It was announced today that renowned musician and producer, Jim Dickinson, died Saturday in Memphis at the age of 67. He passed away following triple bypass surgery.
A legend in the Memphis music scene, Dickinson first broke into the business with his band the Jesters. They’re hit song, “Cadillac Man,” is thought to be one of the last great Sun Records singles. Later, he became a successful session musician with the Dixie Flyers, as that group backed such artists as Little Richard and Aretha Franklin. A piano player by trade, he can be heard on the Rolling Stones cut “Wild Horses.”
In the 70s, he began producing albums, and continued to do so until his death. Among others, he produced Big Star’s Third, the Replacements’ Pleased to Meet Me, and Screaming Jay Hawkins’ At Last.
Throughout his lifetime, Dickinson made albums as solo artist and with other bands, though it never sold particularly well. Nevertheless, musicians such as Bob Dylan and Ry Cooder continued to use him on their albums. Dickinson played keyboards on Dylan’s 1997 album Time Out of Mind, which later went on to win the Grammy for Album of the Year.
He is survived by his two sons Cody and Luther Dickinson. You might know them from their band the North Mississippi Allstars.
I’m not going to lie and say I’m an expert of the music Dickinson wrote. However, I am definitely familiar with him as a producer. Like most, I knew him from the Big Star/Replacements connection. I’ll try to sum it up as best I can. Paul Westerberg, leader of the Replacements, was a huge fan of Big Star, in particular their lead singer Alex Chilton. Big Star’s album Third was produced by Jim Dickinson. As the Replacements evolved, they wanted to try something a bit different that might appeal to a larger audience. As Westerberg was a fan of that Big Star album, he enlisted Dickinson to produce the Replacements’ Pleased to Meet Me. Given Dickinson’s background in Memphis blues, it’s amazing how well he worked with different genres. Samples of his work are below.
