Editing Willie Dixon (section)

==Biography==
[[File:Willie Dixon en 1963.jpg|thumb|Dixon performing in 1963]]

===Early life===
Dixon was born in [[Vicksburg, Mississippi]], on July 1, 1915.<ref name="amg">{{cite web|last=Eder |first=Bruce |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/willie-dixon-mn0000959770 |title=Willie Dixon: Biography, Credits, Discography |publisher=AllMusic.com |access-date=March 13, 2013}}</ref> He was one of 14 children.{{sfn|Palmer|1982|p=166}} His mother, Daisy, often rhymed 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]]. He sang his first song at Springfield Baptist Church at the age of four.<ref name="Willie Dixon pp. 207">{{cite journal|first=Worth|last=Long|date=1995|title=The Wisdom of the Blues—Defining Blues as the True Facts of Life: An Interview with Willie Dixon|journal=[[African American Review]]|volume=29|issue=2|pages=207–212}}</ref> Dixon was first introduced to [[blues]] when he served time on [[prison farm]]s in Mississippi as a young teenager. Later in his teens, he learned to sing harmony from a local carpenter, Theo Phelps, who led a [[gospel music|gospel]] quintet, the Union Jubilee Singers, in which Dixon sang bass; the group regularly performed on the Vicksburg radio station WQBC.{{sfn|Dixon|Snowden|1990|pp=25, 34}} He began adapting his poems into songs and even sold some to local music groups.

===Adulthood===
Dixon left Mississippi for Chicago in 1936.{{sfn|Palmer|1982|p=166}} A man of considerable stature, standing 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighing over 250 pounds, he took up boxing, at which he was successful, winning the Illinois State [[Golden Gloves]] [[Championship (professional wrestling)|Heavyweight Championship]] (Novice Division) in 1937.{{sfn|Snowden|1997|loc=Box set booklet}} Around 1939, he became a professional boxer and worked briefly as [[Joe Louis]]'s sparring partner, but after four fights he left boxing in a dispute with his manager over money.

Dixon met [[Leonard Caston]] at a boxing gym, where they would harmonize at times. Dixon performed in several vocal groups in Chicago, but it was Caston that persuaded him to pursue music seriously.<ref name="Castonbio1">{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p63195|pure_url=yes}}|title=Leonard Caston|last=Eder|first=Bruce|year=2010 |work=Biography of Leonard Caston|publisher=Rovi Corporation|access-date=May 2, 2010}}</ref> Caston built him his first bass, made of a tin-can and one string. Dixon's experience singing bass made the instrument familiar.<ref name="Willie Dixon pp. 207"/> He also learned to play the guitar.

In 1939, Dixon was a founding member of the Five Breezes, with Caston, Joe Bell, Gene Gilmore and Willie Hawthorne.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> The group blended blues, [[jazz]], and vocal harmonies, in the mode of the [[Ink Spots]].<ref name="LarkinGE"/> Dixon's progress on the [[upright bass]] came to an abrupt halt with the advent of World War II, when he refused induction into military service as a [[conscientious objector]] and was imprisoned for ten months.<ref name="amg" /> He refused to go to war because he would not fight for a nation in which institutionalized racism and racist laws were prevalent.<ref>Baird, Jim (2014). "Book Review: ''Willie Dixon: Preacher of the Blues''." ''Journal of American Folklore'' 127: 100–101. ProQuest.Web. October 3, 2015.</ref> After the war, he formed a group named the Four Jumps of Jive.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> He then reunited with Caston, forming the Big Three Trio,{{sfn|Palmer|1982|p=166}} which went on to record for [[Columbia Records]].<ref name="LarkinGE"/>

===Pinnacle of career===
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Jlwandwilliedixon.jpg|thumb|240px|left|Dixon (right), with his friend [[Joe Louis Walker]]]] -->
Dixon signed with [[Chess Records]] as a recording artist, but he began performing less, being more involved with administrative tasks for the label.<ref name="LarkinGE">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1992|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-939-0|page=706}}</ref> By 1951, he was a full-time employee at Chess, where he acted as producer, [[Artists and repertoire|talent scout]], [[session musician]] and staff songwriter.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> He was also a producer for the Chess subsidiary [[Checker Records]].<ref name="LarkinGE"/> His relationship with Chess was sometimes strained, but 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]], for which he produced early singles for [[Otis Rush]], [[Magic Sam]], and [[Buddy Guy]].{{sfn|Dixon|Snowden|1990|pp=103–112}} In 1956, Dixon wrote "[[Fishin' in My Pond]]", which was recorded by [[Lee Jackson (blues musician)|Lee Jackson]], and released on Cobra in February 1957.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wirz.de/music/jackslee.htm|title=Illustrated Lee Jackson discography|website=Wirz.de|access-date=March 26, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Fishin' In My Pond | website=45cat.com | url=http://www.45cat.com/record/nc172540us | access-date=March 26, 2021}}</ref> Dixon later recorded for [[Bluesville Records]]. From the late 1960s until the mid-1970s, Dixon ran his own record label, [[Yambo Records]], and two subsidiary labels, Supreme and Spoonful. He released his 1971 album, ''Peace?'', on Yambo and also singles by [[McKinley Mitchell]], [[Lucky Peterson]] and others.{{sfn|Dixon|Snowden|1990|p=244}}

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]], [[Little Walter]], [[Sonny Boy Williamson II]], [[Koko Taylor]], [[Little Milton]], [[Eddie Boyd]], [[Jimmy Witherspoon]], [[Lowell Fulson]], [[Willie Mabon]], [[Memphis Slim]], [[Washboard Sam]], [[Jimmy Rogers]], [[Sam Lay]] and others.

In December 1964, the [[The Rolling Stones|Rolling Stones]] reached number one on the UK Singles Chart with their cover of Dixon's "[[Little Red Rooster]]".<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">
{{cite book
| first= David
| last= Roberts
| year= 2006
| title= British Hit Singles & Albums
| edition= 19th
| publisher= Guinness World Records
| location= London
| page= 458
| isbn= 1-904994-10-5
}}</ref> In the same year, the group also covered "[[I Just Want To Make Love To You]]" on their debut album, ''[[The Rolling Stones (album)|The Rolling Stones]]''.

===Copyright battles===
In his later years, Dixon became a tireless ambassador for the blues and a vocal advocate for its practitioners, founding the Blues Heaven Foundation, which works to preserve the legacy of the blues and to secure copyrights and royalties for blues musicians who were exploited in the past.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> 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."

In 1977, unhappy with the small royalties paid by Chess's publishing company, Arc Music, Dixon and Muddy Waters sued Arc and later Dixon founded his own publishing company, Hoochie Coochie Music.{{sfn|Mitsutoshi|2011|p=67}}

In 1987, Dixon reached an out-of-court settlement with the rock band [[Led Zeppelin]] after suing for plagiarism in the band's use of his music in "[[Bring It On Home (Sonny Boy Williamson II song)|Bring It On Home]]" and lyrics from his composition "[[You Need Love (Muddy Waters song)|You Need Love]]" (1962) in the band's recording of "[[Whole Lotta Love]]".{{sfn|Mitsutoshi|2011|p=197}}

===Death and legacy===
Dixon's health increasingly deteriorated during the 1970s and the 1980s, primarily as a result of long-term [[Diabetes mellitus|diabetes]]. Eventually one of his legs was [[amputate]]d.<ref name="amg" />

Dixon was inducted into the [[Blues Hall of Fame]] in 1980, in the inaugural session of the [[Blues Foundation]]'s ceremony.<ref>"[http://www.blues.org/halloffame/inductees.php4?YearId=25 1980 Hall of Fame Inductees] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070305080004/http://www.blues.org/halloffame/inductees.php4?YearId=25 |date=March 5, 2007 }}". [[Blues Foundation]]. Blues.org. Retrieved February 17, 2008.</ref> In 1989 he received a [[Grammy Award]] for his album ''Hidden Charms''.<ref name="timeline">{{cite web | title = Willie Dixon Timeline| url=http://bluesheaven.com/about/the-legend/timeline| publisher   = Blues Heaven Foundation. BluesHeaven.com| location= Chicago| year= 2007| access-date  = 2009-07-18}}</ref>

Dixon died of heart failure on January 29, 1992, in Burbank, California,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1992/01/30/willie-dixon-blues-singer-and-songwriter-dies-at-76/53f6f2cf-a343-4f70-b8ec-e9fe36011fb6/|title=WILLIE DIXON, BLUES SINGER AND SONGWRITER, DIES AT 76|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=January 29, 1992}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/30/arts/willie-dixon-musician-76-dies-singer-and-writer-of-classic-blues.html|title=Willie Dixon, Musician, 76, Dies; Singer and Writer of Classic Blues|newspaper=New York Times|date=January 30, 1992}}</ref><ref name="amg" /> and was buried in [[Burr Oak Cemetery and Restvale Cemetery|Burr Oak Cemetery]], in [[Alsip, Illinois]].<ref>Dixon is buried at Lot 18, Grave 1, Acacia Lawn, [[Burr Oak Cemetery]], Alsip, Illinois. Wilson, Scott. ''Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons'' (3rd ed.). 2 (Kindle location 12459). McFarland & Company. Kindle edition</ref>

After his death, his widow, Marie Dixon, took over the Blues Heaven Foundation and moved the headquarters to Chess Records.<ref>Barretta, Scott (2008). "Voices from Chicago: Jackie Dixon." ''Living Blues'' 05: 38–39. ProQuest. Web. October 3, 2015.</ref> Dixon was posthumously inducted into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] in the category Early Influences (pre-rock) in 1994.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rule|first=Sheila|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/20/arts/rock-greats-hail-hail-their-own-at-spirited-hall-of-fame-ceremony.html|title=Rock Greats Hail, Hail Their Own at Spirited Hall of Fame Ceremony|newspaper=New York Times|date=January 20, 1994|access-date=February 17, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Harrington|first=Richard|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1994/01/19/the-halls-that-willie-dixon-built/2022038f-55da-4514-b552-8bc0d37c259c/|title=The Halls That Willie Dixon Built|newspaper=Washington Post|date=January 18, 1994}}</ref> On April 28, 2013, both Dixon and his grandson [[Alex Dixon (blues)|Alex Dixon]] were inducted into the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame.<ref>"[http://www.blueshalloffame.com/Local_Blues_Talent/Local_Blues_Talent_of_Chicago_Illinois.html 2013 Chicago Blues Hall of Fame]". Retrieved June 27, 2014.</ref>

In 2007, Dixon was honored with a marker on the [[Mississippi Blues Trail]] in Vicksburg.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.vicksburgpost.com/2007/06/29/willie-dixons-way-mural-marker-party-honor-city-son062907/|title=Willie Dixon's way: Mural, marker, party honor city son{{!}}[06/29/07] - The Vicksburg Post|date=June 29, 2007|work=The Vicksburg Post|language=en-US}}</ref>

The actor and comedian [[Cedric the Entertainer]] portrayed Dixon in ''[[Cadillac Records]]'', a 2008 film based on the early history of Chess Records.<ref>{{cite news|last=Simmons |first=Leslie |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/filmNews/idUSN2235591420080122 |title=Brody, Wright Join Musical Chess Club |work=Reuters |date= January 22, 2008|access-date=January 25, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Mayberry |first=Carly |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/filmNews/idUSN1216708520080212 |title=Alessandro Nivola to Play Blues Mogul in 'Chess' |work=Reuters |date= February 12, 2008|access-date=January 25, 2012}}</ref>

In 2020, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' ranked him as the 12th greatest bass player and mentioned him as the history's most influential bluesmen.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-07-02 |title=Willie Dixon |url=https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/50-greatest-bassists-of-all-time-13565/willie-dixon-13605/ |access-date=2023-11-02 |website=Rolling Stone Australia |language=en-AU}}</ref>