Willie Dixon Pinnacle of career what kind of work was he doing at the height of his career? Dixon is considered one of the key figures in the creation of Chicago blues. what songs did he perform? He released his 1971 album, Peace?, on Yambo and also singles by McKinley Mitchell, Lucky Peterson and others. Did he have other albums? he began performing less, being more involved with administrative tasks for the label. By 1951, he was a full-time employee at Chess, where he acted as producer, talent scout, Did he find any new talent? During this time Dixon's output and influence were prodigious. who did he influence? Otis Rush, Magic Sam, and Buddy Guy. He later recorded for Bluesville Records.
what did he record for Bluesville Records?
What did Willie Dixon record for Bluesville Records?
Dixon signed with Chess Records as a recording artist, but he began performing less, being more involved with administrative tasks for the label. By 1951, he was a full-time employee at Chess, where he acted as producer, talent scout, session musician and staff songwriter. He was also a producer for the Chess subsidiary Checker Records. His relationship with Chess was sometimes strained, but he stayed with the label from 1948 to the early 1960s. During this time Dixon's output and influence were prodigious. From late 1956 to early 1959, he worked in a similar capacity for Cobra Records, for which he produced early singles for Otis Rush, Magic Sam, and Buddy Guy. He later recorded for Bluesville Records. From the late 1960s until the mid-1970s, Dixon ran his own record label, Yambo Records, and two subsidiary labels, Supreme and Spoonful. He released his 1971 album, Peace?, on Yambo and also singles by McKinley Mitchell, Lucky Peterson and others.  Dixon is considered one of the key figures in the creation of Chicago blues. He worked with Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Otis Rush, Bo Diddley, Joe Louis Walker, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Koko Taylor, Little Milton, Eddie Boyd, Jimmy Witherspoon, Lowell Fulson, Willie Mabon, Memphis Slim, Washboard Sam, Jimmy Rogers, Sam Lay and others.  In December 1964, the Rolling Stones reached number one on the UK Singles Chart with their cover of Dixon's "Little Red Rooster". In the same year, the group also covered "I Just Want To Make Love To You" on their debut album, The Rolling Stones. CANNOTANSWER
the Rolling Stones reached number one on the UK Singles Chart with their cover of Dixon's "Little Red Rooster".
William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he is perhaps best known as one of the most prolific songwriters of his time. Next to Muddy Waters, Dixon is recognized as the most influential person in shaping the post–World War II sound of the Chicago blues.

Dixon's songs have been recorded by countless musicians in many genres as well as by various ensembles in which he participated. A short list of his most famous compositions includes "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You", "Little Red Rooster", "My Babe", "Spoonful", and "You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover". These songs were written during the peak years of Chess Records, from 1950 to 1965, and were performed by Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, and Bo Diddley; they influenced a generation of musicians worldwide.

Dixon was an important link between the blues and rock and roll, working with Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley in the late 1950s. In the 1960s, his songs were adapted by numerous rock artists. He received a Grammy Award and was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Biography

Early life
Dixon was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, on July 1, 1915.  He was one of fourteen children. His mother, Daisy, often rhymed things she said, a habit her son imitated. At the age of seven, young Dixon became an admirer of a band that featured pianist Little Brother Montgomery. He sang his first song at Springfield Baptist Church at the age of four. Dixon was first introduced to blues when he served time on prison farms in Mississippi as a young teenager. Later in his teens, he learned to sing harmony from a local carpenter, Theo Phelps, who led a gospel quintet, the Union Jubilee Singers, in which Dixon sang bass; the group regularly performed on the Vicksburg radio station WQBC. He began adapting his poems into songs and even sold some to local music groups.

Adulthood
Dixon left Mississippi for Chicago in 1936. A man of considerable stature, standing 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighing over 250 pounds, he took up boxing, at which he was successful, winning the Illinois State Golden Gloves Heavyweight Championship (Novice Division) in 1937. He became a professional boxer and worked briefly as Joe Louis's sparring partner, but after four fights he left boxing in a dispute with his manager over money.

Dixon met Leonard Caston at a boxing gym, where they would harmonize at times. Dixon performed in several vocal groups in Chicago, but it was Caston that persuaded him to pursue music seriously. Caston built him his first bass, made of a tin can and one string. Dixon's experience singing bass made the instrument familiar. He also learned to play the guitar.

In 1939, Dixon was a founding member of the Five Breezes, with Caston, Joe Bell, Gene Gilmore and Willie Hawthorne. The group blended blues, jazz, and vocal harmonies, in the mode of the Ink Spots. Dixon's progress on the upright bass came to an abrupt halt with the advent of World War II, when he refused induction into military service as a conscientious objector and was imprisoned for ten months. He refused to go to war because he would not fight for a nation in which institutionalized racism and racist laws were prevalent. After the war, he formed a group named the Four Jumps of Jive. He then reunited with Caston, forming the Big Three Trio, which went on to record for Columbia Records.

Pinnacle of career

Dixon signed with Chess Records as a recording artist, but he began performing less, being more involved with administrative tasks for the label. By 1951, he was a full-time employee at Chess, where he acted as producer, talent scout, session musician and staff songwriter. He was also a producer for the Chess subsidiary Checker Records. His relationship with Chess was sometimes strained, but he stayed with the label from 1948 to the early 1960s. During this time Dixon's output and influence were prodigious. From late 1956 to early 1959, he worked in a similar capacity for Cobra Records, for which he produced early singles for Otis Rush, Magic Sam, and Buddy Guy. In 1956, Dixon wrote "Fishin' in My Pond", which was recorded by Lee Jackson, and released on Cobra in February 1957. Dixon later recorded for Bluesville Records. From the late 1960s until the mid-1970s, Dixon ran his own record label, Yambo Records, and two subsidiary labels, Supreme and Spoonful. He released his 1971 album, Peace?, on Yambo and also singles by McKinley Mitchell, Lucky Peterson and others.

Dixon is considered one of the key figures in the creation of Chicago blues. He worked with Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Otis Rush, Bo Diddley, Joe Louis Walker, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Koko Taylor, Little Milton, Eddie Boyd, Jimmy Witherspoon, Lowell Fulson, Willie Mabon, Memphis Slim, Washboard Sam, Jimmy Rogers, Sam Lay and others.

In December 1964, the Rolling Stones reached number one on the UK Singles Chart with their cover of Dixon's "Little Red Rooster". In the same year, the group also covered "I Just Want To Make Love To You" on their debut album, The Rolling Stones.

Copyright battles
In his later years, Dixon became a tireless ambassador for the blues and a vocal advocate for its practitioners, founding the Blues Heaven Foundation, which works to preserve the legacy of the blues and to secure copyrights and royalties for blues musicians who were exploited in the past. Speaking with the simple eloquence that was a hallmark of his songs, Dixon claimed, "The blues are the roots and the other musics are the fruits. It's better keeping the roots alive, because it means better fruits from now on. The blues are the roots of all American music. As long as American music survives, so will the blues."
In 1977, unhappy with the small royalties paid by Chess's publishing company, Arc Music, Dixon and Muddy Waters sued Arc and, with the proceeds from the settlement, founded their own publishing company, Hoochie Coochie Music.

In 1987, Dixon reached an out-of-court settlement with the rock band Led Zeppelin after suing for plagiarism in the band's use of his music in "Bring It On Home" and lyrics from his composition "You Need Love" (1962) in the band's recording of "Whole Lotta Love".

Death and legacy
Dixon's health increasingly deteriorated during the 1970s and the 1980s, primarily as a result of long-term diabetes. Eventually one of his legs was amputated.

Dixon was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980, in the inaugural session of the Blues Foundation's ceremony. In 1989 he received a Grammy Award for his album Hidden Charms.

Dixon died of heart failure on January 29, 1992, in Burbank, California, and was buried in Burr Oak Cemetery, in Alsip, Illinois. After his death, his widow, Marie Dixon, took over the Blues Heaven Foundation and moved the headquarters to Chess Records. Dixon was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the category Early Influences (pre-rock) in 1994. On April 28, 2013, both Dixon and his grandson Alex Dixon were inducted into the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame.

In 2007, Dixon was honored with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in Vicksburg.

The actor and comedian Cedric the Entertainer portrayed Dixon in Cadillac Records, a 2008 film based on the early history of Chess Records.

Songs

Dixon wrote or co-wrote over 500 songs. Several have become blues standards, including "Help Me", "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I Can't Quit You Baby", "I'm Ready", "Little Red Rooster", "My Babe", and "Spoonful". Other Dixon compositions that reached the record charts include "Evil" (Howlin' Wolf), "I Just Want to Make Love to You" (Muddy Waters), "Pretty Thing" (Bo Diddley), "The Seventh Son" (Willie Mabon), "Wang Dang Doodle" (Koko Taylor), and "You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover" (Bo Diddley).

In the 1960s, his songs were adapted by numerous rock artists; many recorded at least one of his songs for their debut albums, including: Jeff Beck ("I Ain't Superstitious", "You Shook Me"); the Blues Project ("Back Door Man", "Spoonful"); Canned Heat ("Evil Is Going On"); Cactus ("You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover"); Cream ("Spoonful"); the Doors ("Back Door Man"); Foghat ("I Just Want to Make Love to You"); Hawkwind ("Bring It on Home"); Led Zeppelin ("I Can't Quit You Baby", "You Shook Me"); Pretty Things ("Pretty Thing"); the Rolling Stones ("I Just Want to Make Love to You"); Siegel–Schwall Band ("Hoochie Coochie Man"); Shadows of Knight ("You Can't Judge a Book by Looking at the Cover", "I Just Want to Make Love to You", "Hoochie Coochie Man"); Steppenwolf ("Hoochie Coochie Man"); Ten Years After ("Spoonful", "Help Me"); and Johnny Winter ("Help Me").

Discography

Albums

Notes

References

Sources

 Dixon, Willie (1992). Willie Dixon: Master Blues Composer, with Notes and Tablature. Hal Leonard. .

External links

 
 
 
 Willie Dixon, Mississippi blues musician. Mississippi Writers and Musicians Project of Starkville High School
 Willie Dixon's Blues Heaven Foundation
 Willie Dixon's Official Website

1915 births
1992 deaths
African-American guitarists
American amputees
American blues guitarists
American male guitarists
American blues singer-songwriters
American conscientious objectors
American double-bassists
Male double-bassists
American music arrangers
Record producers from Illinois
American session musicians
Blues musicians from Mississippi
Checker Records artists
Cobra Records artists
Chicago blues musicians
Grammy Award winners
Jive singers
Jump blues musicians
Musicians from Vicksburg, Mississippi
Singer-songwriters from Mississippi
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American guitarists
Singer-songwriters from Illinois
Slap bassists (double bass)
Guitarists from Illinois
Guitarists from Mississippi
Burials at Burr Oak Cemetery
20th-century double-bassists
20th-century American male musicians
Male jazz musicians
Mississippi Blues Trail
African-American male singer-songwriters
20th-century African-American male singers
Bluesville Records was an American record label subsidiary of Prestige Records, launched in 1959, with the primary purpose of documenting the work of the older classic bluesmen passed over by the changing audience. Such bluesmen as Roosevelt Sykes, Lightnin' Hopkins, Rev. Gary Davis, and Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee recorded for the label, accounting for more than one quarter of their overall output. By 1966, Bluesville had ceased to issue LPs.

Discography

See also 
 List of record labels

References

External links
Prestige - Bluesville discography
Prestige Bluesville 1000 series (12 inch LP)

American record labels
Blues record labels
Record labels established in 1959
American companies established in 1959 The Happy Elf is a 2005 computer-animated Christmas television special based on Harry Connick, Jr.’s song of the same name. The special is narrated by Connick and stars the voices of Rob Paulsen, Carol Kane, Lewis Black, Kevin Michael Richardson and Mickey Rooney. The animation was provided by Film Roman, an IDT Entertainment company, known for animating The Simpsons. The Happy Elf originally aired on NBC on December 2, 2005.

Plot

Eubie the Elf (Rob Paulsen) loves working in Santa's workshop up at the North Pole, despite the other elves' complaints about being annoyed by his overly happy personality. One Christmas Eve morning, Eubie's boss, Norbert, assigns him to checking the naughty and nice lists. However, while checking the lists, Eubie discovers that every child in the town of Bluesville is naughty. So, he decides to go to Bluesville and spread Christmas cheer.

Bluesville is a dark miserable town at the bottom of a very deep valley, completely surrounded by tall dark cliffs. There, the townspeople feel the warmth of the sun only once a day. They never smile, they don't know how to tell a joke properly, most of them work at the What Factory, where all the world's question marks are made, and at the Bluesville school, recess only lasts one minute. Eubie tries to brighten everyone's spirits, but his overly good mood frightens them.

Eubie talks to the mayor about what is wrong with Bluesville and if there's anything about Bluesville that makes him feel proud. The mayor replies that Bluesville is the world's largest manufacturer of un-burnable coal, which children enjoy throwing at people and at each other. The mayor then makes a deal with Eubie. If he can find another use for the coal, he'll put a Christmas tree up in the town square.

Eubie's first plan on getting the kids to help him make Bluesville a happier place is having them gather on a busy street and start a pie fight, but that only makes all the people angry. To search for more help, Molly (Mae Whitman), a naughty 10-year-old girl, takes Eubie to downtown Bluesville, the most miserable part of Bluesville, for a meeting of a group called S.L.O.B. (Smile League Of Bluesville), which only has one member of its group. While there, Molly and Eubie meets up with Curtis (Candi Milo), who is there because he brought along his foreign friend, Oreg, who doesn't speak English, but is happy to be there. Molly soon decides that Eubie's plans are hopeless, and tells him to just take all his big ideas home. At the mention of that, Eubie gets another idea, and is about to implement it when the lights in the room go off and Eubie is taken back to the North Pole.

In his bid to get Bluesville off the naughty list, Eubie violated several rules in one day. As punishment, Santa had Eubie turn in his magic hat, which, at the North Pole, meant his Christmas happiness and powers were taken away. When Gilda (Carol Kane) hears this, she motivates Eubie to go back to Bluesville to finish his job and gives him her hat to restore his powers and happiness. He then returns to Bluesville and explains his plan to the children. That night, they give the mayor of Bluesville a bottle of anti-snore medicine in his sleep, while Eubie spends the night polishing all the cliffs surrounding Bluesville with a jar of super-duper un-burnable coal polish. While he is doing this, Derek notices Gilda doesn't have her hat on, he soon figures out what is going on and, trying to follow the North Pole rules, he notifies one of the higher-ups.

After polishing the cliffs, Eubie is taken back to the North Pole again where he and Gilda are put on punishment and are sentenced to clean up the toy factory, with both their hats taken away. Derek, now alone at the Christmas party, is sad and mad with himself for betraying his friends, and confesses to what he did to Eubie and Gilda. They forgive him, but it only makes him feel worse about himself, considering what he did to them. While wondering what he can do to make it up to them, they have him do the one thing Eubie intended to do to finish making Bluesville a happier place.

When the sun shines over Bluesville again, it reflects off the polished coal, lighting up the town and making everyone happy. At the What Factory, the machine now makes different colored exclamation points of all shapes and sizes, delighting the workers. At the school, when recess starts, the bell has an elf's shoe placed over it, which means the kids can play longer. Molly comes out of the school where Derek meets her. He tells her to find the mayor and give her the jar of coal polish Eubie used to polish the cliffs, and a piece of coal that was squeezed into a diamond and to tell her that Eubie was sorry he couldn't be there. Molly happily goes to find the mayor, but stays for a while to allow Curtis to tell a joke that's actually funny, thanks to the joke book Derek gave him. Molly finds the mayor and shows him the items, which meant that there was indeed another use for the coal. He then puts up a Christmas tree in the town square and everybody celebrates, thanks to Eubie.

That Christmas, Santa decides to make Eubie, Gilda, and Derek his sleigh crew that year for bringing joy to Bluesville, which has soon changed its name to Joyville.

Cast
 Rob Paulsen as Eubie
 Harry Connick Jr. as Lil' Farley
 Carol Kane as Gilda
 Mickey Rooney as Santa Claus
 Kevin Michael Richardson as Derek, Tucker, Mayor, Toady
 Mae Whitman as Molly
 Lewis Black as Norbert
 Candi Milo as Curtis
 Rory Thost and Liliana Mumy as Brother and Sister

Soundtrack
Some DVDs come with a free soundtrack
 "The Happy Elf" - 03:43 - vocal track, sung by Harry Connick, Jr.
 "Smile on Christmas Day" - 01:00 - vocal track, sung by Rob Paulsen
 "Bluesville" - 01:34 - vocal track, sung by Kevin Michael Richardson
 "Lil' Farley's 'Happy Elf'" - 00:22
 "Old Santa Claus" - 02:25
 "Eubie and Friends Pole Adventure" - 00:43
 "Gingerbread House Test" - 00:46
 "Eubie's Toy Car Test" - 00:36
 "Coffee Shop Theme" - 00:56
 "Department of Naughty and Nice" - 01:18
 "Norbert's Orders" - 00:33
 "Eubie's Naughty & Nice Tally" - 02:15
 "Eubie Lands in Bluesville" - 00:59
 "Bluesville Street Theme" - 01:31
 "Molly and Friends Coal Toss" - 02:09
 "Down Town Theme" - 01:05
 "S.L.O.B. Meeting" - 01:27
 "'Try'" - 01:33
 "Molly and Gang's Christmas Mission" - 02:40
 "Santa's Elves Wrap Party" - 00:38
 "Santa Getting Ready for Xmas" - 00:26
 "Mayor Gives the Town a Tree" - 01:03
 "'Bluesville' Reprise" - 01:21
 "Lil' Farley's 'Happy Elf' Reprise" - 01:05
 "'Happy Elf' Wrap" - 00:19

The official reference recording for the live theatrical show was recorded in Scranton, PA in partnership with the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple in 2013.

Stage adaptation
The holiday special has been adapted into a full-length stage musical. Andrew Fishman has reworked the book, with music and lyrics by Connick who has added five new songs for the musical, for example "That Magic Hat". The show premiered at Coterie Theatre at Crown Center in Kansas City, Missouri on November 13, 2007 to generally good reviews. It is received a fully produced workshop at the Adventure Theatre, at the Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center at Montgomery College, Rockville, Maryland, from November 12, 2010 through November 28, with a cast that features Michael Rupert.
In 2012 The Happy Elf was reworked by Connick and on December 1, 2012 premiered in a version prepared for publication in Bethlehem, PA at the Charles Brown Ice House under the direction of Michael Melcher, Executive Director.

The Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple, in Scranton, Pennsylvania produced and premiered the final illustrative staging of the musical on December 19, 2014 for a two-week run prior to its publication.

References

http://articles.mcall.com/2012-11-30/entertainment/mc-harry-connick-pennsylvania-youth-theater-bethle-20121129_1_happy-elf-harry-connick-cool-idea

External links
 
 
 http://articles.mcall.com/2012-11-30/entertainment/mc-harry-connick-pennsylvania-youth-theater-bethle-20121129_1_happy-elf-harry-connick-cool-idea
 http://www.scrantonculturalcenter.org/happyelf/

Harry Connick Jr.
2005 television films
2005 films
2005 television specials
2000s American television specials
2000s animated television specials
Christmas television specials
American children's animated musical films
Santa Claus in film
Films based on songs
Santa Claus in television
American computer-animated films
American films
Film Roman films
NBC television specials
American Christmas television specials
Television shows set in the Arctic
Elves in popular culture