Nearly every Blues artist recorded one of Willie’s songs at some point. He had a heavy hand in forming the Chicago Blues sound of the 1950’s and 1960’s.
Photo by Brianmcmillen on CC BY-SA 3.0
Willie Dixon Facts
- His entrée into music was as a Mississippi teenager, singing bass in a gospel group that regularly made local radio appearances.
- Came to Chicago at 21 and took up boxing – not music – and won the Illinois Golden Gloves Heavyweight Championship in 1937.
- When his boxing career stalled a couple of years later, he turned back to the music he loved as his “Plan B.”
- He declared himself a Conscientious Objector during WWII, and served 10 months in prison for his beliefs.
- After the war he formed or performed in multiple small groups, and began recording his own music.
- He signed with Chess Records in the early 1950’s and turned his talents toward writing, producing, and even scouting talent.
- By the end of the 1960’s you’d be hard-pressed to find a single Chicago Blues artist that hadn’t recorded a Willie Dixon tune.
- His musical influence was far-reaching; the first Rolling Stones #1 single was one of Willie’s songs, Little Red Rooster.
- Even Led Zeppelin was “inspired” by Willie’s songs; that “inspiration” led to a couple of out-of-court settlements for Willie. (A story for another time.)
- There probably isn’t a Blues band on the planet that doesn’t know at least a dozen Willie Dixon tunes by heart.
“The Blues are the roots of all American music. As long as American music survives, so will the Blues.” ~ Willie Dixon
My Favorite Willie Dixon Songs
- “The Seventh Son” If you haven’t heard this song covered by at least a dozen different artists, you just haven’t been listening to much music.
- “Crazy For My Baby” This one’s a live version from The American Folk Blues Festival 1963 which planted the seeds of the Blues all over Europe. It’s a simple tune that just can’t miss.
- “Little Red Rooster” Willie’s heartfelt version of his classic. This one features “Big” Walter “Shakey” Horton on the harmonica. One of the all-time greats and a Willie favorite.
If I Could Only Have One Album
My choice would be his 1970 album, ‘I Am The Blues’.
Okay, so Willie wasn’t known as a great singer. And when you listen to this album, most every song will remind you of another artist’s version you’ve heard somewhere else. But then there’s just something about hearing the original author work his way through these classic tunes that feels right.
I imagine this is how it might have sounded when Willie was doing a demo of these tunes for someone. Maybe playing “Spoonful” for Howlin’ Wolf. Or “I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man” for Muddy Waters. And of course they snapped every tune up Willie wrote because he was the rainmaker when it came to hit tunes.
It’s a little startling when you consider that all the hits crammed into this single record represent just a small sample of Willie’s total output.
Of course he didn’t stop at writing.
Willie was heavily involved in all the behind-the-scenes production of many recordings. Arranging, hiring and rehearsing the band, and even playing bass or singing harmonies. Willie Dixon was a one-man Blues wrecking crew.
And this album’s title doesn’t lie.
Preview I Am The Blues
A Small Taste
So that you understand just how good Willie was on the bass, here’s a video from 1966 — Willie Dixon performing with Sunnyland Slim.
This was part of a number of recordings made by the Canadian Television Corporation (CTC). They invited several of the greatest American Blues players of the day up to Toronto and then just set them loose. You can find them all as Blues Masters.
There’s some *ridiculous* solo work going on in this tune. It’s credited in the show’s notes as “Bassology,” but it sounds to me like 2 buddies just jamming.
It’s hard to fathom how good a musician Willie was in order to make it look soooo simple. And of course, Sunnyland Slim held up his end of the bargain too.
Must be nice.
Thanks for reading!
Jon Beres
I’m one part Blues Fan and one part Digital Native (with a dash of Curmudgeon.) I’m also the publisher of AlltheWayBlue.com. If you love the Blues, I have a feeling we’ll get along just fine - cheers!
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