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FLOYD DIXON: Time Brings About A Change - A Floyd Dixon Celebration

Floyd Dixon was one of a number of Texas blues and R&B artists who came to the West Coast in the 1940s. A piano player and singer, Dixon was particularly versatile; not only did he embrace a variety of blues and R&B styles, but he could also croon like CHARLES BROWN one moment and rock like LITTLE RICHARD the next. Traditional and cocktail lounge blues, slick R&B, pop, and rock & roll were all included in Dixon's repertoire at one time or another in his career.

Dixon taught himself how to play piano. After he and his family moved to Los Angeles in the mid '40s, he decided to become a professional singer. He won a few amateur talent contests in L.A., and bandleader JOHNNY OTIS encouraged Dixon to seek a recording contract. Shortly thereafter, he signed with Modern Records. His first record, ''Dallas Blues'', was released by the label in 1949. From that point on, he recorded for a variety of labels --- Modern, Supreme, Aladdin, and Specialty --- as he sought to find his niche in the West Coast rhythm & blues scene. Dixon's biggest hits were with Aladdin: ''Telephone Blues'' and ''Call Operator 210'' both hit near the top of the R&B charts in 1951 and 1952, respectively. ''Hey Bartender'', a song he wrote and recorded in 1954 for the Cat label, was made popular again in the late '70s by the BLUES BROTHERS, a band featuring actors John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd.

Dixon spent the rest of his career doing R&B package tours and performing one-nighters around U.S. Althought he continued to record into 1970s with a number of small independent labels, he was never able to match the success he had enjoyed in the early 1950s.

A wonderful exponent of what is often referred to as West Coast blues, more piano based and jazz influenced than much of the blues and R&B referenced in the Primer, Floyd is a leading practitioner of this 'California style'. Both the state and the style played host to a great many post war Texas bluesmen, and the jazzy

T-Bone Walker approach became a mainstay of the genre, along with the jump-blues of Louis Jordan and others.

Born J Riggins Jnr., Dixon began playing piano and singing as a child and in Texas he was exposed to a range of blues and gospel influences, as well as a little jazz and hillbilly.

His family moved to Los Angeles in 1942 when Floyd was thirteen and it was here that Dixon came into contact with Charles Brown, a major musical influence throughout his working life. To an extent Brown took the young piano player under his wing and when Johnny Moore's Three Blazers split up, Dixon had learned more than enough to act as a natural replacement for the Brown sound - he made a number of early Brown Cow Town Boogiestyle recordings with Eddie Williams (the original Blazers' bassist) and with Johnny Moore's new Blazers line-up for both the Aladdin and Combo labels.

Floyd also recorded extensively with his own trio, signing with Modern Records in 1949 and adding the influences of jump blues stalwarts Louis Jordan and Amos Milburn to the urban sophistication of Charles Brown. He had his early successes with Modern, securing a top ten R&B hit with 'Dallas Blues' and following it up with the slightly less successful 'Mississippi Blues' (1949). He switched to Aladdin and in the following year scored another hit with 'Sad Eyes', followed by 'Telephone Blues' and 'Call Operator 210'; on the last recording, he was backed by Johnny Moore's Three Blazers.

The influence of the likes of Amos Milburn found its way onto uptempo, ribald recordings such as 'Red Cherries', 'Wine Wine Wine', 'Too Much Jelly Roll' and 'Baby Let's Go Down To The Woods'. You can get hold of the Modern recordings on "Cow Town Blues", which brings together 26 songs from the 1948-50 sessions and, although his first recordings, it showcases a firmly established style on both uptempo jump blues and ballads.

Marshall Texas Is My HomeDixon switched to the Specialty label in 1952/3 (and the Atlantic subsidiary Cat in 1954) and, although the groove was much the same, he recorded some of his better known material around this time. 'Hey Bartender' is possibly his best known tune and his original version was picked up on by Koko Taylor and more recently by the Blues Brothers on their multi million selling first album. 'Hole In The Wall' has recently been revived by Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings, the ex-Stone's tribute "supergroup" to the music he loves. He also flirted with Mexican music ('Me Quieras') and had a crack at rock'n'roll with the Little Richard influenced 'Ooh Little Girl'. "Marshall Texas Is My Home" pulls all this material together (on Ace Records in the UK) and is possibly the one to get if you just buy one Dixon CD. The Modern material is interesting, but would rate a little below this compilation by virtue of the latter's more well known material (although "Cow Town Blues" contains Dixon's R&B hit sides!)

Dixon continued to record for a selection of small West Coast and Texas independent labels throughout the 50s and 60s and he was in constant demand as a live performer. By the 1970s however, the self styled Mr. Magnificent dropped out of the music scene to enjoy a quieter life back in his home state of Texas. It wasn't until 1975 that he made a comeback of sorts, beginning with a tour of Sweden, where he became the first artist to be featured on Jonas Bernholm's Route 66 re-issue label. In the 1980s, he toured as part of the European Blues Caravan with Ruth Brown and Charles Brown.

In 1984 he was commissioned to write a blues for the Los Angeles Olympic Games ('Olympic Blues') and in the 90s his powerful performances were a fixture on American blues and jazz festivals. His older recordings are now available again and in the mid 1990s he secured a contract with Alligator Records. Wake Up And LiveThe "Wake Up And Live" album is well worth the admission price, with Floyd still singing and playing with an artistic fire and passion that remains undiminished - his support band is excellent and, although he reprises material from his earlier years such as 'Hey Bartender', the exercise never slips into revivalism.

In 1997 Living Blues Magazine recognised him as Most Outstanding Blues Musician (Keyboards) and as Comeback Artist Of The Year. Praise indeed for his "impeccable piano technique, fabulous timing, and a voice like a foghorn". He also received the W.C. Handy award for Comeback Album Of The Year for "Wake Up And Live". Sadly, Floyd died on July 26 2006.

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