Jim Dickinson

Jim Dickinson
Jim Dickinson (2009)
Background information
Birth name	James Luther Dickinson
Born	(1941-11-15)November 15, 1941 Little Rock, Arkansas
Died	August 15, 2009(2009-08-15) (aged 67) Memphis, Tennessee
Occupation(s)	record producer, pianist, and singer
Instruments	Piano, vocals, guitar

James Luther "Jim" Dickinson (November 15, 1941 - August 15, 2009) was an American record producer, pianist, and singer who fronted, among others, the Memphis, Tennessee-based band Mud Boy and the Neutrons.

Dickinson was born in Little Rock, Arkansas and subsequently raised in Chicago and Memphis. He attended Baylor University as a drama major and eventually graduated from the University of Memphis, where he became acquainted with pioneering music journalist Stanley Booth. Following graduation, he played on recording sessions for Bill Justis and recorded at Chips Moman's American Studios. Dickinson recorded what has been described as the last great single released by Sun Records—"Cadillac Man" b/w "My Babe" by The Jesters (1966)—playing piano and singing lead on both sides despite not being an actual member of the group.

By 1966, Maverick producer Jim Dickinson began his a tenure at the famous Ardent Studios located in Memphis, Tennessee which was founded by John Fry in 1959. The young and eager Jim Dickinson produced and oversaw a series of blistering sessions involving bands like The Bitter Ind (The 31st of February), and The Wallabies. The Wallabies band members Alex Major, Robert (Mississippi Bobby Maxwell) Maxwell, Glen Wilson and Gene Williams landed the song “Up and Down Children”, a delicious marriage of Garage Rock and a twisted Merseybeat sound. Although these productions, in hindsight, are the equal of anything on Nuggets, many went unissued at the time because America wasn’t looking to Memphis for new developments in garage or psychedelia. A real pity, but we can certainly appreciate Dickinson’s ingenuity now. In 2008 the first series of songs were released by Big Beat Records on a compilation album entitled Thank You Friends : The Ardent Records Story and in 2012 on the compilation album Feeling High - The Psychedelic Sound Of Memphis.