From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Fri Feb 8, 2002  1:15 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Floyd Dixon
 
FLOYD DIXON

Born 8 February 1929, Marshall, Texas

Aka J. Riggins Jnr., Dixon began playing piano and singing as a child,
absorbing every influence from gospel and blues to jazz, and even hillbilly.
In 1942 his family moved to Los Angeles and he came into contact with
fellow ex-Texan Charles Brown, who, sensing Dixon's potential, introduced
him to his brand of cool, jazzy night club blues as singer and pianist with
Johnny Moore's Three Blazers. When the Blazers split up, Dixon was
the natural choice for a substitute Charles Brown, and he made early
recordings in the Brown style with both Eddie Williams (the Blazers'
bassist) for Supreme and with Johnny Moore's new Blazers for Aladdin
and Combo. His own trio recorded extensively for Modern, Peacock and
Aladdin labels between 1947 and 1952. Later, they played in a harder
R&B style for Specialty Records, Cat and Ebb Records, and in the late
50s and 60s for a host of tiny west coast and Texas independent labels.
In 1975 Dixon made a comeback, beginning with a tour of Sweden, and became
the first artist to be featured on Jonas Bernholm's celebrated Route 66
reissue label. Dixon was commissioned to write "Olympic Blues" for the 1984
Los Angeles games. In the 90s he surfaced on the Alligator Records label.
In 1997 he won the W.C. Handy Award for Best Album Of The Year by
a comeback artist.

CD recommendation: Floyd Dixon, Marshall Texas Is My Home (Ace 361,
Legends of Specialty series). 22 tracks, 1953-1957, from Specialty, Cat,
Cash and Ebb, including the Little Richard type rocker "Oooh Little Girl".