Luther Dickinson
Encyclopedia
Luther Dickinson is the lead guitarist and vocalist for the North Mississippi Allstars
as well as lead guitarist for The Black Crowes
. He hosts Guitar Xpress
on the Video On Demand
network, Lifeskool (formerly Mag Rack).
, a Memphis record producer. Dickinson grew up playing concerts and gaining recording experience with his father and brother, Cody. The family moved to the hills of North Mississippi in 1985. Dickinson befriended the musical families of Otha Turner, R. L. Burnside
, and Junior Kimbrough
. They were the inspiration for Luther and Cody Dickinson to form the North Mississippi Allstars
in 1996. The North Mississippi Allstars have been nominated for three Grammy Award
s in the Best Contemporary Blues category. Dickinson produced two records on Otha Turner, Everybody Hollerin' Goat and From Senegal To Senatobia.
Dickinson was featured in an issue of Rolling Stone
as one of the new guitar gods. He is one of the true blues-rock guitarists continuing the southern style with Jimi Hendrix
and Duane Allman
similarities. He shows influence from Mississippi Fred McDowell
, Mississippi John Hurt
and Furry Lewis
on the acoustic guitar. He has recorded with the Replacements, Mojo Nixon
, Beck
, Toy Caldwell
, Billy Lee Riley
, John Medeski
and Robert Randolph [as The Word
], John Hiatt
, Jon Spencer, Otha Turner, Shawn Lane
, R. L. Burnside and Jim Dickinson.
On November 27, 2007, it was announced Dickinson would take on guitarist duties for The Black Crowes
. His recording debut with the band was on Warpaint in 2008, and he has since appeared on the 2009 Black Crowes release Before the Frost...Until the Freeze
. Dickinson currently tours with both the Black Crowes and the North Mississippi Allstars.
North Mississippi Allstars
North Mississippi Allstars is a Southern rock/blues jam band from Hernando, Mississippi, founded in 1996. The band is composed of brothers Luther Dickinson and Cody Dickinson , and Chris Chew...
as well as lead guitarist for The Black Crowes
The Black Crowes
The Black Crowes are an American rock band formed in 1989. Their discography includes nine studio albums, four live albums and several charting singles. The band was signed to Def American Recordings in 1989 by producer George Drakoulias and released their debut album, Shake Your Money Maker, the...
. He hosts Guitar Xpress
Guitar Xpress
Guitar Xpress is an original series on the Video On Demand network Lifeskool . Hosted by Luther Dickinson of The North Mississippi All Stars, and The Black Crowes. The series provides instruction for guitar players of all levels. In each episode, Dickinson teaches viewers hit songs from the past...
on the Video On Demand
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
network, Lifeskool (formerly Mag Rack).
Career
He was born in West Tennessee to Mary Lindsay and Jim DickinsonJim Dickinson
James Luther "Jim" Dickinson was an American record producer, pianist, and singer who fronted, among others, the Memphis based band, Mudboy & The Neutrons.- Biography :...
, a Memphis record producer. Dickinson grew up playing concerts and gaining recording experience with his father and brother, Cody. The family moved to the hills of North Mississippi in 1985. Dickinson befriended the musical families of Otha Turner, R. L. Burnside
R. L. Burnside
Not to be confused with R. H. Burnside, stage director.R. L. Burnside , born Robert Lee Burnside, was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist who lived much of his life in and around Holly Springs, Mississippi. He played music for much of his life, but did not receive much attention...
, and Junior Kimbrough
Junior Kimbrough
David "Junior" Kimbrough was an American blues musician. His best known work included "Keep Your Hands Off Her" and "All Night Long". Music journalist Tony Russell stated "his raw, repetitive style suggests an archaic forebear of John Lee Hooker, a character his music shares with that of fellow...
. They were the inspiration for Luther and Cody Dickinson to form the North Mississippi Allstars
North Mississippi Allstars
North Mississippi Allstars is a Southern rock/blues jam band from Hernando, Mississippi, founded in 1996. The band is composed of brothers Luther Dickinson and Cody Dickinson , and Chris Chew...
in 1996. The North Mississippi Allstars have been nominated for three Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s in the Best Contemporary Blues category. Dickinson produced two records on Otha Turner, Everybody Hollerin' Goat and From Senegal To Senatobia.
Dickinson was featured in an issue of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
as one of the new guitar gods. He is one of the true blues-rock guitarists continuing the southern style with Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
and Duane Allman
Duane Allman
Howard Duane Allman was an American guitarist, session musician and the primary co-founder of the southern rock group The Allman Brothers Band...
similarities. He shows influence from Mississippi Fred McDowell
Mississippi Fred McDowell
Fred McDowell known by his stage name; Mississippi Fred McDowell, was an American Hill country blues singer and guitar player.-Career:...
, Mississippi John Hurt
Mississippi John Hurt
John Smith Hurt, better known as Mississippi John Hurt was an American country blues singer and guitarist.Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt taught himself how to play the guitar around age nine...
and Furry Lewis
Furry Lewis
Furry Lewis was an American country blues guitarist and songwriter from Memphis, Tennessee. Lewis was one of the first of the old-time blues musicians of the 1920s to be brought out of retirement, and given a new lease of recording life, by the folk blues revival of the 1960s.-Life and...
on the acoustic guitar. He has recorded with the Replacements, Mojo Nixon
Mojo Nixon
Mojo Nixon is an American musician, known for playing psychobilly music...
, Beck
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
, Toy Caldwell
Toy Caldwell
Toy Talmadge Caldwell Jr. was the lead guitar player and a founding member of the 1970s Southern Rock group The Marshall Tucker Band. He was a member of the band from 1973 to 1983.-Early life:...
, Billy Lee Riley
Billy Lee Riley
Billy Lee Riley was an American rockabilly musician, singer, record producer and songwriter. His most memorable recordings included "Rock With Me Baby," and "Red Hot".-Biography:...
, John Medeski
John Medeski
Anthony John Medeski is an American jazz keyboards player and composer. Medeski is a veteran of New York's 1990s avant-garde jazz scene and is known popularly as a member of Medeski Martin & Wood...
and Robert Randolph [as The Word
The Word (band)
The Word is an instrumental jazz rock/Sacred steel/gospel blues/Southern rock jam band. The supergroup included well-known musicians: Robert Randolph , John Medeski , and all three members of North Mississippi Allstars - Luther Dickinson , Cody Dickinson , and Chris Chew .The Word developed from a...
], John Hiatt
John Hiatt
John Hiatt is an American rock guitarist, pianist, singer, and songwriter. He has played a variety of musical styles on his albums, including New Wave, blues and country. Hiatt has been nominated for several Grammy Awards - although he has never won- and has been awarded a variety of other...
, Jon Spencer, Otha Turner, Shawn Lane
Shawn Lane
Shawn Lane was an American musician. Although piano was his first instrument, he quickly became a noted player in underground guitar circles and joined Black Oak Arkansas when he was just fourteen years old....
, R. L. Burnside and Jim Dickinson.
On November 27, 2007, it was announced Dickinson would take on guitarist duties for The Black Crowes
The Black Crowes
The Black Crowes are an American rock band formed in 1989. Their discography includes nine studio albums, four live albums and several charting singles. The band was signed to Def American Recordings in 1989 by producer George Drakoulias and released their debut album, Shake Your Money Maker, the...
. His recording debut with the band was on Warpaint in 2008, and he has since appeared on the 2009 Black Crowes release Before the Frost...Until the Freeze
Before the Frost...Until the Freeze
Before the Frost...Until the Freeze is a 2009 double album by blues-rock band The Black Crowes. It was recorded before a live audience at Levon Helm's Woodstock, NY studio, The Barn in late February and early March, 2009....
. Dickinson currently tours with both the Black Crowes and the North Mississippi Allstars.
North Mississippi Allstars
- Shake Hands With Shorty (2000)
- 51 Phantom (2001)
- Polaris (2003)
- Hill Country Revue: Live at Bonnaroo (2004)
- Electric Blue Watermelon (2005)
- Hernando (2008)
- Do It Like We Used to Do (2009)
- Keys to the Kingdom (2011)
The Black Crowes
- WarpaintWarpaint (The Black Crowes album)Warpaint is a 2008 album by blues-rock band The Black Crowes. Released on March 3, 2008, it was the band's first studio album in almost seven years, and its first with new members Luther Dickinson and Adam MacDougall, as well as the first to be released on the band's own Silver Arrow Records label...
(2007) - Before the Frost...Until the FreezeBefore the Frost...Until the FreezeBefore the Frost...Until the Freeze is a 2009 double album by blues-rock band The Black Crowes. It was recorded before a live audience at Levon Helm's Woodstock, NY studio, The Barn in late February and early March, 2009....
(2009) - CroweologyCroweologyCroweology is an acoustic-based album by rock band The Black Crowes, released on August 3, 2010. The set includes twenty tracks from the band's career, covering their albums from Shake Your Money Maker to Lions in mostly acoustic rearrangements, featuring a cover of the Chris Ethridge and Gram...
(2010)
External links
- http://www.zebraranch.com
- http://www.mudboygrotto.com
- http://www.nmallstars.com