I Am The Blues: The Willie Dixon Story (Da Capo Paperback) [Paperback]

Willie Dixon (Author), Don Snowden (Author)

Book Description

Series: Da Capo Paperback | Publication Date: August 22, 1990

These are just a few of Willie Dixon's contributions to blues, R&B, and rock'n'roll—songs performed by artists as varied as the Rolling Stones, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, ZZ Top, the Doors, Sonny Boy Williamson, the Grateful Dead, Van Morrison, Megadeth, Eric Clapton, Let Zepplin, Tesla, Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Jeff Healey.I Am the Blues captures Willie Dixon's inimitable voice and character as he tells his life story: the segregation of Visksburg Mississippi, where Dixon grew up; the prison farm from which he escaped and then hoboed his way north as a teenager; his equal-rights-based draft refusal in 1942; his work—as songwriter bassist, producer, and arranger—with Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Bo Diddley, and Chuck Berry which shaped the definitive Chicago blues sound of Chess Records; and his legal battles to recapture the rights to his historic catalog of songs.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Don Snowden, a regular contributor to the Los Angeles Times for over 15 years, has supplemented Dixon's reflections with interviews with other performers and Chess insiders, a comprehensive discography, and a list of the major artists who have recorded his songs.

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (August 22, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306804158
• ISBN-13: 978-0306804151
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #610,894 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Greatest American Songwriters., March 4, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Wyoming, Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Am The Blues: The Willie Dixon Story (Da Capo Paperback) (Paperback)

Willie Dixon was a big man, not only physically. He was colorful, confident, ambitious and intelligent. And in addition to all that, he had a remarkable talent for writing songs. He wrote such Blues classics as "I'm Ready","Spoonful", "Hoochie Coochie Man", and "I Just Want to Make Love to You.". His contemporaries included Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson and Muddy Waters, all of whom recorded Dixon's songs.

With a title like "I Am the Blues", you can expect Dixon to talk a lot about The Blues. And he does. And there's no one better to provide a first hand account of Blues music and it's evolution from the 1940's through the 1980's. But Dixon also describes his own life in vivid detail. Love and the loss of love. Hard work and hard living. A man of principles, Dixon was arrested on stage in 1941 for evading the draft. As a struggling black man and musician, he refused to go to war for the country that he felt had done nothing for him. Later in his life, Dixon fought for the rights to his own songs, and profits he never made from many recordings of those songs.

In later years, Dixon's songs were recorded by new blues legends like Buddy Guy, and British rock artists like The Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton. Many of his songs remain Blues standards, today. But the best legacy Willie Dixon leaves behind is his human legacy. This is best reflected in the words of his own favorite self-penned song, "It Don't Make Sense (You Can't Make Peace):

"You take one man's heart and make another man live
You even go to the moon and come back thrilled
Why, you can crush any country in a matter of weeks
But it don't make sense you can't make peace."

Amen to that, Mr. Dixon.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Willie Dixon is the Blues., May 5, 2005

By 

Brett Lemke (www.maximumink.com) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Am The Blues: The Willie Dixon Story (Da Capo Paperback) (Paperback)

Willie Dixon is the Blues. This book is a first-person window into his extraordinarily brilliant mind, and the adversity he struggled against to become one of the most influential producers in the Blues. Dixon was educated informally by life experience and hardship, and as a Golden Gloves Boxer he trained with Joe Lewis before being banned from the ring and breaking into music with vocal group The Big Three Trio. Speaking with a wisdom that reveals unparalleled optimism and common sense, I Am The Blues is the man responsible for setting up and orchestrating the Chicago Blues on Chess and Cobra Records in the 1950's. He literally wrote the songs to most of the hits for Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, and gave voice to J.B.Lenoir, Koko Taylor, Little Walter, Otis Rush, and Lafayette Leake. It's not hard to say whether Dixon or Leonard Chess had more pull with the label during those days, as Dixon was responsible for the talent that came through the door. He later had to fight for his own copyrights to collect royalties on his own material. This book is recommended to all musicologists, and any fans of Muddy Waters, or Buddy Guy. All content copyright www.maximumink.com - Brett Lemke

4.0 out of 5 stars The Songs That Launched A Thousand Careers, April 21, 2007

By 

Skoro "Slow Reader" (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Am The Blues: The Willie Dixon Story (Da Capo Paperback) (Paperback)

If you enjoy rock and roll, especially the "classic rock" of the 60's and 70's, then you know Willie Dixon, whether you're aware of it or not. His mighty pen wrote music that was made famous by none other than the Rolling Stones, the Doors, Cream, the Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin and Eric Clapton. This autobiography is an engrossing tale of the hardships and discrimination Dixon had to endure growing up in Mississippi, and his move to Chicago, where his career as a bassist and songwriter took root. Many of the songs that are identified with blues giants Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf were crafted by Willie, who also played bass in the studio recordings.

This book is a must-read for those who have an interest in the blues, early rock n' roll, or music in general.