Jimmy Dawkins

Overview

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photograph of Jimmy Dawkins

October 24, 1936 - April 10, 2013 R.I.P. Jimmy, you will be greatly missed!!

Jimmy Dawkins was born in Tchula, Mississippi, and moved to Chicago in 1955. He worked in a box factory, and started to play local blues clubs, gaining a reputation as a session musician.

In 1969, thanks to the efforts of his friend Magic Sam, he released his first solo album Fast Fingers on Delmark Records, winning the "Grand Prix du Disque" from the Hot Club de France. In 1971 Delmark released his second album All For Business with singer Andrew "Big Voice" Odom and guitarist Otis Rush.

He began to tour in Europe and Japan, and recorded more albums in the USA and Europe. Dawkins also contributed a column to the blues magazine "Living Blues" which he co-founded. In the 1980's he released few recordings, and began his own label, Leric Records, and was more interested in promoting other artists, including Taildragger, Queen Sylvia Embry, Little Johnny Christian and Nora Jean Wallace.

In 1991 he began to tour and record more regularly. In 1995 he received three nominations for the W.C. Handy Award in the categories "Best Blues Instrumentalist - guitar", "Contemporary Blues Album of the Year" (1994's Blues And Pain), and "Blues Song of the Year" ("Fool in Heah"). The re-release of Fast Fingers received a W.C. Handy Award nomination as "Best Reissue Blues Album of the Year" in 1999.
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