West Side Bluesman With A West Side Sound
“Chicago bluesman Jimmy ‘Fast Fingers’ Dawkins, known for his excellent guitar playing and mellow singing voice, has died. He was 76,” AP reports.
“Dawkins was born in Tchula, Miss. An only child, Dawkins taught himself to play guitar before moving to Chicago in the 1950s.”
Dawkins was “generally considered a part of the ‘West Side Sound’ of Chicago blues,” according to his Wikipedia entry.
“Dawkins would just as soon leave his longtime nickname ‘Fast Fingers’ behind,” AllMusic says.
“It was always something of a stylistic misnomer anyway; Dawkins’ West Side-styled guitar slashes and surges, but seldom burns with incendiary speed. Dawkins’ blues are generally of the brooding, introspective variety – he doesn’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).”
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The music:
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Comments welcome.
Posted on April 12, 2013