Dickson, Willie

Willy Dixon was born in a poor family of rural workers and from an early age he worked in the field, moonlighting in various specialties. Even then, he composed and sang songs, participated in the church choir and amateur choral groups. From the unruly, aggressive father, Willie inherited an explosive temper and, as a teenager, ended up in prison twice. Dixon's musical career began in 1936 after moving to Chicago, but was threatened for some time: in 1938, he became an Illinois champion in boxing and thought about devoting the rest of his life to this activity. His acquaintance with guitarist Leo Caston (Leonard “Baby Boo” Caston) was decisive: the ensemble Five Breezes soon formed around this duet. In 1941, when the group became famous in Chicago and released several dance records, Dixon was again at odds with the law: he refused to serve in the American army, and publicly stated at court that he was refusing American citizenship in protest against infringement of the rights of blacks . When he was released (he was never sentenced), he first collected Four Jumps Of Jive, then The Big Three Trio (with Leo Caston and guitarist Olly Crawford): the groups released several records each - on Mercury and Columbia, respectively.

Since 1948, the era of cooperation with bluesmen begins for Dixon: he moves away from the variety scene and becomes a full-time instrumentalist of the record company Chess Records , where he soon becomes the head of the repertoire department and artists (A & R). Here he first starts recording under his own name. In 1954, the blues of Dixon performed with the national success of Muddy Waters , Howlin 'Wolf and Little Walter : Dixon-author’s takeoff begins. In the early 60s, rock bands of the new generation returned to his song heritage: The Rolling Stones , The Yardbirds , and later - Cream and Led Zeppelin . All this time, Dixon (actively collaborating with rock-and-rolls - Chuck Berry , Bo Didley ) - did not lose touch with the Chicago scene, contributing to the formation of young bluesmen ( Otis Rush , Buddy Guy , etc.) His name is connected with the rise of singer Koko Taylor who held the title of American “blues queen” for some time, as well as the first success of Johnny Winter . By 1970, the release of Dixon's probably most famous solo album, I'm The Blues : a collection of his best things in rock arrangements. It was only in 1991 that the music industry recognized the gigantic contribution of Willie Dixon to the development of modern music: he received his first and only Grammy .

• "300 Pounds Of Joy" - Howlin Wolf , Blackmailers , The Lighthouse Blues Band, Byther Smith, Jim Belushi & Dan Akroyd
• "Back Door Man" - Howlin Wolfe , The Doors , Grateful Dead , Shadows of Knight , Bob Weir
• " Bring It on Home " - Sonny Boy Williamson II (Rice Miller), Led Zeppelin , Van Morrison , Dread Zeppelin
• “Built for Comfort” - Howlin Wolfe , Canned Heat , UFO
• "Crazy For My Baby" - Little Walter , Charlie Musselwhite, Dixon
• "Close to You" - Muddy Waters , Stevie Ray Vaughn , The Doors , Sam Lay, Rock Bottom
• "Dead Presidents" - Little Walter , J. Geils Band
• "Diddy Wah Diddy" - Bo Didley , Captain Beefheart , The Blues Band
• "Do Me Right" - Lowell Fulson
• "Do the Do" - Howlin Wolfe
• “Don't Tell Me Nothin´” - Dixon (from the movie “Color of Money”)
• “Everything But You” - Jimmy Witherspoon
• “Evil” - Howlin Wolf , Muddy Waters , Canned Heat , Captain Beefheart , Monster Magnet , Derek and the Dominos , Gary Moore , Cactus , The Faces , Miller, Steve , Coco Taylor
• "Hidden Charms" - Howlin Wolfe
• “ Hoochie Coochie Man ” —Boogie Band (Ufa), Muddy Waters , Shadows of Knight , The Nashville Teens , Dion , The Allman Brothers Band , Alexis Corner , Steppenwolf , Motörhead , Eric Clapton , Jimi Hendrix , Jeff Healy , Manfred Mann
• "I Ain't Superstitious" - Howlin Wolf , The Yardbirds , Grateful Dead , Megadeth , The Jeff Beck Group
• "I Can't Quit You Baby" - Little Milton , Otis Rush , John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers , Led Zeppelin , Gary Moore , Dread Zeppelin
• "If the Sea Was Whiskey" - Chris Tile
• "I Got What It Takes" - Coco Taylor
• "I Just Want to Make Love to You" - Muddy Waters , The Kinks , The Yardbirds , Shadows of Knight , Mungo Jerry , The Grateful Dead , Foghat , The Rolling Stones , Etta James , Van Morrison , Paul Rogers , Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
• "I Love the Life I Live, I Live the Life I Love" - Muddy Waters
• I'm Ready - Muddy Waters , Humble Pie , Buddy Guy , Aerosmith , Long John Baldry , Low Budget Blues Band
• Insane Asylum - Coco Taylor , Katie MacDonald and Sly Stone , Diamanda Galas , Asylum Street Spankers , The Detroit Cobras
• "You Can't Make Peace" - Styx
• "I Want To Be Loved" - Muddy Waters , The Rolling Stones
• “Let Me Love You Baby” - Buddy Guy , Stevie Ray Vaughn , Jeff Beck , Muddy Waters , BB King
• "Little Red Rooster" - Howlin Wolfe , Sam Cook , The Rolling Stones , The Yardbirds , The Grateful Dead , The Doors , Luther Alison , The Jesus and Mary Chain , Big Mama Thornton
• "Mellow Down Easy" - Cactus , Little Walter & His Jukes , Paul Butterfield Blues Band , The Black Crowes , ZZ Top
• "Million Dollar Baby" - Dizzy Gillespie
• “My Babe” - Little Walter , The Fabulous Thunderbirds , Spencer Davis Group , John P. Hammond , Bo Didley , Muddy Waters , Elvis Presley , Otar Turner & The Rising Star Fire and Drum Band
• "My Mind is Ramblin" - Rock Bottom
• "Nervous" - Willie Dickson
• "Pain In My Heart" - Willie Dickson
• "Pretty Thing" - Bo Didley , The Pretty Things , Canned Heat
• "Seventh Son" - Bill Haley , Johnny Rivers , Sting , The Climax Blues Band , Long John Baldry
• "Sin And City" - Buddy Guy
• "Shake For Me" - Stevie Ray Vaughn
• "Spoonful" - Howlin Wolfe , Muddy Waters , Bo Didley , Shadows of Knight , Dion , Paul Butterfield , Cream , Canned Heat , Grateful Dead , Ten Years After , The Who , Etta James
• "The Same Thing" - Muddy Waters , George Torogud , The Allman Brothers Band , Sue Foley, Mark Ford
• "Seventh Son" - Willy Dickson
• "Third Degree" - Eddie Boyd, Eric Clapton , Leslie West
• "Tollin 'Bells" - Lowell Fulson, Savoy Brown , Blues Band
• "Too Late" - Little Milton
• "Too Many Cooks" - Buddy Guy , Robert Cray
• "You Shook Me" - Muddy Waters , Jeff Beck , Led Zeppelin

Albums

• Willie's Blues (Prestige LP, 1960)
• I'm The Blues (Columbia LP, 1970)
• Hidden Charms (Silvertone - Capitol / EMI CD, 1988)
• The Chess Box (MCA / Chess 2CD, 1988)
• The Big Three (Sony / Legacy / CBS / Columbia CD 1990)
• The Original Wang Dang Doodle (MCA / Chess 1995)
• Poet Of The Blues (Columbia CD, 1998)
• Aux Trois Mailletz (Verve, 2000)
• Ginger Ale Afternoon (Varese Sarabande, 2001)
• In Paris (Original Blues Classics, 2004)
• Late 60's Concert At Liberty Hall, Houston Texas (Collectables, 2005)

• Willie Dixon in the movie about the heroes of blues