Talk:Willie Dixon

Untitled

I do not believe that Willie Dixon ever played "bass guitar." I think he was strictly a stand-up bass player.

Of course, if you have a source, I would stand corrected.199.233.178.253 00:12, 7 January 2006 (UTC)David Keith Johnson, Seattle, WA

I only ever recall seeing pictures of Dixon with an upright, acoustic bass, never with an electric one. He may have adopted their use after his classic era, though. Alcuin 14:45, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

I do not believe that Willie Dixon ever worked with Joe Louis Walker as stated on this page. Joe Louis Walker may have recorded his songs, but he never worked directly with Willie Dixon. Can you please provide any proof that he worked with him, or take down this information and photo as I believe someone is using this for publicity? Thanks! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.22.43.196 (talk) 00:24, 5 September 2010 (UTC)

Hoochie Who?

Maybe I'm wrong, but isn't "Hoochie Coochie Man" a Muddy Waters Tune covered by Dixon and not vice versa?

I'm afraid you are wrong. Whilst Muddy Water's version of the tune is perhaps the definitive, the words and music were composed by Willie Dixon. Try this website (among many others for verification - http://www.lyricsdownload.com/jimi-hendrix-i-m-your-hoochie-coochie-man-lyrics.html)

Derek R Bullamore 19:10, 18 April 2006 (UTC)

Willie Dixon played bass on Waters' classic recordings, and I believe many of these songs were written for and first recorded by Waters or Howlin' Wolf. Alcuin 14:42, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

Willie should get more credit for his lyrical genius. He is the principal wordsmith of the Chicago blues canon. Hoochie Coochie Man, My Babe, Wang Dang Doodle, Little Red Rooster, Back Door Man, Spoonful, Hen Or The Egg, etc. Oh, man.

Vampire of the Blues? Isn't that a pretty strong damnation to appear in a Wikipedia article ... with no more evidence than a second hand story told by a second rate rocker? I tried a google on the phrase and the Wikipedia is the only place where the phrase is seen online. I think we need a stronger case against Mr Dixon before we openly accuse him, and posthumously, of scamming songwriters and then plagiarizing their work! 216.185.253.130 16:11, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Diddy Wah Diddy

The version of Diddy Wah Diddy sung by Ry Cooder is not the same song as the Willie Dixon song. It's a cover of a Blind Blake song recorded in the late 1920s or early 1930s

The All Music Guide website is usually fairly accurate. However, the Blind (Arthur) Blake page has the song title as "Diddie Wa (or Wah) Diddie" [1]; whilst the Ry Cooder page quotes the title as "Ditty Wah Ditty" from Cooder's Paradise and Lunch album; although the songwriter credit does name the self same Arthur Blake [2]. Either way, it is clearly not dear old Willie's memorable song.

Derek R Bullamore 20:21, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Despite differences in spelling, Ry Cooder definitely recorded the Blind Blake number. It is credited to Blake on Cooder's album, too.-RLCampbell (talk) 16:13, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

Just a thought, but I suppose it might be a bit too much to start a Wikipedia article along the lines of List of classic liner note goofs and typos and variations of a theme. There's certainly plenty of material out there, what with mis-credits, botch jobs, and what-nots. Might not be much in the way of reliable references, though :) --Technopat (talk) 16:31, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

I think Whole Lot of Love by Led Zeppelin should be added to the list of songs penned by the man. Though he never recieved songwriting credit on an album sleeve, he sued the band for stealing his song, and Zeppelin settled with him, more or less acknowledging that it was his song. Rileydog22 02:41, 1 March 2007 (UTC)

It already is mentioned under "You Need Love" by (Muddy Waters) !

Derek R Bullamore 12:27, 1 March 2007 (UTC)

I didn't check. Is it referenced? --Leahtwosaints (talk) 22:49, 27 July 2009 (UTC)

Dixon songs?

"Big Boss Man" - usually credited to Luther Dixon and Al Smith. It's not listed in Dixon's autobiography.

"You Don't Love Me" - Booker T. and Kooper versions (along with those by Magic Sam, Junior Wells, Allman Bros., et al.) are credited to Willie Cobbs (although it appears he got it from Bo Diddley's "She's Fine She's Mine;" Diddley's "You Don't Love Me" is a different song). The Big Three Trio recorded "You Don't Love Me No More" which is a different song. Also not listed in his autobiography.

"As Long as I Have You" - Several songs share this title. Led Zep covered Garnett Mimms' version (which is usually credited to Jerry Ragovoy & Bob Elgin). Dixon is credited with the version Little Walter recorded (although again it's not listed in his autobiography).

Ojorojo (talk) 17:29, 10 April 2009 (UTC)

"Help Me" - The CD set The Essential Sonny Boy Williamson lists the songwriting credits for R.Bass/S.B.Williamson, not Willie Dixon. Other songs in the collection are definitely by Dixon and are correctly ascribed. So does anyone know who R. Bass is/was ? 98.30.49.10 (talk) 12:30, 4 November 2009 (UTC)

Ralph Bass, see my user page. Ojorojo (talk) 17:53, 5 November 2009 (UTC)

A question: Which Willie Dixon song did Queen cover?76.16.124.73 (talk) 16:55, 12 June 2010 (UTC)ChicagoBluesGuy32

Discography

Although Dixon was better known for his songwriting and producing than his own singing, I've added a discography of his performances. I've omitted reissues, re-releases, compilations (unless they include unreleased material), tributes and covers, at the suggestion of MOS:DISCOG. I've tried to list the earliest instance of each album, many of which have been in and out of print several times under different labels. Chuckiesdad/Talk/Contribs 04:46, 19 July 2009 (UTC)

Nice job, too! --Leahtwosaints (talk) 22:49, 27 July 2009 (UTC)

Songs written by Dixon

How do you all feel about a chart- probably would have to be on another page, for the songs that Dixon penned? Something like a good Discography chart? --Leahtwosaints (talk) 22:49, 27 July 2009 (UTC)

Good idea - I'm busy elsewhere at the moment, but contact me if you feel I can help.

Derek R Bullamore (talk) 23:56, 27 July 2009 (UTC)

This is a great and underrated idea. Some other excellent songs that need to be mentioned on this page are Wang Dang Doodle, Do the Do, Back Door Man, You Shook Me, I Can't Quit You, Diddy Wah Diddy, Evil, and The Seventh Son. Msalt (talk) 08:28, 7 March 2020 (UTC)

The separate List of songs written by Willie Dixon was created in 2010 to include these and many more of his songs. According to MOS:LEAD, the first paragraphs of an article should serve as an overview or summary. The six songs ("short list of his most famous") were chosen because they were among the most popular on the record charts; "Back Door Man" and "You Shook Me" did not chart and "I Can't Quit You Baby" and "The Seventh Son" were not recorded by the four artists mentioned. —Ojorojo (talk) 14:53, 7 March 2020 (UTC)

In an ideal world, the section on "Pinnacle of career" in this article could be expanded considerably, and some of the songs suggested could be mentioned there. At present, most of the songs listed in the introduction are not mentioned in the body of the text, which is undesirable, so some restructuring of the article should be undertaken..... in an ideal world! Ghmyrtle (talk) 14:59, 7 March 2020 (UTC)

Ideally, yes. Pending that, I added a short "Songs" section. —Ojorojo (talk) 15:37, 7 March 2020 (UTC)

Dixon's "Pain in my heart" is not the same song Otis Redding sang. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.164.164.164 (talk) 12:36, 4 August 2010 (UTC)

Dylan?

It claims Dylan covered a Willie Dixon song, yet of all the songs listen on the page, Dylan is not listed as covering one. The sentence also says bands, but Dylan is not a band. I bring this up because it is possible someone snuck Bob in there. 24.0.60.105 (talk) 11:31, 3 August 2009 (UTC)

Dixon signing as recording artist?

Where is the evidence that Willie Dixon originally signed with Chess as a recording artist? He appears to have played on one session for the predecessor to Chess, Aristocrat. After that, I don't know of any Chess session he played on till 1952. He was identified on the label as the bandleader behind the El-Rays in 1954, and didn't record as a leader till 1955.-RLCampbell (talk) 00:05, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

I think the source for that was Don Snowden's liner notes for The Chess Box (1997) MCA Records, Inc., you may want to check that. I'd imagine his book, I Am the Blues: The Willie Dixon Story, would have more details, but I don't have a copy. dissolve^talk 05:04, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Who

The song titled "Who," recorded by Little Walter in 1955, is not by Willie Dixon. It was credited on the original release to Bernard Roth (who also wrote "Just to Be with You" and "Forty Days and Forty Nights" for Muddy Waters. So I've taken it off the list.-RLCampbell (talk) 20:11, 11 August 2009 (UTC)

Jazz?

I think we can all agree that Willie Dixon is a blues artist, not a jazz artist. I removed the WikiProject Jazz designation. --Archaeolojae (talk) 14:26, 16 May 2010 (UTC)

Adulthood Section - Links To The Wrong Jimmie Dale Gilmore

(This is the first time I've signed on to the Discussion area of Wikipedia, so I hope I'm doing this correctly.)

In the section on Willie Dixon's Adulthood, it states:

Dixon, whose initial attempts at his vocation as a boxer were now dubious, began performing around Chicago and with Leonard "Baby Doo" 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, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Willie Hawthorne.

The link to Jimmie Dale Gilmore goes to current singer and Flatlanders member Jimmie Dale Gilmore. I really doubt that this is the right Gilmore. Although he would probably be proud to have sung with Willie Dixon in Mississippi in the late 1930's, he wasn't even born until 1945 (in Texas).

I don't want to edit the Willie Dixon page because I have no idea who the people are supposed to be. Just pointing this out to whoever wrote the article.

Hope this is where I type four tildes.

Futurepast11 (talk) 23:54, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

I unlinked it. dissolve^talk 00:09, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Possible copyright problem

This article has been revised as part of a large-scale clean-up project of multiple article copyright infringement. (See the investigation subpage) Earlier text must not be restored, unless it can be verified to be free of infringement. For legal reasons, Wikipedia cannot accept copyrighted text or images borrowed from other web sites or printed material; such additions must be deleted. Contributors may use sources as a source of information, but not as a source of sentences or phrases. Accordingly, the material may be rewritten, but only if it does not infringe on the copyright of the original or plagiarize from that source. Please see our guideline on non-free text for how to properly implement limited quotations of copyrighted text. Wikipedia takes copyright violations very seriously. Diannaa (talk) 01:45, 6 February 2014 (UTC)

Growing up?

I can't tell what Willie Dixon was doing while growing up... What did Willie Dixon do while growing up? ANSWER PLEASE — Preceding unsigned comment added by Loblaster (talk • contribs) 18:05, 22 February 2016 (UTC)

Here are a couple of bios you may want to check.[3][4] —Ojorojo (talk) 15:06, 23 February 2016 (UTC)

"A capable singer"

I reworded the previous version ("proficient . . . as a vocalist") because it seems to me that he was not proficient as a singer. Dixon is not notable for his singing—he was notable for other reasons, as the article states. I hope "capable" does not sound too much like faint praise. Jwicklatz (talk) 22:00, 6 June 2017 (UTC)

Agree, capable sounds better. Anyway, "proficient" seems to be more often used for musical instruments. —Ojorojo (talk) 15:53, 7 June 2017 (UTC)

Examples in the lead

More and more examples of songs and artists continue to be added to the lead. Currently, there are 1) six charting songs from the four original artists; 2) two important early rock artists; and 3) seven 60s rock artists who recorded a Dixon tune for their debut albums. 1) and 2) are OK, but 3) seven may be too many. Propose to limit these to the best known today: Doors, Zeppelin, and Stones. Thoughts, additions, deletions? —Ojorojo (talk) 17:42, 20 July 2020 (UTC)

Propose to reword as follows and include more examples in the footnote:

His songs have been adapted by numerous rock artists; the Doors, Led Zeppelin, and the Rolling Stones featured at least one of his songs on their debut albums as did at least another dozen artists.

—Ojorojo (talk) 14:31, 22 July 2020 (UTC)