Dixon is an alternative to Dickson. It is of English origin meaning son of Richard, or Dick's son.

Places[link]

In Canada:

• Dixon, Ontario

In the United States of America:

• Dixon, California
• Dixon, Illinois
• Dixon, Iowa
• Dixon, Kentucky
• Dixon, New Orleans, Louisiana
• Dixon, Michigan
• Dixon, Missouri
• Dixon, Montana
• Dixon, Nebraska
• Dixon, New Mexico
• Dixon, Wyoming
• Dixon County, Nebraska
• Dixon Township, Logan County, North Dakota
• Dixon Entrance, part of the Inside Passage between Alaska and Canada
• Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, California

It also appears in the name of:

• Dixons Creek, Victoria, Australia

People[link]

• Dixon (surname)

Other uses[link]

• USS Dixon (AS-37), a U.S. Navy submarine tender
• Dixon of Dock Green, BBC TV police series
• Dixon Ticonderoga, a pencil manufacturer

See also[link]

• Dixon's factorization method
• Papapetrou-Dixon equations
• Gabe Dixon Band
• Dixons (disambiguation)
• Dikson (disambiguation)
• Dickson (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Alesha Dixon
Dixon performing in Leeds in 2008.
Background information
Birth name	Alesha Anjanette Dixon
Born	(1978-10-07) 7 October 1978 (age 33) Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
Genres	R&B, hip hop, UK garage
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, model, dancer, television presenter
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1999–present
Labels	Polydor (2005–2006) Asylum (2007–2011) Atlantic (2007–2011)
Associated acts	Mis-Teeq, Roll Deep, Jay Sean
Website	aleshadixon.com

Alesha Anjanette Dixon (born 7 October 1978)^[1] is a British rapper, singer-songwriter, dancer, model and television personality. She first found fame in the all-female R&B/garage trio Mis-Teeq, however, the trio separated in 2005 and Dixon continued pursuing her music career as a solo artist, signing to Polydor Records. Dixon began recording her debut solo album, Fired Up, in 2006, but due to poor record sales of her first two singles, "Lipstick" and "Knockdown", she was dropped from Polydor.^[2]

In 2007 Dixon became a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing and eventually won. Her television exposure led to a successful comeback,^[3] which included her signing to Asylum Records, an offshoot of Warner Music Group. Dixon then released a second album, entitled The Alesha Show, in 2008, which received platinum certification from BPI in the UK and spawned four singles including "The Boy Does Nothing" and "Breathe Slow", the latter of which became her highest charting single and earned her a Brit Award nomination.

In September 2009 Dixon became a judge on the seventh series of Strictly Come Dancing, replacing fellow judge Arlene Phillips.^[4] The replacement of Phillips by Dixon attracted criticism, as some questioned the extent of Dixon's dancing knowledge.^[5] Dixon herself dismissed the criticism, describing it as a "storm in a teacup", and refused to stand down as judge.^[6] In 2010 Dixon returned for the eighth series of Strictly Come Dancing and released her third studio album, The Entertainer. In January 2012, shortly after completing the ninth series and her third year as a judge on Strictly Come Dancing, Dixon quit to become a judge on Britain's Got Talent.^[7]

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Alesha Anjanette Dixon was born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, on 7 October 1978, to an English mother, Beverly Harris, and Jamaican father, Melvin Dixon. Alesha Dixon has five half-brothers named Adrian, Mark, John, Jeroame, Callum and one half-sister called Leyanne.

She was educated at Monk's Walk School, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire. Dixon's mother and father split up when Dixon was four years old and Dixon's father moved away, resulting in Dixon later describing her family life as "very dysfunctional".^[8] Between the ages of eight and ten, Dixon witnessed her mother suffer domestic abuse from her partner;^[9] she only spoke publicly about the issue 21 years later, in 2010.^[9] Dixon created a documentary for the BBC, Don't Hit My Mum, regarding the issue of domestic abuse from a child's perspective, and remarked upon her own childhood: "When I think about that time, I don't remember living in harmony, I don't remember any fun times, I suppose because the negativity has clouded it. The negative times and the scary times have blocked anything that was good [...] I believe that every child has the right to grow up in an environment where they feel secure and fearless going into the world, and I didn't really feel that".^[9]

Her first job was at Ladbrokes,^[10] although she aspired to become a PE teacher after leaving college. After completing a diploma course in sports studies,^[10] she had planned to take up a place at Loughborough University,^[11] but whilst at dance classes in London she was approached by a talent scout from a production company.^[12] Whilst travelling back home on the train she was approached by another scout who was forming a band and asked if she was interested.^[12] Dixon's musical hopes had previously been met with scepticism from Melvin Dixon, as he encouraged Alesha to follow a more academic career path.^[13] Dixon explained that "his view was there weren't many black British musicians who were overly successful. I said, 'Dad, I can't base my decision on what people haven't done'".^[13] Ignoring her father's advice, Dixon decided to pursue a career in music.

1999-05: Mis-Teeq[link]

Dixon's career began in 1999 when she met Sabrina Washington when they both joined a dance school in Fulham, south west London.^[14] Together they decided to form a band when Dixon and Washington, the two co-founders, spotted Su-Elise Nash, a girl auditioning for another band.^[14] Dixon and Washington proposed that Nash join the group and together they formed a trio. They were soon signed to Telstar Records with the addition of a new member, Zena McNally, and became the popular UK garage/R&B girl band, Mis-Teeq. After months of recording throughout 1999 and early 2000, Mis-Teeq released their debut single "Why?" in January 2001, however, it was not long before McNally left the band.^[15] The band made a decision to remain a trio. In October 2001, they released their debut album Lickin' On Both Sides, featuring hits "All I Want", "One Night Stand", "B with Me" and double A-side single "Roll On/This Is How We Do It". In 2002 Mis-Teeq performed and received a nomination at the BRIT Awards in Earls Court,^[16] later in the year band won the MOBO Award for Best Garage Act.^[17] After the success of their debut album, 2003 saw Mis-Teeq becoming the faces of JD Sports stores nationwide.^[18][19]

In 2003, Mis-teeq released their second album Eye Candy, which included the singles "Scandalous", "Can't Get It Back" and "Style". In 2004, Mis-Teeq toured the United States and released their debut single Scandalous from their American self-titled debut, a compilation of the albums Lickin' On Both Sides and Eye Candy. They also released "One Night Stand" before coming back to Europe to start work with their third album however, Telstar Records went into administration.^[20] The band was left with no choice but to release a Greatest Hits compilation under exclusive licences with Universal Records. The last song Dixon recorded with Mis-Teeq was "Shoo Shoo Baby" for the Disney film Valiant. In March 2005, their Greatest Hits compilation was released and it was announced that they were separating to pursue solo careers.^[21] In June 2005, after a five-year relationship, Dixon married artist Michael Harvey, otherwise known as MC Harvey, of So Solid Crew, in a private ceremony at Brocket Hall, Hertfordshire.^[22]

[edit] 2006–08: Fired Up, record label departure and Strictly Come Dancing

Dixon launched her solo career after Mis-Teeq's break-up and signed a £500,000, three-album deal with Polydor Records. She spent a year writing and recording her solo debut album, Fired Up, working with a wide range of producers including Richard X, Xenomania, Johnny Douglas, Brian Higgins, Estelle and Paul Epworth. During this period Dixon performed mononymously, known simply as "Alesha". In June 2005, she announced her first solo single to be "Superficial". However, at the last minute, the song "Lipstick" was chosen as the first single.^[24] "Lipstick" was released on 14 August 2006, and charted at 14 on the UK Single Charts. She released her second single "Knockdown" on 30 October 2006, which charted at 25 on the UK Download Chart. However on the official UK Singles Charts, the single peaked at number 45, falling down to 68 the following week. On 6 November 2006, it was revealed that Dixon had been dropped by her label, Polydor Records.^[23] Polydor gave her full rights to her unreleased debut album, Fired Up. Coinciding with her professional troubles was the collapse of her marriage to Harvey; Dixon filed for divorce just over a year after her wedding due to her husband's affair with Javine Hylton.^[25] Of her experience she said "my music career and marriage were the most important things. And I lost them within two weeks of each other".^[26] However, determined to move on, she said: "When you are knocked down you have two choices – stay down or get back up, stronger."^[27]

Dixon took part in series 5 of hit TV show Strictly Come Dancing in 2007, partnered with professional dancer Matthew Cutler. Dixon was at first hesitant to join, fearing that snobbery within the music industry would damage her career. In a later interview she said, "there's always this preconceived idea that people do reality TV shows because they want to kick-start their careers whereas I was actually worried that it would affect it."^[28] They had been the favourite from the third week, receiving the most points from the judges on numerous occasions. Dixon herself gained high appraisal from the judges, even being likened to a "young Josephine Baker" by Bruno Tonioli.^[12] They received 4.5 million votes in the final, beating actor Matt Di Angelo and professional dancer Flavia Cacace to win the glitter disco ball.^[29] However, personal troubles arose once more, as Dixon became estranged from her older borther Mark Harris, after he sold his story of their "terrible" childhood, claiming that they "often went to bed hungry"; he also accused Dixon of turning her back on her family in the pursuit of fame and fortune.^[30] Dixon was dubbed the "British Beyoncé" by Strictly Come Dancing host Bruce Forsyth,^[31] Alesha later said "There's only one Beyoncé. When Bruce said that, I got embarrassed. It's very sweet... but it's not true."^[32] Dixon is currently the most successful contestant to ever take part in Strictly Come Dancing, with an average point score of 36.5/40, the highest average score from any contestant to ever take part in the show.

[edit] 2008–09: The Alesha Show and Strictly Come Dancing judging

Dixon performing at the Christmas lights switch on in Leeds 6 November 2008.

After her victory on Strictly Come Dancing Dixon soon became at the centre of a bidding war between record labels, and even Polydor Records, the label that had dropped her months previously, put in an offer.^[33] Dixon, however, chose to sign a four-album contract with Asylum Records in 2008.^[34] Dixon's first new album as part of her contract, The Alesha Show was released in the UK on 24 November 2008 and 21 November in Ireland. The official first single from the album, "The Boy Does Nothing" became her first solo top ten hit^[35] on the UK Singles Chart, following a 76 spot jump from 84 to 8^[35] on the UK Singles Chart chart on downloads alone. The single eventually peaked at number 5. The song also fared well in continental Europe and is rising on the Australian Singles Chart. The second single from The Alesha Show was "Breathe Slow" and entered the UK Singles Chart at number thirty-nine solely on download sales.^[36] The single rose for three weeks before breaking into the top ten at number six,^[36] giving Dixon her second top ten hit in the UK from downloads alone, and eventually peaked at number 3 on the Top 40 UK Charts, giving Dixon her second consecutive top 5 single. She also put a song up on her website for free download on 19 October 2008 named "Colours of the Rainbow".

The third single from The Alesha Show, titled "Let's Get Excited" was physically released on 11 May and reached a peak position of 13 in the UK Singles Chart. "Let's Get Excited" became Dixon's first track from The Alesha Show not to chart inside the top 10 in the UK Singles Chart. The song's presence in the charts boosted album sales and The Alesha Show rebounded at a new peak of 11. On 9 June it was announced on Dixon's official website that the album had received platinum certification from BPI, indicating sales of 300,000+ in the UK alone.^[37] The fourth single from The Alesha Show, called "To Love Again" was released on 15 November 2009.^[38] The track, a ballad penned by Dixon and Gary Barlow, was the first single taken from the deluxe version, entitled The Alesha Show – Encore, released on 23 November.^[39] Dixon also embarked upon a 17-date national tour, named The Alesha Show, which began on 20 October 2009 in Nottingham.

It was revealed in July 2009 that Alesha would be joining the Strictly Come Dancing judging panel in September 2009.^[40] She replaced Arlene Phillips, which led to the BBC being accused of ageism and sexism by the media,^[41][42] and Dixon herself faced criticism by newspaper columnists such as Amanda Platell and Janet Street-Porter.^[43][44] Dixon, having a conflicting schedule also had to rearrange three dates on her upcoming tour, The Alesha Show in order to do the show, which is broadcast live on Saturday nights.^[45] The replacement of Arlene Phillips for Alesha Dixon even became dubbed "Alesha-gate" by some (the "-gate" suffix being a reference to the Watergate Scandal).^[46] Dixon's judging debut was met by criticism by some viewers, and 272 complaints were received by the BBC, according to The Guardian.^[47] In response to the complaints, television critic Jim Shelley commented that "the lynch-mob was such you'd have thought she had strangled a kitten".^[46] Despite the complaints, the BBC stated they were "delighted" with Dixon.^[47] Arlene Phillips herself stated in response to the claims that "[The BBC] hired Alesha because they wanted a different opinion – a voice of the viewer – and that's what she does. She was never hired to give a technical viewpoint [...] It is very hard for her – she must be incredibly nervous. The judges had all worked together for six series and she is new and on her own."^[48] Fellow judge Bruno Tonioli accused critics of hypocrisy, saying "this time last year people were calling for Arlene to be sacked on the spot for being rude about John Sergeant [...] She was the Wicked Witch of the West, now all of a sudden she is Mother Teresa. What's going on here?"^[49] However, despite Dixon's debut causing hundreds of complaints, critics praised some of her later judging as the series progressed, with Richard Simpson of the Daily Mail stating, "it seems Miss Dixon has finally found her voice and is making up for lost time on that point".^[50]

[edit] 2010–11: The Entertainer

In early 2010, Dixon began work on her third studio album, The Entertainer, which she intended to release during the summer. In May 2010 the Daily Star claimed that Dixon has been working with producer Jim Beanz and that Beanz stated "We're going to build some up-tempo dance songs to take the UK and the US by storm".^[51] On 15 March Dixon flew to Denmark to begin recording with Soulshock & Karlin, the producers of Dixon's "Breathe Slow".^[52] Dixon's fan site later reported that Dixon had secured a recording session with Rodney Jerkins, a record producer who has produced records for Michael Jackson's final studio album Invincible and most recently produced Lady Gaga and Beyoncé's "Telephone".^[53]

On 16 June Dixon revealed on a post on her fansite that the upcoming album is to be called Unleashed,^[54] and on 30 June her fansite president revealed the lead single is a track called "Drummer Boy", produced by Haitian-American producer, Shama Joseph, or "ShamRock".^[55] On 5 August it was revealed that Dixon had decided to change the album name from Unleashed to The Entertainer.^[56] "Drummer Boy", released in August, charted moderately at 15 on the UK Singles Chart. On 16 September it was announced that Dixon had collaborated with Roll Deep and featured in the band's single "Take Control".^[57] The track appeared on both Roll Deep's album—Winner Stays On—and The Entertainer. "Radio", billed as The Entertainer's second single, charted poorly upon release in November 2010, failing to reach the Top 40. The single's release coincided with the release of the album, which too made little commercial impact; a year later it was noted that the album had sold 60,000 copies.^[58] The album's next single, "Every Little Part of Me", which features guest vocals from Jay Sean, became her lowest performing chart single when released in February 2011, charting at 78. Subsequently, in June 2011 Dixon and her record label Atlantic/Asylum both agreed to part ways, declaring "creative differences" as the reason.^[59]

Acknowledging the album's lack of commercial success, Dixon said she would always prefer to "take a chance creatively" than release what she perceived to be stultifying records.^[58] She commented: "I knew the single 'Drummer Boy' was a risk. It was a very difficult record and so far removed from anything I'd done before. I get that [...] I take full responsibility for that, but I'm glad I did it. I'd rather make a unique record like 'Drummer Boy' and have it fail than play it safe and release bland, generic music that doesn't excite me."^[58]

[edit] 2012–present: Fourth studio album and Britain's Got Talent

Dixon wrote and released a new track "Do It Our Way (Play)" for the New Year Weight Watchers campaign, and features in the new adverts of the organisation. The track was released onto iTunes on 1 January 2012, as a digital download.^[60] On 2 January, Dixon announced her departure from her judging role on Strictly Come Dancing, to pursue other projects.^[61] It was later announced that she left the panel to join the judging panel of Britain's Got Talent along with Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and David Walliams.^[62]

Months earlier, on 21 August 2011, after false reports emerged that Dixon would join The X Factor, another programme of Simon Cowell's and Strictly Come Dancing's ratings rival, Dixon stated in an interview: "I'm not ruling out working with Simon in the future but, at the moment, I am very happy at Strictly and I'm focusing on this year".^[63] Alison Boshoff the Daily Mail claimed, upon Dixon receiving her new judging role on Britain's Got Talent, that "Dixon has been pursuing Simon Cowell with almost embarrassing ardour for many months",^[64] referencing an interview conducted where Dixon was quoted as saying The X Factor was "more creative" than Strictly Come Dancing and a Tweet Dixon had made saying "Off to Syco now for a meeting."^[64] Boshoff called it a "a blatant play for a slot on one of Cowell's judging panels."^[64] Michael Hogan, of The Daily Telegraph, pointed out that "if rumours are to be believed, Dixon has more than tripled her salary by defecting to the commercial channel",^[65] a point made by various other sources; Dixon's manager Malcolm Blair stated that her decision to leave "was never about the money".^[66]

Artistry[link]

Musical style[link]

When Dixon first emerged into the public spotlight with Mis-Teeq, she was primarily the group's MC, whilst band-mate Sabrina Washington usually sang lead vocals on the records. Washington encouraged her to rap from the band's inception, saying: "When she started she was a bit shy, but I always said that it adds something, an element of difference. It was the first time I'd ever heard a woman MC and I was like, 'Alesha, you have got to do that,' and she was like 'No Bri, don’t make me look stupid'".^[67] However, when she began her solo career her first UK album, The Alesha Show, saw Dixon undergo a genre-shift. The album featured no rapping and was primarily pop, unlike Mis-Teeq's music, which focused mainly on garage and R&B. Dixon commented that the record consisted of "a lot more guitar-written songs with pop produced around it".^[23] Upon the release of The Entertainer Dixon stated that she had began rapping on her records again, saying "I think this album is the one people expected me to do when I left Mis-Teeq, it's a lot tougher and I'm MC-ing again".^[68]

Dixon, a songwriter and singer, often writes or co-writes her own records. Discussing the writing process of The Alesha Show she said, "I've written the majority of it and I co-write as well with a lot of people".^[23] Critics have suggested some of her songs are autobiographical, such as "To Love Again" (2009), co-written with Gary Barlow and John Shanks. Alison Maloney of The Sun said the ballad was "clearly about finding romance in the wake of her public split from husband Harvey".^[69] Barlow stated that Dixon has "a natural musical talent to not only perform but also create",^[70] also adding: "she wrote the lyrics really quickly and they seemed very real. I didn't really know she was such a good songwriter".^[71] Vocally, reviewer Andy Gill of The Independent suggested that Dixon's vocal strengths lie with more up-tempo songs, saying "the problem is that her bubbly personality (and voice) is simply not as well suited to ballads as to perky dancefloor anthems".^[72] However, The Guardian's Caroline Sullivan complemented her live vocals whilst reviewing her tour, The Alesha Show. She said, of her concert tour, that "it was her singing that made the impression: she's more powerful than you would imagine, and when pitted against her band at their most blaring, she more than held her own. While this was going on, she was being flung between two male hoofers, proving, if nothing else, that pop stars who claim they can't dance and sing simultaneously just aren't trying".^[73]

Influences[link]

Dixon has often cited Madonna as an influence, saying "Madonna is a big idol. I loved her when I was a young girl and I feel like I've been on a musical journey with her".^[74] Dixon's single "Let's Get Excited" namechecked the singer and her 1985 single "Into the Groove". Furthermore, the music video featured what Dixon described as "a Madonna tribute"^[75] featuring voguing throughout. Growing up, the first record Dixon ever bought was "Push It" by the hip hop group Salt-n-Pepa; she remarked "I didn't understand what they were talking about at the time [...] They were raw and did their own thing, and I loved that. I love artists who don't conform to what people expect of them".^[76]

Despite growing up in the predominantly white area of Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, Dixon's father Melvin would take her to the Notting Hill Carnival in London to allow her to experience some of her Jamaican heritage.^[77] The music she would heard at influenced her tastes, as she commented: "all the dancehall records I saved up to buy – Shabba Ranks, Buju Banton – I heard them at Notting Hill".^[77] Other major influences come from Lauryn Hill, with Rebecca Hardy of the Daily Mail commenting that after the breakdown of Dixon's marriage, "music, particularly Lauryn Hill's debut Grammy award-winning album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, helped her through her deepest despair".^[78] Dixon stated that "her album teaches you how to shed everything you've been programmed to think and start again".^[78] When asked during an interview who her favourite songwriter was, Dixon replied: "Lauryn Hill. I love Lauryn Hill because she is not scared to talk about real life. She may say things that are slightly controversial but she gets people thinking and gets people talking".^[79] Dixon has also named Neneh Cherry as great influence upon her. Cherry, a mixed race singer, inspired her from an early age, with Dixon saying, "I remember seeing Neneh Cherry on the TV when I was little and turning to my mum and saying, 'Mummy, she looks like me'".^[80]

Philanthropy[link]

Dixon has described herself and other celebrities as having a "moral responsibility" to do good works, when asked by The Observer's Elizabeth Day.^[81] Speaking in August 2010 to Blues & Soul Dixon said: "Being in the entertainment industry I do feel I have a responsibility that comes with my fame".^[82]

In 2009 Alesha climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania for Comic Relief. Joining her on the climb were Girls Aloud members Cheryl Cole and Kimberley Walsh, Ben Shephard, Ronan Keating, Fearne Cotton, Denise Van Outen, Chris Moyles and Gary Barlow, who had spearheaded the project.^[83] Together they raised over £3,500,000 towards helping combat malaria in Tanzania.^[84] Upon their return, the entire team met Prime Minister Gordon Brown at 10 Downing Street.^[85] In June 2009 Dixon became an official ambassador for the charity Help a London Child, stating that she felt "very honoured" to be asked.^[86]

Dixon is a patron of the African-Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT)^[87] which is a voluntary charity, whose main aim is to increase the number of Black and Mixed Parentage people on the UK Bone Marrow Register. The members of the ACLT freely volunteer their time in attempting to raise awareness in the Black community; enabling potential donors to come forward and be involved in the process of offering hope and a healthy future to someone whose disorder may otherwise prove fatal. Dixon has also backed Nickelodeon's See Something, Say Something campaign, a UK anti-bullying initiative.^[88] Alesha said: "Nickelodeon's See Something, Say Something campaign is extremely close to my heart, so I felt compelled to show my support. I was bullied as a child and know how important it is to tell someone about it".^[89] Dixon is Vice President of the League Against Cruel Sports, a charity which works to end cruelty to animals in the name of sport and featured in a charity appeal due to concerns that the Hunting Act 2004 could be repealed.^[90]

Other ventures[link]

Presenting[link]

Dixon has also presented many well-known shows in the UK, such as the MOBO Awards, CD:UK, ITV2's coverage of The Brit Awards and presented the Live From the Red Carpet show at the 62nd British Academy Film Awards for E!.^[91] She has also been a guest on BBC One's current affairs programme This Week on two occasions, in November 2006 and December 2007. In 2009 it was reported that Dixon was in talks with television companies about a possible chatshow.^[92] In 2008 and 2009 she co-presented Children in Need alongside Terry Wogan and Tess Daly.

She returned to present the telethon in 2011 alongside Fearne Cotton, Tess Daly and Terry Wogan.

In March 2010, she presented the Mister World 2010 pageant, which took place in Incheon, Korea.

Discography[link]

• 2006: Fired Up
• 2008: The Alesha Show
• 2010: The Entertainer

Tours[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

Bibliography

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Alesha Dixon

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alesha Dixon

• Official website
• Official Australian website
• Alesha Dixon at the Internet Movie Database

v t e Britain's Got Talent Got Talent Series 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 Presenters Ant & Dec · Stephen Mulhern Judges Current Simon Cowell · Amanda Holden · Alesha Dixon · David Walliams Former Kelly Brook · Piers Morgan · Michael McIntyre · David Hasselhoff Guest Louis Walsh · Carmen Electra Winners Paul Potts · George Sampson · Diversity · Spelbound · Jai McDowall · Ashleigh and Pudsey Other notable contestants Series 1 Bessie Cursons · Connie Talbot · Damon Scott · Bar Wizards · Jake Pratt Series 2 Signature · Andrew Johnston · Escala · Faryl Smith · Kate and Gin · Charlie Green · Charlie Wernham Series 3 Susan Boyle · Julian Smith · Aidan Davis · Hollie Steel · Shaheen Jafargholi · Callum Francis · DJ Talent · Flawless · John Farnworth Series 4 Twist and Pulse · Paul Burling · ReConnected · Myles and Connor · Kev Orkian · Stevie Starr · The Cheeky Girls · Matthew Ahmet Series 5 Ronan Parke · Out of the Blue Series 6 Jonathan and Charlotte · Only Boys Aloud · The Loveable Rogues · Ryan O'Shaughnessy  · Molly Rainford · The Zimmers Related articles List of episodes · Discography · SYCOtv · FremantleMedia · talkbackTHAMES · Thames · ITV Category

William James "Willie" Dixon (July 1, 1915 – January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer.^[1] A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the upright bass and the guitar and as a vocalist, Dixon is perhaps best known as one of the most prolific songwriters of his time. He is recognized as one of the founders of the Chicago blues sound. Dixon's songs have been recorded by countless musicians in many genres as well as by various ensembles in which he participated. A short list of the man's most famous compositions includes "Little Red Rooster", "Hoochie Coochie Man", "Evil", "Spoonful", "Back Door Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You", "I Ain't Superstitious", "My Babe", "Wang Dang Doodle", and "Bring It On Home". These tunes were written during the peak of Chess Records, 1950–1965, and performed by Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Little Walter, influencing a worldwide generation of musicians.^[2]

Next to Muddy Waters, he was the most influential person in shaping the post World War II sound of the Chicago blues.^[3] He also was an important link between the blues and rock and roll, working with Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley in the late 1950s. His songs were covered by some of the biggest artists of more recent times, including Styx, Bob Dylan, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Foghat, The Yardbirds, The Rolling Stones, Queen, Megadeth, The Doors, The Allman Brothers Band, Grateful Dead,^[3] and a posthumous duet with Colin James.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Dixon was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi on July 1, 1915.^[1] His mother Daisy often rhymed the things she said, a habit her son imitated. At the age of seven, young Dixon became an admirer of a band that featured pianist Little Brother Montgomery. Dixon was first introduced to blues when he served time on prison farms in Mississippi as an early teenager. He later learned how to sing harmony from local carpenter Leo Phelps. Dixon sang bass in Phelps' group The Jubilee Singers, a local gospel quartet that regularly appeared on the Vicksburg radio station WQBC. Dixon began adapting poems he was writing as songs, and even sold some tunes to local music groups.

Adulthood[link]

Dixon left Mississippi for Chicago in 1936. A man of considerable stature, at 6 and a half feet and weighing over 250 pounds, he took up boxing; he was so successful that he won the Illinois State Golden Gloves Heavyweight Championship (Novice Division) in 1937.^[4] Dixon turned professional as a boxer and worked briefly as Joe Louis' sparring partner. After four fights, Dixon left boxing after getting into a fight with his manager over being cheated out of money.

Dixon met Leonard Caston at the boxing gym where they would harmonize at times. Dixon performed in several vocal groups in Chicago but it was Caston that got him to pursue music seriously. Caston built him his first bass, made of a tin can and one string. Dixon's experience singing bass made the instrument familiar. He also learned the guitar.

Dixon, whose initial attempts at his vocation as a boxer were now dubious, began performing around Chicago and with Caston, who convinced him to move towards a musical career.^[5] In 1939, was a founding member of the Five Breezes, with Caston, Joe Bell, Gene Gilmore and Willie Hawthorne. The group blended blues, jazz, and vocal harmonies, in the mode of the Ink Spots. Dixon's progress as he progressed on the Upright bass came to an abrupt halt during the advent of World War II when he resisted the draft as a conscientious objector and was imprisoned for ten months.^[1] After the war, he formed a group named the Four Jumps of Jive and then reunited with Caston, forming the Big Three Trio, who went on to record for Columbia Records.

Pinnacle of career[link]

Dixon signed with Chess Records as a recording artist, but began performing less, being more involved with administrative tasks for the label. By 1951, he was a full-time employee at Chess, where he acted as producer, talent scout, session musician and staff songwriter. He was also a producer for Chess subsidiary Checker Records. His relationship with Chess was sometimes strained, although he stayed with the label from 1948 to the early 1960s. During this time Dixon's output and influence were prodigious. From late 1956 to early 1959, he worked in a similar capacity for Cobra Records, where he produced early singles for Otis Rush, Magic Sam, and Buddy Guy.^[6] He later recorded on Bluesville Records.^[7] From the late 1960s until the middle 1970s, Dixon ran his own record label, Yambo Records, along with two subsidiary labels, Supreme and Spoonful. He released his 1971 album Peace? on Yambo, as well as singles by McKinley Mitchell, Lucky Peterson and others.^[8]

Dixon is considered one of the key figures in the creation of Chicago blues. He worked with Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Otis Rush, Bo Diddley, Joe Louis Walker, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Koko Taylor, Little Milton, Eddie Boyd, Jimmy Witherspoon, Lowell Fulson, Willie Mabon, Memphis Slim, Washboard Sam, Jimmy Rogers, Sam Lay and others. His double bass playing was of a high standard. He appears on many of Chuck Berry's early recordings, further proving his linkage between the blues and the birth of rock and roll.

Dixon is remembered mainly as a songwriter; his most enduring gift to the blues lay in refurbishing archaic Southern motifs, often of magic and country folkways and often derived from earlier records such as those by Charlie Patton, in contemporary arrangements, to produce songs with both the sinew of the blues, and the agility of pop.^[9] British R&B bands of the 1960s constantly drew on the Dixon songbook for inspiration.^[9] In December 1964, The Rolling Stones reached #1 in the UK Singles Chart with their cover version of Dixon's "Little Red Rooster".^[10]

By the late sixties, Dixon's songwriting and production work began to take a back seat to his organizational abilities, which were utilised to assemble all-star, Chicago-based blues ensembles for work in Europe.^[9]

Dixon in Cary, Illinois at Harry Hopes, 1979

In his later years, Willie Dixon became a tireless ambassador for the blues and a vocal advocate for its practitioners, founding the Blues Heaven Foundation. The organization works to preserve the blues’ legacy and to secure copyrights and royalties for blues musicians who were exploited in the past. Speaking with the simple eloquence that was a hallmark of his songs, Dixon claimed, "The blues are the roots and the other musics are the fruits. It’s better keeping the roots alive, because it means better fruits from now on. The blues are the roots of all American music. As long as American music survives, so will the blues."

Dixon's health deteriorated increasingly during the seventies and the eighties, primarily due to long-term diabetes. Eventually one of his legs had to be amputated.^[1] Dixon was inducted at the inaugural session of the Blues Foundation's ceremony, and into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980.^[11] In 1989 he was also the recipient of a Grammy Award for his album, Hidden Charms.^[12]

Death and legacy[link]

Dixon died of heart failure^[13] in Burbank, California on January 29, 1992,^[1] and was buried in the Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois. Dixon was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the "early influences" (pre-rock) category in 1994.^[14]

Actor and comedian Cedric the Entertainer portrayed Dixon in Cadillac Records, a 2008 film based on the early history of Chess Records.^[15][16]

Willie Dixon's grandson Alex Dixon recorded two Willie Dixon songs, ("Spoonful" and "Down in the Bottom"), on his release Rising from the Bushes.^[1]

Songs[link]

Tributes[link]

• French singer-songwriter Francis Cabrel refers to Dixon in the song "Cent Ans de Plus" on his 1999 album Hors-Saison. Cabrel cites the artist as one of a number of blues influences, including Charley Patton, Son House, Blind Lemon, Robert Johnson, Howlin' Wolf, Blind Blake and Ma Rainey.
• Canadian rock musician Tom Cochrane wrote a song entitled "Willie Dixon Said" that appeared on his 1999 album X-Ray Sierra.
• Bob Dylan credited Willie Dixon for the music of the song "My Wife's Hometown" on his album Together Through Life and gave special thanks to Dixon's estate.

Discography[link]

See also[link]

• List of blues musicians
• Chicago Blues Festival
• List of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees
• Boogie-woogie

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Dixon, Willie; & Snowden, Don (1990). I Am the Blues: The Willie Dixon Story. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-7043-0253-5
• Dixon, Willie (1992). Willie Dixon – Master Blues Composer: With Notes and Tablature. Hal Leonard. ISBN 0-7935-0305-1
• 1997 The Chess Box Snowden, Don "Willie Dixon" [CD booklet]. MCA Records, Inc.

External links[link]

• Willie Dixon at Allmusic
• Willie Dixon at the Internet Movie Database
• Willie Dixon at Find a Grave
• Willie Dixon at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• Willie Dixon, Mississippi blues musician. The Mississippi Writers and Musicians Project of Starkville High School.
• Willie Dixon's Blues Heaven Foundation

Memphis Slim
Background information
Birth name	John Len Chatman
Born	(1915-09-03)September 3, 1915
Origin	Memphis, Tennessee, United States
Died	February 24, 1988(1988-02-24) (aged 72) Paris, France
Genres	Blues
Occupations	Vocalist Musician Bandleader Composer
Years active	1930s – 1980s
Labels	Bluebird Hy-Tone Miracle Premium Mercury United Vee-Jay Folkways

Memphis Slim (September 3, 1915 – February 24, 1988) was an American blues pianist, singer, and composer. He led a series of bands that, reflecting the popular appeal of jump blues, included saxophones, bass, drums, and piano. A song he first cut in 1947, "Every Day I Have the Blues", has become a blues standard, recorded by many other artists. He made over 500 recordings.

Biography[link]

Memphis Slim historic home in Memphis

Memphis Slim's birth name was John Len Chatman, and he was born in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. His father Peter Chatman sang, played piano and guitar, and operated juke joints,^[1] and it is now commonly believed that he took the name to honor his father when he first recorded for Okeh Records in 1940. Although he started performing under the name Memphis Slim later that same year, he continued to publish songs under the name Peter Chatman.

He spent most of the 1930s performing in honky-tonks, dance halls, and gambling joints in West Memphis, Arkansas, and southeast Missouri. He settled in Chicago in 1939, and began teaming with Big Bill Broonzy in clubs soon afterward. In 1940 and 1941 he recorded two songs for Bluebird Records that became part of his repertoire for decades, "Beer Drinking Woman," and "Grinder Man Blues." These were released under the name "Memphis Slim," given to him by Bluebird's producer, Lester Melrose.^[2] Slim became a regular session musician for Bluebird, and his piano talents supported established stars such as John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson, Washboard Sam, and Jazz Gillum. Many of Slim's recordings and performances until the mid-1940s were with guitarist and singer Broonzy, who had recruited Slim to be his piano player after Joshua Altheimer's death in 1940.

After World War II, Slim began leading bands that, reflecting the popular appeal of jump-blues, generally included saxophones, bass, drums, and piano. With the decline of blues recording by the majors, Slim worked with the emerging independent labels. Starting in late 1945, he recorded with trios for the small Chicago-based label Hy-Tone.^[3] With a lineup of alto saxophone, tenor sax, piano, and string bass (Willie Dixon played the instrument on the first session), he signed with the Miracle label in the fall of 1946. One of the numbers recorded at the first session was the ebullient boogie "Rockin' the House," from which his band would take its name. Slim and the House Rockers recorded mainly for Miracle through 1949, enjoying commercial success. Among the songs they recorded were "Messin' Around" (which reached number one on the R&B charts in 1948 and "Harlem Bound."^[4] In 1947, the day after producing a concert by Slim, Broonzy, and Williamson at New York City's Town Hall, folklorist Alan Lomax brought the three musicians to the Decca studios and recorded with Slim's on vocal and piano. Lomax presented sections of this recording on BBC radio in the early 1950s as a documentary titled The Art of the Negro, and later released an expanded version as the LP Blues in the Mississippi Night. In 1949, Slim expanded his combo to a quintet by adding a drummer; the group was now spending most of its time on tour, leading to off-contract recording sessions for King in Cincinnati and Peacock in Houston.

One of Slim's 1947 recordings for Miracle, released in 1949, was originally titled "Nobody Loves Me". It has become famous as "Every Day I Have the Blues." The tune was recorded in 1950 by Lowell Fulson, and subsequently by a raft of artists including B. B. King, Elmore James, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Natalie Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Jimi Hendrix, Mahalia Jackson, Sarah Vaughan, Carlos Santana, John Mayer and Lou Rawls.^[5] Joe Williams recorded it in 1952 for Checker; his remake from 1956 (included in Count Basie Swings, Joe Williams Sings) was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1992.^[6]

Early in 1950, Miracle succumbed to financial troubles, but its owners regrouped to form the Premium label, and Slim remained on board until the successor company faltered in the summer of 1951. His February 1951 session for Premium saw two changes in the House Rockers' lineup: Slim started using two tenor saxophones instead of the alto and tenor combination, and he made a trial of adding guitarist Ike Perkins. His last session for Premium kept the two-tenor lineup but dispensed with the guitar. During his time with Premium, Slim first recorded his song "Mother Earth."^[7]

Slim made just one session for King, but the company bought his Hy-Tone sides in 1948 and acquired his Miracle masters after it failed in 1950. He was never a Chess artist, but Leonard Chess bought most of the Premium masters after the failure.

After a year with Mercury Records, Slim signed with United Records in Chicago;^[8] the A&R man, Lew Simpkins, knew him from Miracle and Premium. The timing was propitious, because he had just added Matt "Guitar" Murphy to his group. He remained with United through the end of 1954, when the company began to cut back on blues recording.^[9]

Slim's next steady relationship with a record company had to wait until 1958, when he was picked up by Vee-Jay. In 1959 his band, still featuring Matt "Guitar" Murphy, cut LP Memphis Slim at the Gate of the Horn, which featured a lineup of his best known songs, including "Mother Earth," "Gotta Find My Baby," "Rockin' the Blues," 'Steppin' Out," and "Slim's Blues."^[10]

Slim first appeared outside the United States in 1960, touring with Willie Dixon, with whom he returned to Europe in 1962 as a featured artist in the first of the series of American Folk Festival concerts organized by Dixon and promoter Willie Dixon that brought many notable blues artists to Europe in the 1960s and 1970s. The duo released several albums together on Folkways Records, including, Memphis Slim and Willie Dixon at the Village Gate with Pete Seeger, in 1962. That same year, he moved permanently to Paris and his engaging personality and well-honed presentation of playing, singing, and storytelling about the blues secured his position as the most prominent blues artist for nearly three decades. He appeared on television in numerous European countries, acted in several French films and wrote the score for another, and performed regularly in Paris, throughout Europe, and on return visits to the United States. In the last years of his life, he teamed up with respected jazz drummer George Collier. The two toured Europe together and became friends. After Collier died in August 1987, Slim appeared in public very little.

Two years before his death, Slim was named a Commander in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of France. In addition, the U.S. Senate honored Slim with the title of Ambassador-at-Large of Good Will.^[11]

Memphis Slim grave

Memphis Slim died on February 24, 1988, of renal failure in Paris, France, at the age of 72. He is buried at Galilee Memorial Gardens in Memphis, Tennessee.^[12]

In 1989, he was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.

Discography[link]

^[13][14]

See also[link]

• Chicago Blues Festival
• List of artists who reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart
• List of number-one rhythm and blues hits (United States)
• R&B number-one hits of 1948 (USA)
• Blues Hall of Fame
• List of Storyville Records artists
• List of people from Memphis
• Piano blues
• List of blues musicians

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Memphis Slim

15. Herzhaft (Gerard).- Encyclopedia of the blues. 2nd ed.- Arkansas Press, 1997

External links[link]

• Music Match Memphis Slim
• Memphis Slim biography and discography at Allmusic website
• Memphis Slim discography on Folkways Records
• Memphis Slim obituary from the New York Times