

* Ankeny, Jason. "Jim Dickinson Biography."''Allmusic''. Retrieved Apr. 26, 2005. * Gordon, Robert (1995). ''It Came From Memphis''. New York: Pocket Books. . * ___. (1996). "Lee Baker" (obituary). Living Blues #130: 49. * Hoppula, Pete (1998–2005)
"Jim Dickinson."
''Wang Dang Dula!" Retrieved Apr. 26, 2005.

''It Came From Memphis event webpage''. Retrieved Apr. 26, 2005. * Koda, Cub. "They Walk Among Us."''Allmusic''. Retrieved Apr. 26, 2005. * Shaw, Norm (October 1996)
"Lee Baker: 1944 to 1996."
''BlueSpeak''. Retrieved Apr. 26, 2005. * Wirz, Stefan

''American Music''. Retrieved Apr. 26, 2005. * De Winter, Maxim
"It Came From Memphis - blog."

Retrieved Sept. 18, 2005.

Retrieved Sept. 18, 2005 * Koch, Stephen. "The Unknown Supergroup." Arkansas Times. Last updated Sept. 21, 200

External links

Illustrated Sid Selvidge discography
{{Authority control Rock music groups from Tennessee, Mud Boy and the Neutrons Musical groups from Memphis, Tennessee