Who’s Jim Dickinson, you may well ask…
One of the cornerstones of the Memphis scene, played with the Stones on Wild Horses, produced Big Star, has either played with or produced a veritable Who’s Who of Rock N Roll and soul and country and blues and rockabilly, etc.
RIP, Mr. Dickinson. 
Wasn’t he the producer that popularized the cowbell?
This is tearing my heart up… Jim Dickinson was a great force in Memphis music; one of my real heroes who knew the history and heart of it all, from blues , rockabilly, gospel, and was a big part of that synthesis. He got it, and could play the hell out of it. He was the go-to guy for Dylan, Cooder, and the Stones in understanding the core of the core of American roots. He became the great old Daddy of the Memphis/North Mississippi scene; encouraging and producing artists from his Zebra Ranch compound of trailers, and, lately, releasing his own great records with his roar of a voice and intense keyboards.
Sitting here having flashback memories of being back in that scene in the 90’s, washed over by all that great music. One of the wonderful things about Jim is that he was a great example of living life on your own terms. He was a part of the Memphis counterculture, and led the life of a creative musician. He was married to his sweet wife, Mary Lindsay, life-long, and raised two kids who’ve become great musicians in their own right, Luther and Cody. He was out there in the North Mississippi Hills, in a bunch of trailers, and the world would come to him because he had IT.
RIP, Jim, thanks for your kindness, fellow Scorpio.
I’m playing him on out listening now to Mud Boy and the Neutrons
“This World is not my Home,
I’m only passing by…”
No, that was the Bruce Dickinson…
That sucks. His great production work aside, I really love Dixie Fried, it’d one of the few records that reminds me of Exile on Main Street in its bleary combo of Saturday night blues & Sunday morning redemption. I wish I’d met him.
Another facet of Jim’s talent was that he was a great producer for other artists: he had an encyclopedic knowledge of music, and used it to bring out the best for musicians he recorded. I love this:
It Came From Memphis is a great book chronicling the Memphis scene in the late 20th century, and includes a CD, BTW. That’s where I learned the extent of JD’s influence. Uptight Tonight by Flash and The Memphis Casuals on that CD, featuring JD on guitar, is one of the best Nuggets-style mid-60s punk songs ever.
Hey, An Arky, in searching around for more Dickinson reminiscence, I found this nice blog by Chuck Prophet, of Green On Red, with some great insight into why Jim was such a fine mentor/producer to younger musicians.
I’m away on vacation, but took a minute to check the Dope and saw this.
Thanks for the music, Jim
He somehow took the Replacements – drunk, raggedy, minus their inspired lead guitarist and on the verge of falling apart completely – and coaxed one of their finest moments out of them. No mean feat.