Floyd Dixon | |
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Recipient of the W.C. Handy Award for Comeback Album of the Year (WAKE UP AND LIVE, 1997), Floyd Dixon is a true blues original. A native of Texas, he participated in Los Angeles' influential Central Avenue jazz scene and came to prominence in the 1950's with hits like "Telephone Blues," "Call Operator 210" (both of which spent several weeks on the Billboard charts), and "Hey Bartender" (later covered by the Blues Brothers).
In 1947 Dixon cut his earliest sides for the Supreme label. Playing piano and singing in the "jump" style of early rhythm-and-blues, he subsequently recorded for Aladdin, Modern and Specialty, and made early road forays with B.B. King and Ray Charles, whom he encouraged away from crooning and towards church-based styles. In the fifties and sixties he was in constant demand. But in the 1970's "Mr. Magnificent" dropped out of the music scene in favor of a quieter life back in Texas. By the early 1980's, however, he could not resist the call of European interest in blues roots, and eventually toured as part of the European Blues Caravan with Ruth Brown and Charles Brown.
These days, more than half a century into his career, his powerful performances are again a fixture at American blues and jazz festivals. His older recordings have been reissued on the Fantasy label, while Alligator Records has recorded his award-winning newer work. Recognizing him as 1997's Most Outstanding Blues Musician (Keyboards) and Comeback Artist of the year, Living Blues magazine proclaimed Floyd Dixon "a musical genius, excelling at vibrant exuberant jump blues, rockin' piano boogies and sophisticated West Coast blues," and praised his "impeccable piano technique, fabulous timing, and a voice like a foghorn." |