Jim Dickinson

James Luther Dickinson(November 15, 1941 – August 15, 2009) was an Americanrecord producer,pianist,andsingerwho fronted, among others, the bandMud Boy and the Neutrons,based inMemphis, Tennessee.

Jim Dickinson
Dickinson in 2009
Background information
Birth name	James Luther Dickinson
Born	(1941-11-15)November 15, 1941 Little Rock, Arkansas
Died	August 15, 2009(2009-08-15)(aged 67) Memphis, Tennessee
Occupation(s)	Record producer,musician,andsinger
Instrument(s)	Piano,vocals,guitar

Biography

Dickinson was born inLittle Rock, Arkansas,and raised inChicagoandMemphis.He initially attendedBaylor Universityas a drama major before graduating fromMemphis State University,where he became acquainted with the pioneering music journalistStanley Booth.After receiving his degree, he played onrecordingsessions forBill Justisand recorded atChips Moman's American Studios. Dickinson recorded what has been described as the last great single released bySun Records— "Cadillac Man" backed with "My Babe", by The Jesters (1966)—playingpianoand singing lead on both sides, although he was not a member of the group.

Early career

By 1966, Dickinson began working as a record producer for the famousArdent Studios,inMemphis, Tennessee,which was founded byJohn Fryin 1959. The young and eager Dickinson produced and oversaw a series of blistering sessions involving bands like the Bitter Ind (The 31st of February), and the Wallabies. Members of the Wallabies—Alex Major (electric bass, rhythm guitar, harmonica, lead singer and songwriter), Bobby Maxwell (lead guitar, harmony, lead singer on some songs), Alan Palmore (rhythm guitar, harmony, lead singer on some songs and songwriter), and Glen Wilson (drums)—recorded Major's song "Up and Down Children", a marriage ofgarage rockand a twistedMerseybeatsound.In 2008 the first series of songs were released by Big Beat Records on a compilation album entitledThank You Friends: The Ardent Records Storyand in 2012 on the compilation albumThe Psychedelic Sound of Memphis.

Career

In the late 1960s, Dickinson joined with fellow Memphis musicians Charlie Freeman (guitar),Michael Utley(keyboards), Tommy McClure (bass) andSammy Creason(drums); this group became known as the Dixie Flyers and backed a variety of performers, including Bettye LaVette,Hank Ballard,James Carr,Albert CollinsandThe Tempters.

In 1970, the group began to backAtlantic Records' venerable stable of soul acts at the behest of the producerJerry Wexler(who was introduced to the group by Booth) following the acrimonious dissolution of his relationship with theMuscle Shoals Rhythm Section.Based atCriteria StudiosinMiami, Florida,they recordedAretha Franklin's 1970 hit "Spirit in the Dark";over the next year, the Flyers also contributed to recordings byCarmen McRae,Delaney & Bonnie,Jerry Jeff Walker,Dee Dee Warwick,Ronnie Hawkins,Sam & Dave,Dion,Brook Benton,Lulu,Sam the Sham,andEsther Phillips.Unable to acclimate to life in Miami and the variegated production styles of Wexler,Tom Dowd,andArif Mardin,Dickinson heeded the advice ofDuane Allmanand left the group to pursue a solo career in 1971. The remaining Flyers backedKris KristoffersonandRita Coolidgefor several years before ultimately disbanding in the mid-1970s.

Dickinson's firstsoloalbum,Dixie Fried,was released by Atlantic in 1972. In addition to theCarl Perkins-pennedtitle song,it featuredsongsbyBob DylanandFurry Lewis.

In the 1970s, he became known as a producer, recordingBig Star'sThirdin 1974, and serving as co-producer withAlex Chiltonof Chilton's 1979 album,Like Flies on Sherbert.He produced recordings for performers as diverse asWilly DeVille,Green on Red,Mojo Nixon,The Replacements,Tav Falco's Panther Burns,Toots and the Maytals,andScreamin' Jay Hawkins.He appeared inBeale Street Saturday Night,a 1977 aural documentary of Memphis'sBeale Street,which featured performances by Sid Selvidge, Furry Lewis and Dickinson's band,Mud Boy and the Neutrons.

Dickinson contributed production and instrumentation to various recordings released on the underground Memphis Tennessee record label Barbarian Records.

As a session musician, he playedtack pianowith theRolling Stonesfor their recording of "Wild Horses"atMuscle Shoals Sound Studioin December 1969; contributed to theFlamin' Groovies' albumTeenage Headin 1971; worked withRy Cooderon nearly a dozen records beginning in 1972; recorded a one-off single ( "Red Headed Woman" ) with theCrampsin 1984. Dickinson playedelectric pianoandpump organonBob Dylan's 1997 albumTime Out of Mind.Also in 1997, Dickinson producedYa Gotta Let Me Do My Thingby the Australian band Kim Salmon & the Surrealists. In 1998, he producedMudhoney'sTomorrow Hit Today.

In May 1999, Dickinson participated in a one-time collaboration withJules Shear,Harvey Brooks,Paul Q. Kolderie,Chuck Prophet,Sean Slade,and Winston Watson to record the albumRaisins in the Sun,released by Rounder Records in 2001.

His sons, Luther and Cody, who played on his 2002 solo albumFree Beer Tomorrowand the 2006 albumJungle Jim and the Voodoo Tiger,have achieved success on their own as theNorth Mississippi Allstars.

Dickinson also made a recording withPete (Sonic Boom) KemberofSpacemen 3."Indian Giver" was released in 2008 by Birdman Records under the name of Spectrum Meets Captain Memphis, with Captain Memphis, obviously, referring to Dickinson.

In 2003, Dickinson briefly appeared inThe Road to Memphis,part ofMartin Scorsese's television productionThe Blues.

Free Beer Tomorrow(2002) was an album of covers. It included “The Ballad of Billy and Oscar,” by renegade art criticDave Hickey,and “Hungry Town,” written byGreen on Redalumnus / former Dickinson protégéChuck Prophet,along with Prophet’s main songwriting partner, klipschutz (pen name of Kurt Lipschutz). Prophet and klipschutz were amused but not disappointed that Dickinson changed some of the lyrics, according to an interview with Prophet. In the same interview, Prophet mentioned that his writing partner was credited on the disc as “klipshitz,” probably due to Dickinson’s poor handwriting.

In 2007 Dickinson played with the Memphis-based rock band Snake Eyes. The band, formed by the Memphis musicianGreg Roberson(previously the drummer for Reigning Sound), also included Jeremy Scott (also from Reigning Sound), Adam Woodard, and John Paul Keith. The group disbanded in October 2008. Dickinson and Roberson went on to form another Memphis group, Ten High & the Trashed Romeos, with Jake and Toby Vest (of the Memphis band the Bulletproof Vests) and Adam Hill. The band recorded two albums, the first consisting of original compositions by Dickinson and the band, and the second consisting ofcover versionsof songs originally recorded by Memphisgarage rockbands in the 1960s.

Death

Dickinson died August 15, 2009, at Methodist Extended Care Hospital in Memphis, followingtriple-bypass heart surgery.

Discography

Solo albums

• Dixie Fried(1972, Atlantic; CD issued by SepiaTone, 2002)
• A Thousand Footprints in the Sand(live) (1997, Last Call/Sony, France)
• Free Beer Tomorrow(2002, Artemis)
• Jungle Jim and the Voodoo Tiger(2006, Memphis Int'l)
• Fishing with Charlie(Spoken Word) (2006, Birdman)
• Killers from Space(2007, Memphis Int'l)
• Dinosaurs Run in Circles(2009, Memphis Int'l)
• I'm Just Dead, I'm Not Gone(2012, Memphis Int'l)

With Mudboy and the Neutrons

• Known Felons in Drag(1986, New Rose)
• Negro Streets at Dawn(1993, New Rose)
• They Walk Among Us(1995, Koch)

With Raisins in the Sun

• Raisins in the Sun(2001, Rounder)

As a compiler

• Beale Street Saturday Night(1979, Memphis Development)
• Delta Experimental Project Vol. I(1988, New Rose/Fan Club, France)
• Delta Experimental Project Vol. II(1990, New Rose/Fan Club, France)
• Delta Experimental Project Vol. III(2003, Birdman)

Bibliography

• Dickinson, Jim (2017).I'm Just Dead, I'm Not Gone.Suarez, Ernest, ed. Jackson: University of Mississippi Press.ISBN9781496810540.Well-written autobiography covering his first thirty years.
• Gordon, Robert (1995).It Came from Memphis.London: Secker & Warburg.ISBN0-436-20145-3.

External links

• Official websiteArchived2020-09-22 at theWayback Machine
• Final Interview
• Interview