Floyd Dixon

Floyd Dixon, a West Coast performer on piano and vocals in the jump blues vein, served as a key bridge in the shift from swing to rhythm and blues. Self-styled as "Mr. Magnificent," his vigorous and rowdy approach exerted a formative pull on Ray Charles, pointing toward modern soul more than ten years ahead of its arrival. Born Jay Riggins, Jr., on February 8, 1929, in Marshall, TX, Dixon spent his early years near the Louisiana border, soaking up blues, gospel, and regional roots sounds from bayou country. He picked up piano by ear as a boy, and after his family moved to Los Angeles in 1942 he took work as a drugstore clerk and golf caddie. Although he later trained in hotel management and chased a professional football career, music held his deepest interest. Top prizes in a string of L.A. amateur contests led bandleader Johnny Otis to arrange his first recording, "Houston Jump," which appeared on the Swing Time label in 1948.

With a smooth, after-hours blues manner, the young Dixon drew constant parallels to Charles Brown, who became his guide and placed him in bassist Eddie Williams' outfit, the Brown Buddies. Dixon also secured a solo contract with Modern Records and landed an early local success with 1949's "Dallas Blues." "Mississippi Blues" arrived the following year and scored heavily across the Deep South. On subsequent sides such as "Cow Town," "Gloomy Baby," and "Shuffle Boogie," Dixon began shaping his personal voice, drawing on the gospel and Delta blues roots of his youth to build a raw, forceful style that foreshadowed rock & roll. While touring with a young Ray Charles, he urged Charles to leave behind Nat King Cole-inspired pop and "try it with more of a gospel flavor."

Late in 1950, Aladdin Records purchased Dixon's Modern contract and promptly teamed him with Johnny Moore's Three Blazers on "Telephone Blues," his first national hit. "Doin' the Town" came next, and throughout 1951 Aladdin issued a flood of Dixon tracks including "Walking and Talking Blues," "Let's Dance," "Empty Stocking Blues," and "Do I Love You." The sheer volume overwhelmed radio and stores, so none of the singles registered strongly. Dixon finally returned to the charts in June 1952 with "Wine Wine Wine." He spent much of the rest of the year touring the Midwest and South behind the follow-up, "The River," including a long run at Kansas City's Orchid Room. After further Aladdin releases, notably "Broken Hearted Traveler" and the Jerry Lieber/Mike Stoller-penned "Too Much Jelly Roll," he moved to Art Rupe's Specialty label and debuted there in mid-1953 with "Hard Living Alone." "Hole in the Wall" closed out the year, yet neither charted; the same outcome met 1954's "Ooh Ee, Ooh Eee," after which the company ended the deal. Dixon soon reappeared on Atlantic's Cat subsidiary with "Moonshine." Its follow-up, "Hey Bartender," became his most lasting success, aided decades later by a respectful Blues Brothers cover.

Though his sound and manner clearly anticipated modern R&B and rock & roll, Dixon was overshadowed as a fresh wave of artists took over the charts. During the mid-'50s he drifted among Los Angeles independents such as Pearl, Cash, and Ebb without notable results. He kept touring into the early '60s, then largely vanished from view, settling quietly in Paris, TX. A 1975 Route 66 compilation of his postwar recordings earned strong praise in Europe, prompting Dixon to cross the Atlantic for his first tour in more than a decade; he later joined Ruth Brown and longtime friend Charles Brown on the European Blues Caravan. He also shared bills with then-unknown Robert Cray and Little Charlie & the Nightcats, and in 1984 the Los Angeles Olympic Games organizing committee commissioned him to write "Olympic Blues." The Rhythm and Blues Foundation presented Dixon with its Pioneer Career Achievement Award in 1993, which opened doors to appearances at the Monterey Jazz Festival and the Chicago Blues Festival. Three years afterward, Alligator Records released his concert album Wake Up and Live!, which earned the W.C. Handy Comeback Album of the Year Award. Fine! Fine! Thing! appeared on HighJohn in 2005, and despite declining health Dixon joined fellow pianists Pinetop Perkins and Henry Clay for a short tour in June 2006. He succumbed to cancer weeks later at age 77.