Slow-Blues.com — Global Blues Encyclopedia
Back to artists
Willie Dixon
Monterey Jazz Festival, 1981 — photographer unrecorded/unknown (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)
Chicago

Willie Dixon

This artist is no longer with us.
Born: July 1, 1915, Vicksburg, Mississippi · Died: January 29, 1992, Burbank, California (heart failure)• United States
Chicago BluesElectric Blues
Instruments
Upright bass, Voice
Labels
Chess (staff), Cobra, Bluesville
from
Mississippi → Chicago
Born
July 1, 1915, Vicksburg, Mississippi
If Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf were the faces of Chess Records, Willie Dixon was the engine running underneath both of them — and he built that engine after giving up a career that could have made him a heavyweight boxing contender instead. He was born July 1, 1915, in Vicksburg, Mississippi, one of fourteen children. He grew to six foot six and over 250 pounds, and as a young man pursued boxing seriously enough to win the Illinois State Golden Gloves Heavyweight Championship in the novice division in 1937 and briefly work as a sparring partner for Joe Louis, before walking away from the sport after only four professional fights (Kilde: Wikipedia). During World War II, he refused induction as a conscientious objector, stating plainly that he wouldn't fight for a nation that maintained institutionalized racism and racist laws — a stance that cost him ten months in prison (Kilde: Wikipedia). By 1951 he'd become a full-time employee of Chess Records, working simultaneously as producer, talent scout, session bassist and staff songwriter — a combination of roles almost nobody else in the industry held at once. He also worked for Chess's subsidiary Checker Records and, between 1956 and 1959, for Cobra Records, before later running his own label, Yambo Records, from the late 1960s into the mid-1970s (Kilde: Wikipedia). The list of songs he wrote or co-wrote — over 500 in total — reads like a table of contents for the entire Chicago blues genre: "Hoochie Coochie Man" and "I Just Want to Make Love to You" (both 1954, for Muddy Waters), "My Babe" (1955, for Little Walter), "I Can't Quit You Baby" (1956), "Spoonful" and "Back Door Man" (1960, both for Howlin' Wolf), "Wang Dang Doodle" (1960, later a hit for Koko Taylor), "Little Red Rooster" (1961, for Howlin' Wolf, later a UK number-one single for the Rolling Stones), "You Shook Me" (1962) and "Bring It On Home" (1963) among them. Howlin' Wolf, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Otis Rush and Magic Sam all recorded his material too (Kilde: Wikipedia). He recorded a handful of solo albums under his own name across his career, most notably "I Am the Blues" for Columbia in 1970 — largely Dixon's own versions of songs he'd written for others, with Johnny Shines on guitar and Walter "Shakey" Horton on harmonica — followed by "Willie Dixon's Peace?" on his own Yambo label in 1971 and, near the end of his career, "Hidden Charms" in 1988, which won him a Grammy Award the following year (Kilde: Wikipedia). In 1977 he and Muddy Waters sued Arc Music, Chess's publishing arm, over what they considered unfairly small royalties — Dixon subsequently founded his own publishing company, Hoochie Coochie Music, to keep future control of his catalogue. In 1987 he reached an out-of-court settlement with Led Zeppelin after suing them for plagiarizing his songs, most notably tracing "Whole Lotta Love" back to his own "You Need Love" and crediting his authorship of "Bring It On Home." He used the settlement money to help fund the Blues Heaven Foundation, an organization he'd founded specifically to help older blues musicians recover royalties and publishing rights that record labels had taken from them for decades (Kilde: Wikipedia). He died of heart failure in Burbank, California, on January 29, 1992, and was buried at Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois (Kilde: Wikipedia).

Musical Influence

Dixon's songs became the backbone of the entire British blues-rock explosion: the Rolling Stones took "Little Red Rooster" to number one in the UK, Cream built much of their reputation on "Spoonful" and "Back Door Man," and Led Zeppelin's most famous riff, "Whole Lotta Love," was legally traced back to his own "You Need Love" in a 1987 settlement. Rolling Stone has ranked him among the greatest bassists and songwriters in popular music history, and the Blues Heaven Foundation he founded continues to fight for the royalty and publishing rights of blues musicians who came before him (Kilde: Wikipedia).

Influences

Big Bill BroonzyMemphis Slim

Formative experiences

  • •1937: Won the Illinois State Golden Gloves Heavyweight Championship (novice division). (Kilde: Wikipedia)
  • •WWII: Imprisoned for 10 months after refusing induction as a conscientious objector, citing institutionalized racism. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
  • •1951: Became a full-time Chess Records employee — producer, talent scout, session bassist and staff songwriter simultaneously. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
  • •1977: Sued Arc Music (with Muddy Waters) over unfair royalties; founded his own publishing company, Hoochie Coochie Music. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
  • •1987: Reached an out-of-court settlement with Led Zeppelin over song credit and royalties. (Kilde: Wikipedia)

Instruments & Equipment

Other

Upright bass

House bassist at Chess Records, playing on countless sessions in addition to his songwriting and production work.

Stories & Anecdotes

"Was a serious enough boxer to win the Illinois Golden Gloves heavyweight title and briefly spar with Joe Louis before choosing music instead. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"
"Spent ten months in prison during WWII for refusing military induction as a conscientious objector protesting institutionalized racism. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"
"Successfully sued Led Zeppelin in 1987, legally establishing that "Whole Lotta Love" derived from his own composition "You Need Love." (Kilde: Wikipedia)"

Collaborators

Muddy Waters

Recorded numerous Dixon-written songs, including "Hoochie Coochie Man"; co-plaintiff in the 1977 Arc Music lawsuit.

Howlin' Wolf

Recorded more Dixon songs than any other artist, including "Spoonful," "Back Door Man" and "Little Red Rooster."

Johnny Shines

Guitarist on Dixon's 1970 solo album "I Am the Blues."

Watch & Listen

Featured

Willie Dixon & The All-Stars - Live in Montreal (1980s) feat. Sugar Blue

Live performance footage of Dixon fronting his All-Stars band.

Sugar Blue

Little Red Rooster (Willie Dixon)

Little Red Rooster (Willie Dixon)

WILLIE DIXON - Wang Dang Doodle

WILLIE DIXON - Wang Dang Doodle

Watch & Listen

Henter videoer fra YouTube…

Discography

YearTitleProducerStudioLabelChartSalesMusiciansYouTubeNotes
1951Chess Records staff era beginsLeonard & Phil Chess—Chess / Checker———Full-time producer, talent scout, session bassist and staff songwriter through the 1950s and 60s.
1956Cobra Records eraCobra Records—Cobra———1956–1959, worked alongside his Chess duties.
1970I Am the BluesColumbia Records—Columbia——Johnny Shines (Guitar), Walter "Shakey" Horton (Harmonica)Dixon's own versions of songs he wrote for others; with Johnny Shines (guitar) and Walter "Shakey" Horton (harmonica).
1971Willie Dixon's Peace?Willie Dixon—Yambo———Released on his own label.
1988Hidden CharmsBug / Capitol—Bug / Capitol———Won the 1989 Grammy Award.

Famous songs

01Hoochie Coochie Man
02Little Red Rooster
03Spoonful
04Wang Dang Doodle
05I Just Want to Make Love to You

External links

YouTube Music Wikipedia

Sources

Keep SlowBlues independent. Official merch — wear the blues.

Shop merch