Willie Dixon: Preacher of the Blues

Mitsutoshi Inaba

doi:10.5771/9780810869943

Summary

One of the greats of blues music, Willie Dixon was a recording artist whose abilities extended beyond that of bass player. A singer, songwriter, arranger, and producer, Dixon's work influenced countless artists across the music spectrum. In Willie Dixon: Preacher of the Blues, Mitsutoshi Inaba examines Dixon's career, from his earliest recordings with the Five Breezes through his major work with Chess Records and Cobra Records.

Focusing on Dixon's work on the Chicago blues from the 1940s to the early 1970s, this book details the development of Dixon's songwriting techniques from his early professional career to his mature period and compares the compositions he provided for different artists. This volume also explores Dixon's philosophy of songwriting and its social, historical, and cultural background. This is the first study to discuss his compositions in an African American cultural context, drawing upon interviews with his family and former band members. This volume also includes a detailed list of Dixon's session work, in which his compositions are chronologically organized.

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Bibliographic data

Edition: 1/2011
Copyright Year: 2011
ISBN-Print: 978-0-8108-6993-6
ISBN-Online: 978-0-8108-6994-3
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 446
Product Type: Monograph

1. Contents No access
2. Foreword No access
3. Acknowledgments No access
4. Introduction No access
CHAPTER ONE. Dixon’s Youth: The Cultural Basis for the New Interpretation of Dixon’s Compositions No access Pages 1 - 14
CHAPTER TWO. Dixon’s Early Musical Experiences No access Pages 15 - 26
CHAPTER THREE. Willie Dixon’s Early Groups No access Pages 27 - 56
CHAPTER FOUR. Willie Dixon and Chess Records No access Pages 57 - 70
CHAPTER FIVE. Dixon’s Compositions in the First Chess Records Period (1953–1956) No access Pages 71 - 154
CHAPTER SIX. The Cobra Records Period (1956–1958) No access Pages 155 - 182
CHAPTER SEVEN. The Second Chess Records Period (1958–1971) No access Pages 183 - 292
Postscript No access Pages 293 - 302
Appendix A: Dixon’s Compositional Procedure: Songwriting, Teaching Songs to Featured Artists, Arrangements, and Production No access Pages 303 - 314
Appendix B: Recording Sessions Attended by Willie Dixon and Recording Chronology of Willie Dixon’s Compositions No access Pages 315 - 406
Bibliography No access Pages 407 - 422
Subject Index No access Pages 423 - 436
Song Index No access Pages 437 - 444
About the Author No access Pages 445 - 446