Luther Dickinson

Luther Dickinson
Dickinson at the Blind Willie McTell Festival September 2021
Dickinson at the Blind Willie McTell Festival September 2021
Background information
Birth nameLuther Andrews Dickinson
Born (1973-01-18) January 18, 1973 (age 51)
Memphis, Tennessee, US
GenresBlues, rock
OccupationMusician
Instrument(s)Guitar, vocals
Years active1987–present
LabelsNew West, Tompkins Square
Websitewww.lutherdickinson.com

Luther Andrews Dickinson (born January 18, 1973) is the lead guitarist and vocalist for the North Mississippi Allstars and the son of record producer Jim Dickinson. He is also known for being a guitarist for The Black Crowes. He hosts Guitar Xpress on the Video on Demand network Mag Rack.

Career

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He was born in West Tennessee to Mary Lindsay and Jim Dickinson, 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 made his recording debut in 1987, playing a metal-influenced guitar solo on "Shooting Dirty Pool" on The Replacements' album Pleased to Meet Me, which his father was producing. 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 Awards in the Best Contemporary Blues category. Dickinson produced two records on Otha Turner, Everybody Hollerin' Goat and From Senegal To Senatobia.[1]

In November 2007 Dickinson joined The Black Crowes. His recording debut with the band was on Warpaint in 2008,[2] and he has since appeared on the 2009 Black Crowes release Before the Frost...Until the Freeze.[3] Dickinson decided not to join The Black Crowes for their 2013 tour.[4] Dickinson currently tours with the North Mississippi Allstars[5] and as a member of the Southern Soul Assembly.

In 2014, Gibson issued a signature model for him, the Luther Dickinson ES-335, with the most notable modification being the P-90 pickups replacing the standard humbuckers.[6]

Jazz critic Ted Gioia chose Blues & Ballads: A Folksinger's Songbook, Volumes 1 & 2 (New West, 2016) for the eleventh spot on his list of the top 100 albums of the year.[7]

His 2019 joint recording with Sisters of the Strawberry Moon, Solstice, was chosen as a 'Favorite Blues Album' by AllMusic.[8]

Discography

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Solo

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  • Onward and Upward (2009)
  • Three Skulls and the Truth (Blues Bureau, 2012) with David Hidalgo, Mato Nanji
  • Hambone's Meditations (Songs of the South, 2012)
  • Rock 'n' Roll Blues (New West, 2014)
  • Blues and Ballads: A Folksinger's Songbook, Vol. 1 & 2 (New West, 2016)

78 rpm

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As member

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With DDT

  • 1994 Some of My Best Friends Are Blues
  • 1999 Urban Observer

With Gutbucket

  • Where's the Man With the Jive?

With North Mississippi Allstars

  • 2000 Shake Hands with Shorty
  • 2001 51 Phantom
  • 2003 Polaris
  • 2004 Hill Country Revue: Live at Bonnaroo
  • 2005 Electric Blue Watermelon
  • 2006 Instant Live: Paradise Rock Club
  • 2007 Songs of The South Presents: Mississippi Folk Music - Volume One
  • 2008 Hernando
  • 2011 Keys to the Kingdom
  • 2013 World Boogie Is Coming
  • 2017 Prayer for Peace
  • 2019 "Up and Rolling"
  • 2022 "Set Sail"

With The Word

With Jim Dickinson

  • 2002 Free Beer Tomorrow
  • 2006 Jungle Jim and the Voodoo Tiger
  • 2007 Killers from Space

With The Black Crowes

With John Hiatt

With South Memphis String Band

  • 2010 Home Sweet Home
  • 2012 Old Times There...

With The Hill Country Revue

  • 2009 Make a Move
  • 2010 Zebra Ranch

With The Wandering

  • 2012 Go On Now, You Can't Stay Here: Mississippi Folk Music, Vol. 3

With Bash & Pop

  • 2017 Anything Could Happen

With Sisters of the Strawberry Moon

  • 2019 Solstice

As guest

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With Calvin Russell

  • 1997 Calvin Russell
  • 1997 Soldier
  • 1999 Sam

With Jimbo Mathus

  • 1997 Play Songs for Rosetta
  • 2001 National Antiseptic
  • 2003 Stop and Let the Devil Ride
  • 2009 Jimmy the Kid
  • 2015 Confederate Buddha

With Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

  • 1998 Acme
  • 1999 Xtra-Acme USA

With Othar Turner

With John Hermann

With Lucero

  • 2001 Lucero
  • 2006 The Attic Tapes

With Bob Frank

  • 2002 Keep on Burning
  • 2008 Red Neck, Blue Collar

With Jim Lauderdale

  • 2013 Black Roses
  • 2015 Soul Searching: Memphis, Vol. 1/Nashville, Vol. 2

With others

Awards and nominations

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Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2020 Up and Rolling Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album Nominated [12]
2016 Blues & Ballads (A Folksinger's Songbook: Volumes I & II) Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album Nominated
2012 Hambone's Meditations Grammy Award for Best Folk Album Nominated
2010 Onward and Upward Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album Nominated
2005 Electric Blue Watermelon Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album Nominated
2002 51 Phantom Nominated
2000 Shake Hands with Shorty Nominated

References

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  1. ^ "Othar Turner, Mississippi Master of the Fife, Is Dead at 94". New York Times. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  2. ^ Drozdowski, Ted, Deep Roots: Black Crowes Guitarist Luther Dickinson Archived 2011-08-19 at the Wayback Machine August 2008, Gibson.com. Retrieved March 2011
  3. ^ Grierson, Tim, Black Crowes Before the Frost Until the Freeze Review rock.about.com. Retrieved March 2011
  4. ^ Berndtson, Chad Berndtson Interview | Chris Robinson Talks CRB, The Crowes & More Published 4/8/14 jambase.com
  5. ^ "Rich Robinson & Luther Dickinson Team Up In Boulder". Jambase.com. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  6. ^ Ross, Michael (March 2014). "Gibson Memphis Luther Dickinson ES-335". Guitar Player. pp. 118–19.
  7. ^ Gioia, Ted. "The 100 Best Albums of 2016". Tedgioia.com. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  8. ^ "Favorite Blues Albums | AllMusic 2019 in Review". AllMusic. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  9. ^ "Luther Dickinson | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  10. ^ Seasick-Steve-Love-Peace at Discogs (list of releases) Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  11. ^ Gunther, Marty (11 November 2020). "Peter Parcek – Mississippi Suitcase | Album Review". Bluesblastmagazine.com. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  12. ^ "Luther Dickinson". Grammy. November 23, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
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