Biography
Known for his versatile guitar skills drawing from diverse sources, Luther Dickinson has built a name as a pioneer in contemporary blues while honoring its deep traditions. Across his roles co-leading the North Mississippi Allstars, issuing solo recordings, and serving as producer or collaborator with figures such as Jimbo Mathus, Sharde Thomas, Amy LaVere, and Alvin Youngblood Hart, he channels an unwavering focus on Southern American roots music, freely merging blues, rockabilly, gospel, folk, and raw funky soul across his shifting releases. His earliest garage-blues efforts featured work on Othar Turner's Rising Star Fife & Drum Band single "Field Recordings from Gravel Springs, Mississippi" in 1995 and Spencer Dickinson's The Man Who Lives for Love (with Luther, Cody, and Jon Spencer) in 2001. The North Mississippi Allstars' Electric Blue Watermelon (2005) displayed a gritty, energetic take on blues and blues-rock that drew equal inspiration from their father, RL Burnside, Jerry Lee Lewis, Charlie Feathers, and Junior Kimbrough. Additional production and sideman credits include Willy DeVille, Patty Griffin, and John Hiatt, while he launched projects including the Word (with Cody, Robert Randolph, and John Medeski), the Hill Country Revue, and the South Memphis String Band (with Hart and Mathus). In 2013 he contributed to Shannon McNally's acclaimed Small Town Talk (Songs of Bobby Charles), LaVere's Runaway's Diary, and his own energetic Rock 'N Roll Blues. In 2017 the North Mississippi Allstars issued their most widely praised and internationally successful album to date, Prayer for Peace; two years later he released Solstice under the name Luther Dickinson & the Sisters of the Strawberry Moon, a project uniting celebrated female vocalists such as Thomas, LaVere, Birds of Chicago, and Amy Helm. An informal undertaking begun for his children evolved into his first family-oriented recording, 2023's Magic Music for Family Folks.
Luther Dickinson grew up in a prominent musical household. His father, Jim Dickinson, was a respected studio musician and producer who performed on piano with Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, Los Lobos, and the Rolling Stones while helming sessions for Ry Cooder, Big Star, Toots Hibbert, and Mudhoney, among countless others. Born in Memphis—his father's long-term base—on January 18, 1973, Luther made his recording debut at age 14 by adding guitar howls to the Replacements' Pleased to Meet Me, produced by his father. Around that period the family relocated to Mississippi, where they became frequent visitors to juke joints featuring Southern blues stylists such as R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough. His brother Cody, a drummer, became his regular musical partner; after a brief stint backing their father in the short-lived Jim Dickinson & the Can't Hardly Playboys, the siblings formed the funk-tinged punk band DDT with bassist Paul Taylor. The Mississippi hill-country blues exerted a powerful pull, however, leading Luther to jam regularly with Othar Turner, one of the final practitioners of the state's fife-and-drum tradition. He later helped produce and assemble Turner's collection Everybody's Hollerin' Goat, issued in 1998.
DDT occasionally played acoustic blues under the name Gutbucket, releasing a 7" single on Shangri-La Records; as Luther and Cody grew intent on creating fresh blues material, they enlisted bassist Chris Chew in 1996 to form the North Mississippi Allstars. Their debut album, Shake Hands with Shorty, appeared in 2000, earning strong reviews and a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Blues Album. The group built a reputation as an outstanding live act, and as Luther's instrumental reputation grew he took on session work with the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Willy DeVille, and Lucero. In 2001 the North Mississippi Allstars joined John Medeski of Medeski, Martin & Wood and pedal-steel virtuoso Robert Randolph to create the Word, which released a well-received self-titled album; that same year NMAS issued its second album while Luther continued performing and recording with others. In 2005 John Hiatt selected Jim Dickinson to produce Master of Disaster, bringing his sons into the sessions; Hiatt was sufficiently impressed to tour with the North Mississippi Allstars as both opening act and backing band. Although NMAS had become a fixture on the jam-band circuit thanks to their skill at soulful improvisation, the Dickinsons demonstrated their enduring punk edge in 2005 by reuniting with Jon Spencer as Spencer Dickinson for The Man Who Lives for Love. In 2008 Luther joined the Black Crowes, debuting on their album Warpaint; the same year he again supported John Hiatt on Same Old Man. With the Black Crowes he released both the live album Warpaint Live and the studio set Before the Frost/Until the Freeze in 2009. That year also brought the death of his father, and shortly after Jim Dickinson's funeral Luther organized a musical tribute at the family studio in Mississippi with numerous relatives and musical associates; the performances became the album Onward & Upward, credited to Luther Dickinson & the Sons of Mudboy.
In 2010 Luther participated in another roots-music supergroup with the debut album from the South Memphis String Band, alongside ex-Squirrel Nut Zippers guitarist Jimbo Mathus and Grammy-winning bluesman Alvin Youngblood Hart. 2012 saw him issue three albums on a single day: his first proper solo effort, the acoustic-instrumental set Hambone's Meditations; a second South Memphis String Band album, Old Times There…; and Go On Now, You Can't Stay Here, the debut from his new band the Wandering, featuring Valerie June, Amy LaVere, Sharde Thomas, and Shannon McNally. Later that year came a fourth release, 3 Skulls & the Truth, recorded with David Hidalgo and Mato Nanji. Luther spent most of 2013 working with his brother in the North Mississippi Allstars—their acclaimed World Boogie Is Coming arrived that fall—while also appearing on recordings by McNally, Jim Lauderdale, and Devon Allman. His next solo album, Rock 'n Roll Blues, emerged in early 2014. He remained active that year, touring with the North Mississippi Allstars and producing Samantha Fish's Wild Heart. During this span he also documented songs learned in childhood, revisited earlier originals, and composed new material, capturing everything live without overdubs alongside a close circle of collaborators that included Thomas, LaVere, Will Sexton, Mavis Staples, Alvin Youngblood Hart, and JJ Grey. The resulting double album, Blues & Ballads: A Folksinger's Songbook, Vols. 1 & 2, appeared on New West in February 2016. The following year the North Mississippi Allstars released and toured the widely praised Prayer for Peace, and Luther and Cody performed on Rev. Sekou's In Times Like These. In 2018 he co-produced (with JT Nero) the Birds of Chicago album Love in Wartime. In 2019 New West issued Solstice under the name Luther Dickinson & the Sisters of the Strawberry Moon; the record stemmed from four days of live-in-the-studio sessions in 2016 featuring an alternating lineup of female vocalists—Sharde Thomas, Amy LaVere, Amy Helm, and Birds of Chicago's Allison Russell—each selecting their own material, backed by Alvin Youngblood Hart, organist Rev. Charles Hodges (Willie Mitchell, Al Green), Lillie Mae Risch (Jack White), and Will Sexton. 2019 also brought another North Mississippi Allstars album, Up and Rolling.
2020's New Moon Jelly Roll Freedom Rockers, Vol. 1 preserved a 2007 studio session uniting Luther and Cody with their father Jim, guitarists Jimbo Mathus and Alvin Youngblood Hart, and harmonica legend Charlie Musselwhite; a second volume followed in 2021. That year Luther also produced Eric Johanson's Below Sea Level and appeared on projects with Paul Burch, Seasick Steve, and Bette Smith. Luther and Cody joined the team that produced and recorded Senegalese guitarist Youssou N'Dour's 2021 release MBALAX; in 2022 Luther produced G. Love's Philadelphia Mississippi and returned to the studio with the North Mississippi Allstars for Set Sail. As a frequently touring father, Luther sought to create music that would delight his children and keep his presence felt during absences. He selected songs his parents had introduced him to—blues, folk, and traditional favorites—and recorded them spontaneously with friends and family around his home. After capturing the material in 2017 and sharing it privately on CD-Rs, he decided to release it publicly, shaping the songs into the album Magic Music for Family Folks, issued by New West in November 2023.
Luther Dickinson grew up in a prominent musical household. His father, Jim Dickinson, was a respected studio musician and producer who performed on piano with Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, Los Lobos, and the Rolling Stones while helming sessions for Ry Cooder, Big Star, Toots Hibbert, and Mudhoney, among countless others. Born in Memphis—his father's long-term base—on January 18, 1973, Luther made his recording debut at age 14 by adding guitar howls to the Replacements' Pleased to Meet Me, produced by his father. Around that period the family relocated to Mississippi, where they became frequent visitors to juke joints featuring Southern blues stylists such as R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough. His brother Cody, a drummer, became his regular musical partner; after a brief stint backing their father in the short-lived Jim Dickinson & the Can't Hardly Playboys, the siblings formed the funk-tinged punk band DDT with bassist Paul Taylor. The Mississippi hill-country blues exerted a powerful pull, however, leading Luther to jam regularly with Othar Turner, one of the final practitioners of the state's fife-and-drum tradition. He later helped produce and assemble Turner's collection Everybody's Hollerin' Goat, issued in 1998.
DDT occasionally played acoustic blues under the name Gutbucket, releasing a 7" single on Shangri-La Records; as Luther and Cody grew intent on creating fresh blues material, they enlisted bassist Chris Chew in 1996 to form the North Mississippi Allstars. Their debut album, Shake Hands with Shorty, appeared in 2000, earning strong reviews and a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Blues Album. The group built a reputation as an outstanding live act, and as Luther's instrumental reputation grew he took on session work with the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Willy DeVille, and Lucero. In 2001 the North Mississippi Allstars joined John Medeski of Medeski, Martin & Wood and pedal-steel virtuoso Robert Randolph to create the Word, which released a well-received self-titled album; that same year NMAS issued its second album while Luther continued performing and recording with others. In 2005 John Hiatt selected Jim Dickinson to produce Master of Disaster, bringing his sons into the sessions; Hiatt was sufficiently impressed to tour with the North Mississippi Allstars as both opening act and backing band. Although NMAS had become a fixture on the jam-band circuit thanks to their skill at soulful improvisation, the Dickinsons demonstrated their enduring punk edge in 2005 by reuniting with Jon Spencer as Spencer Dickinson for The Man Who Lives for Love. In 2008 Luther joined the Black Crowes, debuting on their album Warpaint; the same year he again supported John Hiatt on Same Old Man. With the Black Crowes he released both the live album Warpaint Live and the studio set Before the Frost/Until the Freeze in 2009. That year also brought the death of his father, and shortly after Jim Dickinson's funeral Luther organized a musical tribute at the family studio in Mississippi with numerous relatives and musical associates; the performances became the album Onward & Upward, credited to Luther Dickinson & the Sons of Mudboy.
In 2010 Luther participated in another roots-music supergroup with the debut album from the South Memphis String Band, alongside ex-Squirrel Nut Zippers guitarist Jimbo Mathus and Grammy-winning bluesman Alvin Youngblood Hart. 2012 saw him issue three albums on a single day: his first proper solo effort, the acoustic-instrumental set Hambone's Meditations; a second South Memphis String Band album, Old Times There…; and Go On Now, You Can't Stay Here, the debut from his new band the Wandering, featuring Valerie June, Amy LaVere, Sharde Thomas, and Shannon McNally. Later that year came a fourth release, 3 Skulls & the Truth, recorded with David Hidalgo and Mato Nanji. Luther spent most of 2013 working with his brother in the North Mississippi Allstars—their acclaimed World Boogie Is Coming arrived that fall—while also appearing on recordings by McNally, Jim Lauderdale, and Devon Allman. His next solo album, Rock 'n Roll Blues, emerged in early 2014. He remained active that year, touring with the North Mississippi Allstars and producing Samantha Fish's Wild Heart. During this span he also documented songs learned in childhood, revisited earlier originals, and composed new material, capturing everything live without overdubs alongside a close circle of collaborators that included Thomas, LaVere, Will Sexton, Mavis Staples, Alvin Youngblood Hart, and JJ Grey. The resulting double album, Blues & Ballads: A Folksinger's Songbook, Vols. 1 & 2, appeared on New West in February 2016. The following year the North Mississippi Allstars released and toured the widely praised Prayer for Peace, and Luther and Cody performed on Rev. Sekou's In Times Like These. In 2018 he co-produced (with JT Nero) the Birds of Chicago album Love in Wartime. In 2019 New West issued Solstice under the name Luther Dickinson & the Sisters of the Strawberry Moon; the record stemmed from four days of live-in-the-studio sessions in 2016 featuring an alternating lineup of female vocalists—Sharde Thomas, Amy LaVere, Amy Helm, and Birds of Chicago's Allison Russell—each selecting their own material, backed by Alvin Youngblood Hart, organist Rev. Charles Hodges (Willie Mitchell, Al Green), Lillie Mae Risch (Jack White), and Will Sexton. 2019 also brought another North Mississippi Allstars album, Up and Rolling.
2020's New Moon Jelly Roll Freedom Rockers, Vol. 1 preserved a 2007 studio session uniting Luther and Cody with their father Jim, guitarists Jimbo Mathus and Alvin Youngblood Hart, and harmonica legend Charlie Musselwhite; a second volume followed in 2021. That year Luther also produced Eric Johanson's Below Sea Level and appeared on projects with Paul Burch, Seasick Steve, and Bette Smith. Luther and Cody joined the team that produced and recorded Senegalese guitarist Youssou N'Dour's 2021 release MBALAX; in 2022 Luther produced G. Love's Philadelphia Mississippi and returned to the studio with the North Mississippi Allstars for Set Sail. As a frequently touring father, Luther sought to create music that would delight his children and keep his presence felt during absences. He selected songs his parents had introduced him to—blues, folk, and traditional favorites—and recorded them spontaneously with friends and family around his home. After capturing the material in 2017 and sharing it privately on CD-Rs, he decided to release it publicly, shaping the songs into the album Magic Music for Family Folks, issued by New West in November 2023.
Albums
Do The Rump!
2024
Magic Music for Family Folk
2023
MEM_MODS Vol. 1
2023
Live 2016
2020
Solstice
2019
Amour
2019
Blues & Ballads: A Folksinger's Songbook, Vols. 1 & 2
2016
Rock 'n Roll Blues
2014
3 Skulls and the Truth
2012
Hambone's Meditations
2012
Onward and Upward
2009
Singles
