ORANGE, CA (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Floyd Dixon, a singer and jump-blues pianist who dubbed himself “Mr. Magnificent” in the burgeoning R&B scene of 1950s Southern California, died last week at the age of 77 after a battle with cancer.
Dixon’s best-known song was the raucous “Hey Bartender,” made popular nationwide by the Blues Brothers.
Other notable recordings by Dixon included “Wine, Wine, Wine,” “Call Operator 210,” “Telephone Blues,” and the early Jerry Lieber-Mike Stoller song “Too Much Jelly Roll.”
His career found him taking on a variety of styles and sounds, from mournful blues to R&B ballads, ribald bar songs and even boogie woogie. His most common style was known as jump-blues, which added a grit and vigor to the smooth blues lessons he absorbed from his major influence, Charles Brown, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Dixon performed with Brown, Ray Charles, B.B. King and Robert Cray throughout his long career. –by CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
