Mud Boy and the Neutrons
Encyclopedia
Mud Boy and the Neutrons is a Memphis
rock
music band who influenced the Memphis alternative rock scene in the 1970s through the 1990s, inspiring groups like Tav Falco's Panther Burns
, North Mississippi Allstars
(featuring two of Jim Dickinson
's sons), Big Ass Truck
, and others from the area.
They released three albums on labels like New Rose Records (France) and Koch International. The group featured Jim Dickinson
on keyboards, vocals and guitar, Sid Selvidge on acoustic guitar and vocals, Lee Baker on electric guitar, and Jimmy Crosthwait on washboard. Baker, who made a guest appearance on Big Star's Third/Sister Lovers
album and led his own Lee Baker & The Agitators group, died on September 10, 1996. At that time Mud Boy and the Neutrons temporarily disbanded, but reformed in 2005 to perform at a festival of Memphis music held at The Barbican in London
. This concert was filmed but to date remains unreleased.
The group has always been known for deliberately making their offbeat public performances rare, special events; they never toured. Their music style included elements of varying Southern United States-oriented music styles including blues
, "swamp" music, R&B, folk music
, gospel music
, and country
.
Two sons of Dickinson (Luther and Cody), influenced by the group, formed the North Mississippi All Stars with other musicians in the 1990s; Selvidge's son Steve founded a group called Big Ass Truck in the same period.
Compilations
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
rock
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
music band who influenced the Memphis alternative rock scene in the 1970s through the 1990s, inspiring groups like Tav Falco's Panther Burns
Tav Falco's Panther Burns
Tav Falco's Panther Burns, sometimes shortened to Panther Burns, is a rock band originally from Memphis, Tennessee, United States, led by Tav Falco...
, 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...
(featuring two of Jim Dickinson
Jim 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 :...
's sons), Big Ass Truck
Big Ass Truck
Big Ass Truck is an American rock band from Memphis, Tennessee which incorporated elements of hip-hop, rock, funk and psychedelia in their music. The band included a DJ spinning records, that provided beats, loops, and samples during recordings and live performances...
, and others from the area.
They released three albums on labels like New Rose Records (France) and Koch International. The group featured Jim Dickinson
Jim 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 :...
on keyboards, vocals and guitar, Sid Selvidge on acoustic guitar and vocals, Lee Baker on electric guitar, and Jimmy Crosthwait on washboard. Baker, who made a guest appearance on Big Star's Third/Sister Lovers
Third/Sister Lovers
Third, also issued as Sister Lovers, is the third rock album by American power pop group Big Star, recorded in 1974 and eventually released in 1978 by PVC Records...
album and led his own Lee Baker & The Agitators group, died on September 10, 1996. At that time Mud Boy and the Neutrons temporarily disbanded, but reformed in 2005 to perform at a festival of Memphis music held at The Barbican in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. This concert was filmed but to date remains unreleased.
The group has always been known for deliberately making their offbeat public performances rare, special events; they never toured. Their music style included elements of varying Southern United States-oriented music styles including blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, "swamp" music, R&B, folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
, and country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
.
Two sons of Dickinson (Luther and Cody), influenced by the group, formed the North Mississippi All Stars with other musicians in the 1990s; Selvidge's son Steve founded a group called Big Ass Truck in the same period.
Discography
- Known Felons in Drag (1986)
- Negro Streets at Dawn (1993)
- They Walk Among Us (1995)
Compilations
- Play New Rose For Me (1987)
- It Came From Memphis, Volume 1 (1995)
- It Came From Memphis, Volume 2 (2001)
- On Air: Live Music From The WEVL Archives (1996)