A gifted guitarist with an eclectic range of influences,
Luther Dickinson has earned a reputation as an innovator in modern blues while also having a keen understanding and respect for its rich history. Whether co-leading the
North Mississippi Allstars with his drummer brother
Cody, recording and performing solo, or collaborating with regional artists ranging from Jimbo Mathus and
Sharde Thomas to
Amy LaVere and
Alvin Youngblood Hart, his devotion to and experiments with roots sounds from the American South is total: blues, rockabilly, gospel, folk, and raw funky soul are a few of the genres he indulges and recombines on a mercurial collection of recordings. Early garage blues offerings included his participation on Othar Turner's Rising Star Fife & Drum Band's single, "Field Recordings from Gravel Springs, Mississippi," in 1995, Spencer Dickinson (
Luther,
Cody and
Jon Spencer) in 2001 the
North Mississippi Allstars'
Electric Blue Watermelon (2005) showcased a rough and rowdy approach to blues and blues-rock, equally inspired by their father,
RL Burnside,
Jerry Lee Lewis,
Charlie Feathers, and
Junior Kimbrough. While the
Allstars recorded only when they had something new to say,
Dickinson spread his wings and worked as a producer and sideman with artists who included
Willy DeVille,
Patty Griffin, and
John Hiatt, and initiated many of his own projects such as
the Word with
Cody,
Robert Randolph, and
John Medeski, the
Hill Country Revue, and
Memphis String Band with
Hart and
Mathus. In 2013 he worked on
Shannon McNally's acclaimed
Small Town Talk (Songs of Bobby Charles),
LaVere's
Runaway's Diary, and his own raucous
Rock 'N Roll Blues. In 2017 the
North Mississippi Allstars released their most critically acclaimed and globally successful album
Prayer for Peace, and two years later dropped Solstice, billed to
Luther Dickinson & the Sisters of the Strawberry Moon, a collective that included all female vocalists including
Thomas,
LaVere,
Birds of Chicago, and
Amy Helm.
Dickinson came from a notable musical family. His father,
Jim Dickinson, was an influential studio musician and producer who played piano with
Aretha Franklin,
Bob Dylan,
Los Lobos,
Delaney & Bonnie, and
the Rolling Stones, and produced sessions for
Ry Cooder,
Big Star,
Toots Hibbert, and
Mudhoney, among many, many others.
Luther was born in Memphis (his father's base of operations for many years) on January 18, 1973. He made his recording debut at the age of 14, adding some guitar howls to the sessions for
the Replacements'
Pleased to Meet Me, produced by his dad. Around the same time that
Luther began recording, the Dickinsons moved to Mississippi, and
Luther and his family became regulars at juke joints where Southern blues individualists such as
R.L. Burnside and
Junior Kimbrough still played on a regular basis.
Luther's brother
Cody, who played drums, became his musical sidekick, and after briefly backing up their dad in the memorably named combo
Jim Dickinson & the Can't Hardly Playboys, the siblings formed a funk-influenced punk band with bassist Paul Taylor, called DDT. But the Mississippi hill country blues had a stronger influence on the Dickinsons, and
Luther began jamming regularly with Othar Turner, one of the last surviving exponents of the Mississippi fife-and-drum tradition;
Luther helped produce and compile a collection of Turner's unique music on the album Everybody's Hollerin' Goat, released in 1998. DDT had periodically performed acoustic blues sets under the name Gutbucket (releasing a 7" single on Shangri-La Records), and as
Luther and
Cody became more interested in cutting new blues music, they teamed up with bassist
Chris Chew in 1996 to form
the North Mississippi All-Stars. In 2000, the group released their debut album,
Shake Hands with Shorty, which earned them enthusiastic reviews and a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Blues Album. The
North Mississippi All-Stars developed a following as a stellar live act, and as word of
Luther's instrumental prowess spread, he began doing session work, recording with the likes of the
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion,
Willy DeVille, and
Lucero. In 2001,
the North Mississippi All-Stars teamed up with
John Medeski (of
Medeski, Martin & Wood) and pedal steel virtuoso
Robert Randolph to form an ad hoc group called
the Word, who released an acclaimed self-titled album. In 2001,
NMAS also released their second album, and
Luther remained busy playing live shows and doing session work. In 2005,
John Hiatt chose
Jim Dickinson to produce his album
Master of Disaster;
Jim brought his sons in to play on the sessions, and
Hiatt was impressed enough that he brought
the North Mississippi All-Stars on the road with him, serving as both his opening act and backing band. While the
NMAS had become a major draw on the jam band circuit with their gift for soulful improvisation, the Dickinsons proved they hadn't lost touch with their punkier side in 2005 when they joined forces with
Jon Spencer to record as
Spencer Dickinson, cutting the album
The Man Who Lives for Love. In 2008,
Luther Dickinson expanded his résumé by joining
the Black Crowes, making his debut with the band on their album
Warpaint. The same year,
Luther backed up
John Hiatt again, playing on his album
Same Old Man, while
Luther would release both a live album and a new studio set with
the Black Crowes in 2009. The year also marked the passing of his father, and only a few days after
Jim Dickinson's funeral,
Luther led a musical tribute with a number of family friends and musical compatriots at the family's Mississippi studio. The recordings became an album,
Onward & Upward, which was released under the group name
Luther Dickinson & the Sons of Mudboy. In 2010,
Luther became part of another roots music supergroup with the release of the debut album from
the South Memphis String Band, which also included ex-
Squirrel Nut Zippers guitarist Jimbo Mathus and Grammy-winning bluesman
Alvin Youngblood Hart. 2012 saw
Luther releasing his first proper solo album with a set of acoustic instrumentals,
Hambone's Meditations, a second album with the
South Memphis String Band (
Old Times There...), and Go on Now, You Can't Stay Here, the debut of his new band
the Wandering (
Valerie June,
Amy LaVere,
Sharde Thomas, and
Shannon McNally) all on the same day. The album 3 Skulls & the Truth, in collaboration with
David Hidalgo and
Mato Nanji, was released later the year, making a total of four.
Dickinson spent most of 2013 working with his brother in the
North Mississippi All-Stars (their acclaimed
World Boogie Is Coming appeared in the fall of that year) but also found time to contribute to recordings by
McNally,
Jim Lauderdale, and
Devon Allman. His next solo recording,
Rock 'n Roll Blues, was released in early 2014.
Though
Dickinson wasn't on the radar, he was exceptionally busy, touring with
North Mississippi Allstars, running his label, and producing guitar slinger
Samantha Fish's Wild Heart album. Throughout this period, he was also working in the studio documenting songs he'd learned growing up, revisiting previously recorded originals, and writing new ones -- getting them all on tape without overdubs. Throughout, he worked with a large but close-knit group of friends including
Thomas,
LaVere,
Will Sexton,
Mavis Staples,
Hart, and
JJ Grey, to name a few. The result of this journey was
Blues & Ballads: A Folksinger's Songbook, Vols. 1 & 2, issued by
New West in February 2016. The following year,
the North Mississippi Allstars released and toured the globally acclaimed
Prayer for Peace, and with
Cody he played on
In Times Like These by
Rev. Sekou. In 2018 he co-produced (with
JT Nero) the
Birds of Chicago LP Love in Wartime. Back in 2016,
Dickinson cut an informal yet resonant collaborative project with an alternating cast of female vocalists including
Thomas,
LaVere,
Helm, and
Birds of Chicago's
Allison Russell, each of whom chose her own material to sing.
Dickinson's group of backing musicians included
Hart, organist
Rev. Charles Hodges (
Willie Mitchell,
Al Green),
Lillie Mae Risch (
Jack White), and
Will Sexton, and was cut mostly live in studio over four days in 2016 then issued three years later on
New West as Solstice, billed to
Luther Dickinson & the Sisters of the Strawberry Moon. ~ Mark Deming