Come check out our latest addition to the Blues’ Who of the Blues…Charley Patton!  He was a major influence in Delta Blues, who influenced numerous blues greats including Howlin’ Wolf, Son House, John Lee Hooker and Willie Dixon.  Even Jimi Hendrix fell under the Patton Spell.

CLICK HERE

Come on out to the Blues Heaven garden to celebrate 102 years of Howlin’ Wolf!

When:  Thursday, June 7th @ 2pm

Where:  Willie Dixon’s Blues Garden, 2120 S. Michgan Ave.

Admission:  FREE, however donations are accepted!

If you’re in the Chicago area, come join us on May 18th at Dominican University, as Marie Dixon will be receiving the “Blues and the Spirit Award”.

Where:  Dominican University, 7900 W. Division Street, River Forest, IL,  60305

When:  Friday, May 18th @ 6pm

Website:  http://www.dom.edu/blues

Attention all college students!!!

If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to apply for your chance to be awarded a scholarship in the amount of $2000 to help toward achieving your educational goals!  In addition to the Muddy Waters Scholarship, that has been an ongoing scholarship awarded annually to 1 chosen applicant, we have added the Willie Dixon Scholarship.  Please CLICK HERE  to download your application.

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

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/

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

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