BluesHeaven - Willie Dixon's Blues Heaven Foundation

Willie Dixon honored at Park Forest Public Library 11/15/11 @ 6:30PM

bluesheaven — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 05:23:32 +0000

If you’re in the Chicago area, come on out to the Park Forest Public Library:

Tuesdays Full of the Blues: Willie Dixon

6:30PM – 7:30PM

The program features digitally remastered performances of Willie Dixon. Marie Dixon will be in attendance to share memories of her late husband.

For more info, visit: http://www.pfpl.org/index.html.

Alderman, Music Lovers Push to Create Chicago Entertainment District on Record Row

bluesheaven — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 05:16:34 +0000

Check out this video that aired this evening on Fox News Chicago regarding the push to create the Chicago Entertainment District. Marie Dixon, Buddy Guy and others are featured.

http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/special_report/chicago-music-row-chess-vee-jay-blues-willie-dixon-buddy-guy-cheap-trick-20111110

Blues’ Who of the Blues…Johnny Shines

bluesheaven — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 01:51:35 +0000

Come check out our next Blues’ Who of the Blues…Johnny Shines!

Blues’ Who of the Blues…Little Walter

bluesheaven — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 06:50:10 +0000

Harmonica virtuoso Little Walter was a key contributor to bluesman Muddy Waters’ music through most of the 1950s. Both as a sideman and bandleader, Little Walter revolutionized the sound of blues harmonica through amplification, clasping a mike to the harp as he played. While he may not have been the first bluesman to play amplified harmonica, he explored its possibilities most fully. He was inarguably a musical genius. Little Walter could make an inexpensive, portable “mouth organ” moan and roar like a full horn section or produce an unearthly, haunting wail. Moreover, he was a tasteful and sympathetic accompanist. As journalist Robert Palmer wrote of Little Walter’s contribution to Waters’ music, “The harp lines wrapped themselves around Muddy’s vocals, now chording like an organ, now filling melodically like a horn.”

Little Walter was born Marion Walter Jacobs in rural Louisiana. Little Walter made his way north to Chicago via stops in New Orleans and Monroe, Louisiana; St. Helena, Arkansas; Memphis, Tennessee; and St. Louis, Missouri, arriving in the Windy City in 1947. That same year, he made his first recordings for the local Ora Nelle label. Little Walter and Muddy Waters first appeared on a session together when both backed Jimmy Rogers in 1949. Waters backed Little Walter on a session for Parkway Records in January 1950. That August, Little Walter first backed Muddy for the Chess label, and in October, they recorded the Waters classic “Louisiana Blues.” Nearly a year after Little Walter’s initial appearance on a Muddy Waters session for Chess, he used an amplified harmonica for the first time on a groundbreaking July 1951 session that yielded “She Moves Me.” Waters was among the earliest to recognize that blues possessed a formidable power when electrified, and with Jimmy Rogers on electric guitar and Little Walter on amplified harp, he had the hottest blues band in Chicago. Little Walter split from Waters’ band after an instrumental showcase of his that was popular with crowds – “Your Cat Will Play,” retitled “Juke” when he recorded it – became a huge solo hit. A classic juke-joint instrumental, “Juke” topped the R&B chart for eight weeks in the fall of 1952.

In addition to harmonica, Little Walter played guitar, sang and wrote songs. He recruited a backing band from the Chicago club scene (whom he rechristened the Jukes, after his big song), and they recorded and toured throughout the Fifties. On his own, Little Walter charted 14 Top Ten R&B hits for the Chess label’s Checker subsidiary. Another single, “My Babe” – written by Willie Dixon – went to #1. Other sizable hits from Little Walter included “Sad Hours,” “Mean Old World,” “Blues With a Feeling,” “You’re So Fine,” “Oh, Baby” and ‘Last Night.” At Leonard Chess’s behest, Little Walter continued recording with Muddy Waters, too, adding his unmistakable harmonica to such classics as “I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man” (written by Willie Dixon) and “Trouble No More.”

Little Walter’s had a pervasive influence on succeeding generations of harmonica players, especially in Britain, where he was revered by a rising generation of blues-smitten rock and rollers. Unfortunately, his predilection for drinking, fighting and self-destructive behavior caught up with him. Little Walter died in 1968, at the age of 37, from head injuries suffered in a street brawl.

Biography from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: http://rockhall.com/inductees/little-walter/bio/

The Official Willie Dixon Website!

bluesheaven — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 09:08:46 +0000

Willie Dixon

The Official Willie Dixon website launches today! Come check out the pictures, videos, music and much more!

Can you imagine what music would be like without such hits as “Hoochie Coochie Man”, “Little Red Rooster”, “Spoonful”, “I Ain’t Superstitious”, “I Can’t Quit You Baby” or “My Babe”? Neither could most. Thankfully, we don’t have to. Little did the world know that in 1915, the person who made all of this possible would be born.

Willie Dixon was one of the greatest and most prolific artists ever to sing the blues, with more than 500 compositions to his credit. Dixon’s songs literally created the so-called “Chicago blues sound” and were recorded by such blues artists as Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Bo Diddley, Koko Taylor, and many others. Some of Dixon’s songs went on to reach an international audience in the 1960s, when they were popularized by such British groups as the Rolling Stones, Cream, the Yardbirds, Jeff Beck, and Led Zeppelin.

So come on over and check out the new Willie Dixon website!

Little Walter…the next Blues’ Who of the Blues!

bluesheaven — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 09:03:46 +0000

Little Walter

Coming soon…Little Walter…the next Blues’ Who of the Blues!

Marie Dixon featured on “Classic Chicago” on 12-9-10!

bluesheaven — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 07:06:53 +0000

Chicago – Maybe you enjoy the blues; maybe you enjoy rock and roll. Either way, you should know about Chess Records a label and a studio on the South Side that helped shape music all over the world.

Chess Studios was home to dozens of legendary blues and rock musicians from 1957 to 1967.

Their location, 2120 South Michigan, is one of the most famous addresses in blues history. It’s a building so revered, the Rolling Stones wrote a song about it.

The Stones, like so many rock and rollers, developed their own sound based in large part on the music spawned there. It’s now the former home of Chess Records, a studio and recording company, which gave voice to so many legendary blues artists including Chuck Berry, who recorded Johnny B. Goode there in 1958.

The unusually angled walls and original baffling still exist, as does some original recording equipment. You can almost hear Muddy Waters, recording his classic Hoochie Coochie Man.

“This is Buddy Guy in his young days. He could have not been more than 23 years old,” said Marie Dixon, president of the Blues Heaven Foundation, pointing to a picture on the wall.

Dixon knew them all, including the men in the photo: Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters and Marie’s late husband, bassist, producer and writer extraordinaire, Willie Dixon.

The building is now home to the Willie Dixon Blues Heaven Foundation, whose mission is to not only honor the legacy of the most prolific writer of his era, but to preserve the Blues as an art form.

“If a tree is planted and not watered it dies, the root dies. So if they change music’s style and don’t think about where it started from, the blues is going to die,” Marie Dixon said.

The building, which is open to the public six days a week, is brimming with photos and artifacts — a tribute to the blues pioneers and those who followed.

Dixon has her favorites, those who pay homage to the past, like the iconic Eric Clapton,
Stone’ guitarist Ronnie Woods, who stops by every time he’s in town, and Aerosmith front man Steven Tyler, who kissed the floor when he visited, saying he had to pay his respects to the giants who came before.

FREE Concerts in the Blues Garden…COMING SOON!!!

bluesheaven — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 18:39:49 +0000

Hey Everyone…it’s that time of year again! Summertime is quickly approaching and we are beginning to announce the line-up for this summer’s FREE Concert series in the Blues Garden.

WHEN: Each Thursday at 6pm, beginning June 10th

WHERE: 2122 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL (next door to the Blues Heaven building)

ADMISSION: FREE (all donations greatly appreciated)

Here’s the line-up so far:

June 10th – Eddie C. Campbell

June 17th – Doktu Rhute

June 24th – Charlie Love

July 8th – Ramblin’ Rose

July 15th – Killer Ray Allison

Keep checking back to see who we have added to the line-up! We look forward to seeing you there…rain or shine!

HOT BLUES NIGHTS 2010 with Special Guest Johnny Drummer – June 12th!

bluesheaven — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 18:54:01 +0000

Earwig Music's Internationally Renown Blues Artist: Johnny Drummer

Blues Heaven Foundation is hosting our annual “HOT BLUES NIGHTS” event at the historic Chess Studios, located at 2120 S. Michigan Ave. in Chicago. Come on out and enjoy some live music with special guest Johnny Drummer, tour the historic Chess Studios, watch live video footage of the Blues greats, and feast on some food and refreshments!

WHEN: Saturday, June 12th @ 9pm

WHERE: 2120 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60616

ADMISSION: $10 minimum donation/person suggested (donations accepted at the door or at the Blues Heaven Foundation booth during the Chicago Blues Festival)

Marie Dixon participating in the Blues and the Spirit Symposium on June 9th!

bluesheaven — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 19:58:01 +0000

Dominican University Hosts

Blues and the Spirit II:

A Symposium on Chicago Blues and Gospel Music

Commemorating the Centennial of Howlin’ Wolf’s Birth and the 40th Anniversary of Living Blues Magazine

Wednesday, June 9 and Thursday, June 10

Dominican University (located just minutes from the Chicago Loop) will host Blues and the Spirit II, celebrating the centennial of Howlin’ Wolf’s birth and the 40th anniversary of Living Blues Magazine . Building on the discussion and dialogue begun in the May 2008 symposium, Blues and the Spirit II will continue its emphasis on the heritage of African-American Chicago and will also explore the shared roots, tensions and commonalities in Blues and Gospel music.

(Symposium registration is still open, but, as of May 24, on-campus housing is NO LONGER AVAILABLE! )

Panels and presentations with Blues and Gospel Scholars, Musicians, Writers, and Industry Representatives
Blues keynote Chuck D on Blues, Rap and Race
Spirit keynote Dr. Karen M. Wilson on The Sacred and Secular: How Spiritiuality was Supposedly Shaved Off the Blues
Special panel with the founding editors and contributors of Living Blues Magazine on the occasion of its 40th anniversary. (Early registrants will receive an original Vol.1, No. 1 edition of Living Blues with Howlin’ Wolf on the cover.)
Elders Council with contemporaries of Howlin’ Wolf
Blues and the Spirit Awards honoring Barry Dolins, Director of the Chicago Blues Festival, and Howlin’ Wolf’s daughters, Bettye Kelly and Barbra Marks
Wednesday evening reception and pro jam with an all star array of blues musicians from Wolf’s generation and from the current Chicago music scene.
Thursday evening motor coach transportation and entrance to Chicago Blues Festival opening at Millennium Park with Bassekou Kouyate, Otis Taylor, Eddie Shaw, and Hubert Sumlin, and Symposium after party at the legendary Rosa’s Lounge with Sharon Lewis and Texas Fire

The $75 registration fee includes ALL events June 9th and 10th: plenaries, panels, presentations, and reception and jam, as well as Chicago Blues Festival opening/ after party at Rosa’s Lounge

For more information, please visit: http://www.dom.edu/blues