The relatively unknown William James Dixon (1915-1992) was one of the most important songwriters of the twentieth century. Dixon worked as a singer, guitarist, bassist, arranger, producer and concert promoter, but is best known for the many blues standards he wrote. The songs Little Red Rooster, Hoochie Coochie Man, I Just Want To Make Love To You, Spoonful and Back Door Man were written by him.
Dixons compositions were recorded by including Howlin 'Wolf, Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Doors. Dixon was born in Mississippi but left in 1936 to Chicago, where he initially worked as a boxer. From 1939 he performed as a musician, but his success only came after he joined in 1951 with Chess Records. Dixon continued, even after the music became less popular, an ambassador of the blues. After his death, Dixon was incorporated into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.more