The Allstars at the Beale Street Music Festival

"As in life, time seems to fly by at the Beale Street Music Festival. Not that long ago, the North Mississippi Allstars and Three 6 Mafia were among the festival's fledgling acts, musical upstarts representing the new generation of Memphis music.

But as the 2012 edition of the three-day concert event kicked off on Friday evening, the Allstars and Three 6 had come to occupy a rather different position: the two groups having evolved into Mid-South institutions epitomizing the wide spectrum of Memphis music that's defined the past two decades. Led by the Dickinson brothers -- guitarist Luther and drummer Cody -- the Allstars were in fine fettle on the Bud Light stage as they savored the fading bits of daylight, conjuring an impressive kickoff to the weekend's entertainment.

The band's prodigiously built bassist Chris Chew, who's developed a second career as a tour bus driver, and who will soon be taking a hiatus from the group, was a welcome sight on stage as his rock steady rhythm and infectious presence seemed to galvanize the Dickinsons.

The three-piece combo, aided by a trio of sweet-voiced backing singers, and the odd guest, including British bluesman Ian Seigel, delivered a crowd-pleasing set, carving new filigrees into familiar favorites like "Keys to the Kingdom" and "Let My Baby Ride."

Their performance reached a crescendo as Luther broke out an electric diddley bow -- a distinctly fashioned one string guitar -- and made the instrument come alive to the strains of "Rollin' and Tumblin'" while brother Cody strapped on a washboard; together they summoned the "world boogie" sound their departed father, Memphis producer Jim Dickinson, fashioned as his mantra and legacy, while family matriarch Mary Lindsay Dickinson watched approvingly from the side of the stage"

-Bob Mehr, Commercial Appeal
May 4th, 2012

Recording with The New Beale Street Sheiks

" ….I called Crosthwait and asked him if he had ever thought about playing the washboard. We went to a hardware store down by Memphis State and got a Zinc King washboard and half a dozen sewing thimbles to use as picks.  We drafted our friend George Gillis who had played bass on my Home of The Blues session to play wash tub and the New Beale Street Sheiks were born.

         We rehearsed once, played a gig Friday night at The Pastimes Peanut Bar, and showed up at Sam Phillip’s Studio Saturday morning for the session.  Nobody was there except Scotty Moore, Bill Black, and Rowsey, the repair man.  Justis had failed to nail down the booking for the session, and Scotty wasn’t buying it.  We looked pretty bad.  Crosthwait had hair trailing down his back and Gillis and I were hung over.  I told Scotty to call Justis in Nashville, which he did.  After he got off the phone, Scotty okayed the session and it fell to Rowsey to engineer.  I found out later it was his first and only session.  We set up around a couple of RCA 77s and laid down four songs as fast as we could.  While we were cutting, Bill Black was calling people on the phone and having them come over and laugh at us from the control room.

          When we finished Bill Black was shaking his head.  “Dickinson, this is the wildest thing you’ve ever done,” he chuckled."

         
(From The Search for Blind Lemon copyright by Jim Dickinson)

Americana Music Awards

Luther and Cody worked as part of Buddy Miller's house band,
backing various artists at the 2011 Americana Awards show.

Jim Dickinson- receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award for Engineering and Production from the Americana Music Association, Ryman Auditorium, Nashville,  Tennessee, 2007.

Listen to his speech below:


Jim Dickinson's Acceptance Speech for Americana Music Association's Lifetime Achievement Award by Jim Dickinson's Legacy

Jim Dickinson and the Hardly Can Playboys

Jim Dickinson's first appearance with his very young sons at the Overton Park Shell in 1989 (Cody Dickinson we are told was 13 but looks even younger which makes Luther just almost old enough to drive maybe ...?) also includes Jim Lancaster on bass and Jim Spake on sax on this way-rocking version of J.B. Lenoir's "Down in Mississippi". The "Hardly Can Playboys" left no doubt from the start that the younger Dickinsons could keep up with their legendary Dad. Some of the most formative shows for all involved have taken place at the Shell and the younger Dickinsons have made many more appearances on this stage over the years while developing into North Mississippi All-Stars. 

This performance was part of the "Memphis Medicine Show", series of live radio broadcasts over WEVL-FM from the stage of the Overton Park Shell for two years in the late '80s.

The historic Memphis amphitheater was fully renovated in 2008 thanks to a generous grant from the Mortimer Levitt Foundation and the renamed Levitt Shell now sponsors 50 free concerts every year devoted to developing community through the performing arts.

Jim Dickinson 2nd Annual Folk Festival

Folk Festival Honors Jim Dickinson's Legacy

Although the music legend is no longer with us, Jim Dickinson is not about to be forgotten in Memphis, where he shaped the city's sound and made his mark on the music scene for four decades, as the Levitt Shell hosts the Jim Dickinson Folk Festival on Monday, September 19th.

The event boasts a stunning line-up that includes headliners North Mississippi Allstars, Lucero, Mojo Nixon, Jimbo Mathis, and Tri-State Coalition, Sons of Mudboy and Shannon McNally.

The Jim Dickinson Folk Festival event was first presented at the Shell shortly after he died on August 15th, 2009, and attracted more than 4,000 fans for an entire night of celebration and music.

Best knows as the founder and father of the North Mississippi Allstars, which included his two sons, Luther and Cody, Dickinson's talent included writing, singing, producing, and playing piano. He served as a cultural historian, Sun Studio musicians and enthusiastic collaborator with a wide range of talent. He left his musical imprint through whatever role he played, influencing musicians from Bob Dylan to John Hiatt, Ry Cooter and Alex Chilton. He recorded with and produced greats like Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, Big Star, the Rolling Stones, The Replacements, and Sam and Dave.

Folk FEstival organizers are expecting as many or more people than the first year it was held--not surprising knowing how deep his roots run in Memphis, according to Anne Pitts, executive director of the Levitt Shell.

"Jim Dickinson is a great music legend, a wonderful soul and a friend to many," she said. "While we miss him, the power of his music and his spirit definitely live on, especially during the event. As Jim's epitaph says, "I'm just dead, I'm not gone."

Rain date is Tuesday, September 20th.

See Jim's wife, Mary Lindsay, discuss life with Jim and her sons, Luther and Cody, and the events planned to celebrate Jim's legacy by clicking here.

Jim Dickinson and Joe Hardy working at Ardent Studios

This is a picture of Jim producing with engineer, Joe Hardy, the first time they worked with the Fairlight in Studio C at Ardent. The artist, songwriter Sandy Carroll, said that Jim hated it, but that was before he and Joe mastered the new software and perfected the mysterious technique of Quantizing.

The owner/founder of Ardent, John Fry, said about quantizing, "Describe Quantizing in a simple way?  Impossible."

 Jim's son, Cody,  North Mississippi Allstars' drummer extraordinaire, talks about the Fairlight and his dad:
" I love this picture of Dad and Hardy, working on the Fairlight.  They were so far ahead of their time it is mind-boggling.  I remember Dad telling me about sampling snare drums before rap music even existed.  They were inventing the future."