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Floyd Dixon was a top flight blues and R&B pianist and versatile vocalist who enjoyed his heyday during the late 40s and through the 50s, his music evolving as rock n roll transformed the landscape of popular music, and forged a second career as a popular elder statesman of the genre in later decades. Making his recording debut with other leaders bands, he signed a solo deal with the Modern label in 1949 he immediately made a Top 10 impact in the R&B charts with Dallas Blues following up with another hit Mississippi Blues. He subsequently recorded for the Aladdin label, replacing Charles Brown in Johnny Moores Three Blazers, scoring his biggest hits for that label in 1951-2, making the Top 10 with Sad Journey Blues and the Top 5 with Telephone Blues and Call Operator 210. This great value 77-track 3-CD set comprises most of the A & B sides of his releases on Modern, Peacock, Aladdin, Speciality, Cat, Checker, Ebb, Cash, Kent, Swingin', Duchess & Dodge labels during these years which represent the most important era of his career, and also includes early recordings with Eddie Williams & His Brown Buddies and Sonny Parker & His Allstars for the Supreme label. It naturally includes all his R&B chart entries. It represents a substantial cross-section of his work, underlining his ability to work in a variety of different blues and R&B styles, and provides a thoroughly entertaining one of the genres significant talents who has not received the attention he merits. REVIEWS "Paul Watts' excellent booklet outlines the complexity of cataloguing the correct dates of these early recordings… This is a potential treasure trove as many of the reissues are well out of catalogue. Buy with confidence." Keith Scoffham (Blues & Rhythm Issue 336) "This 3xCD collection covers Floyd's career from 1949 to 1962, but is not an attempt at a complete collection of his releases. Everything on this collection is good, with the reservations I have made about the sameyness of the slow tracks. He was really good and, with careful programming, this set contains a very large of talent, but especially CD3." Pete Bowen (Now Dig This Issue 429)
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