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“There are cool cats and there are cool Memphis cats but no one, not
Elvis, not Jerry Lee, not even the Wolf came close to epitomizing Memphis
and cool like Jim Dickinson did. He was the Top Cat Daddy, an
inspiration, a mentor and my friend.

If you knew his music and understood his role as one of the links between
black and white culture and between blues and rock and roll, you know what
I'm talking about. If he is unfamiliar to you, now's as good time as any
to get to know him, even though he's checked out of the motel.”

--Joe Nick Patoski


For more about Jim go to
http://www.zebraranch.com
http://joenickp.blogspot.com/2009/08/james-luther-dickinson.html

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Life with Keith Richards


Three years after Keith's ill-fated, cop-ridden stop at the 4 Dice Cafe in
Fordyce, Arkansas, July, 1975, Jim Dickinson apologized for advising Keith
to take the trip. Keith laughed, "No, man. That was the most fun I ever
had."

Read all about it in Chapter One of Keith's new autobiography, Life.

Monday, October 25, 2010

"They hadacall it something!"

"I think people make records out of a primal urge--it's a fear of death. Every western religion is about the search for immortality and I think that people who make records understand that."

-Jim Dickinson

"Somewhere Down the Road" from Jungle Jim and the Voodoo Tiger

"Jungle Jim and The Voodoo Tiger is the third studio album in 34 years from pianist/vocalist/bandleader/producer/session player/raconteur/cultural iconoclast Jim Dickinson. Actually, the album, like the two that preceded it, is credited to Jim's artist alter ego, James Luther Dickinson.

Over the course of the past 40 years, Dickinson has worked in the studio with such artists as Ry Cooder, the Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, Arlo Guthrie, Sam & Dave, Big Star, Tony Joe White, Bettye Lavette, the Replacements, Duane Allman, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, and many more. Jungle Jim & The Voodoo Tiger was produced by Dickinson and Memphis International's David Less, the two having earlier collaborated in producing Alvin Youngblood Hart's Grammy nominated Down In The Alley and Harmonica Frank Floyd's The Missing Link for the label. Before all this, Jim was a member of The Jesters, whose "Cadillac Man" was the last record released on Sun Records while Sam Phillips was still running the show.

Jungle Jim and The Voodoo Tiger is a set of songs that Dickinson has collected over the years in, as he puts it, 'the jukebox of my mind,' plus some new songs by writers he greatly admires. Backing is by sons Cody (drums) and Luther (guitar) of North Mississippi Allstars fame, along with Alvin Youngblood Hart (guitar). Bass duties are shared by Paul Taylor (electric bass) who was part of the band DDT with Dickinson boys and Amy LaVere (stand-up bass) whose own album This World Is Not My Home has been making waves of late.

Recorded in less than two weeks at the Dickinson family's Zebra Ranch studio in rural Independence, Mississippi, the album songs range from rollicking barrelhouse ("Hadacol Boogie," "Rooster Blues") to stinging social commentary ("Red Neck, Blue Collar," penned by legendary folkie Bob Frank) to contemplative and atmospheric ("Violin Burns"). Song highlights include "Somewhere Down the Road," written by Chuck Prophet from Green on Red and a honky tonkin' rendition of the Memphis classic "White Silver Sands" with the sly soul of "Love Bone" and "Can't Beat The Kid."

Says Jim Dickinson, who is often James Luther Dickinson's harshest critic: 'I'm real happy with it; it's a damn good record for eleven days!'"

from Dish Magazine



10 Somewhere Down the Road by Jim Dickinson's Legacy

Monday, October 18, 2010

Friday, October 15, 2010

Zebra Ranch- "Rock & Roll Is Self Taught...."

               

    “Rock and roll is self taught, “Jim Dickinson told
Relix Magazine.  “I really believe it’s something you grow
out of yourself and your environment.”

    “Southern rock/blues purveyors Hill Country Revue
released their second album, Zebra Ranch, on October 12th
via Razor & Tie.  The album is everything and more a band
could hope for when recording their sophomore album;
progressing artistically, creating a defining sound, and
coming together with a unity that cannot be manufactured.
    “While never departing from the blend of Southern rock
and blues that Hill Country Revue is known for, the band
does expand upon their musical range on this record.  As
opposed to the more bluesy sound on their debut album
Make A Move, Zebra Ranch is more rock.  “Make A
Move was an artistic transition, and this album is a
personal one,” bandleader Cody Dickinson said.
“Zebra Ranch is our‘we have arrived’ kind of party....
This album is a yell of rock and roll rebellion,” said
Cody.  “It’s also a loud cry for purpose, meaning and
truth – straight from the soul.”
   The album is a tribute to Cody’s father, legendary
producer and musician Jim Dickinson, who passed one
year ago.  The album title comes from the name of Jim’s
home recording studio, where both Hill Country Revue
albums were created.  “Being an artist himself, he was
always producing, even in absentia,” Cody spoke of Jim.
“He continues today,and this record is in his memory.”
 -92 ZEW.NET

   Luther and I are proud of Cody and his hot new album.
Way to go, Baby Son.



   

Thursday, October 14, 2010

JLD recording Dinosaurs Run in Circles.


                                                                                  
photo by Tom Lonardo

  08 A Chicken Ain't Nothing But A Bird by Jim Dickinson's Legacy

Monday, October 11, 2010

“I’M JUST DEAD, I’M NOT GONE.” Jim’s self-penned requiem

James Luther Dickinson was a family man. When I told him that my wife, Angela, was pregnant with our only daughter, Emma, he said, “That's what it's all about. There's your legacy.” Of all his musical accomplishments, which are numerous, Jim understood that his real legacy lives in his sons, Cody and Luther.”

-David Less,
 Memphis International Records

Luther, Chris Chew, and Cody are three time Grammy nominated North Mississippi Allstars. Jim produced their albums, 51 Phantom, Electric Blue Watermelon, and Hernando. He confided to Joan Self Selvidge in an interview for True Story Pictures, “I’ll be producing them (NMA) when I’m dead, whether they know it or not.” Jim’s legacy continues with the Allstars earning recent local and international acclaim:

North Mississippi Allstars: BEST LOCAL BAND
Memphis Flyer 9/23/10-9/29/10-

"Hailing from, well, north Mississippi, these Allstars maintain roots in the Bluff City despite their world wide fame. Whether it’s a stint at the Beale Street Music Festival or a cameo appearance at a local college, they’re ready to give- and receive some welcome hometown flavor. "

-Robert Plant (founder of Led Zeppelin), discussing touring with the Allstars.

"Would I want the pressure of being a big cheese on a stadium tour? I see what happens to U2 and who'd want that?" Plant says. "Give me a great theatre and the North Mississippi Allstars kicking things off and I'm gone."

Chris Chew, (Jim's spiritual son) Jim, Cody, and Luther Dickinson. Photo taken by our friend, Ebet Roberts.