RIP Jay Reatard

From the Commercial Appeal:

In an interview with The New York Times last August, Memphis punk artist Jay Reatard uttered what, in retrospect, was a haunting phrase:

"Everything I do," Reatard said, "is motivated by the fear of running out of time."

That statement rang terribly true early Wednesday as the 29-year-old musician was found dead in his bed in the Cooper-Young home he'd bought just a few months ago.

Read more here.

RIP - Willie Mitchell

From the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper:

One of the great pillars of the Memphis sound, Willie Mitchell, has died. The musician, songwriter, producer and label head died this morning at about 7:30 a.m. at Methodist University Hospital. He was 81.

Born on March 1, 1928, Mitchell remained at the forefront of Memphis music for more than six decades, as a trumpeter, bandleader and record maker. He would eventually go on to create one of the most important musical kingdoms with his South Memphis-based Hi Records and Royal Studios.

At Hi he sired some of the most famous instrumental hits of the '60s and shepherded the careers of Al Green and Ann Peebles in the '70s. Even in later years Mitchell stayed busy at his studio, working with up-and-coming talents like John Mayer and Anthony Hamilton.

read more here

R.I.P. Jim Dickinson

Photo: Joe Presdeo

Legendary music producer Jim Dickinson passed away over the weekend.

From Bob Mehr's Memphis Commercial Appeal obit:

The North Mississippi Allstars have lost their father, Bob Dylan has lost a “brother,” rock and roll has lost one of its great cult heroes and Memphis has lost a musical icon with the death of Jim Dickinson.

The 67-year-old Dickinson passed away early Saturday morning in his sleep. The Memphis native and longtime Mississippi resident had been in failing health for the past few months and was recuperating from heart surgery at Methodist Extended Care Hospital.

"He went peacefully,” said his wife, Mary Lindsay Dickinson, adding that her husband remained in good spirits until the end. “He had a great life. He loved his family and music. And he loved Memphis music, specifically.”

During the course of his colorful half-century career, Dickinson built a worldwide reputation as a session player for the likes of Dylan and The Rolling Stones, a producer for influential groups including Big Star and The Replacements, a sometime solo artist and the patriarch of a small musical dynasty through his sons, Cody and Luther Dickinson of the North Mississippi Allstars.

Career highlights

1966: Cuts the song “Cadillac Man” for Sun Records, attracting the interest of his idol, Sam Phillips.

1969: Plays piano on “Wild Horses” for The Rolling Stones in Muscle Shoals, Ala.

1975: Produces Big Star’s dark masterpiece Third/Sister Lovers. It eventually is named one of Rolling Stone magazine’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.”

1986: Rowdy Minneapolis rockers The Replacements come to Memphis to record the critically-acclaimed Pleased to Meet Me with Dickinson producing.

1997: Plays on Bob Dylan’s Grammy-winning “comeback” album Time Out of Mind.

2009: Releases his swan song, Dinosaurs Run in Circles, a collection of old pop standards.