Jimmy Dawkins
Chicago guitarist Jimmy Dawkins would have preferred to leave his longtime nickname "Fast Fingers" behind. It was always something of a stylistic misnomer anyway; Dawkins' West Side-styled guitar slashed and surged, but seldom burned with incendiary speed. Dawkins' blues were generally of the brooding, introspective variety -- he didn't engage in flashy pyrotechnics or outrageous showmanship.
It took a long time for Dawkins to progress from West Side fixture to nationally known recording artist. He rode a Greyhound bus out of Mississippi in 1955, dressing warmly to ward off the Windy City's infamous chill factor. Only trouble was, he arrived on a sweltering July day! Harpist Billy Boy Arnold offered the newcomer encouragement, and he eventually carved out a niche on the competitive West Side scene (his peers included Magic Sam and Luther Allison).
Sam introduced Dawkins to Delmark Records boss Bob Koester. Fast Fingers, Dawkins' 1969 debut LP for Delmark -- which remained his best album -- was a taut, uncompromising piece of work that won the Grand Prix du Disque de Jazz from the Hot Club of France in 1971 as the year's top album. Andrew "Big Voice" Odom shared the singing and Otis Rush the second guitar duties on Dawkins' 1971 encore, All for Business. But after his Delmark LP Blisterstring, Dawkins' subsequent recordings lacked intensity until 1991's oddly titled Kant Sheck Dees Bluze for Chicago's Earwig Records. After that, Dawkins waxed discs for Ichiban and Fedora, and continued to tour extensively until health problems slowed him down. Jimmy Dawkins passed away April 10, 2013.
© Bill Dahl /TiVo
Discography
15 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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West Side Guitar Hero
Blues - Released by Fedora Records on 5 feb. 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Hot Wire 81Blues Power
Blues - Released by Isabel Records on 26 dec. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Feel the Blues 2014 Remix
Blues - Released by JSP Records on 4 aug. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Born In Poverty
Blues - Released by Disques Black & Blue on 1 jul. 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chicago Blues Nights Vol. 2
Blues - Released by Storyville Records on 20 jan. 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Classic Chicago Studio Session 1982
Blues - Released by JSP ORIGINALS on 12 sep. 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Chicago Blues Box 2, Vol. 3
Blues - Released by Storyville on 27 okt. 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I Want To Know
Blues - Released by Storyville Records on 20 jul. 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Come Back Baby (Live In Chicago)
Blues - Released by Storyville on 20 mrt. 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kant Sheck Dees Bluze
Soul - Released by Earwig Music on 19 jul. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Chicago Blues Nights Vol. 1
Blues - Released by Storyville Records on 20 jan. 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo