Jessy Dixon
Encyclopedia
Jessy Dixon was an American
gospel singer, songwriter, and pianist, with success among audiences across racial lines. He garnered seven Grammy nominations during his career.
Musicians with whom he worked include Paul Simon
, Andrae Crouch
, DeGarmo & Key and most recently Bill Gaither in the Homecoming series
of concerts. He wrote songs for Amy Grant
, Natalie Cole
, Cher
, and Diana Ross
. Allmusic credits
Dixon was an ordained minister with Calvary Ministries International of Fort Wayne, Indiana
.
, Dixon sang and played his first song at the age of five. As a youngster he moved to Chicago
, where he was discovered by James Cleveland
, one of the first artists to sing and record Jessy Dixon's compositions, "God Can Do Anything But Fail," and "My God Can Make A Way." The organizers of the Newport Jazz Festival invited him to perform his new song, "The Wicked Shall Cease Their Troubling," at New York's Radio City Music Hall
in 1972. After the performance, Dixon and The Jessy Dixon Singers were requested to do four encores. Paul Simon
(of Simon & Garfunkel fame), was in the audience and invited Dixon to share the stage with him as lead vocalist on NBC-TV's Saturday Night Live
.
Dixon found himself touring with Simon across the U.S., France, Canada
, Scandinavia
, Israel
, and Japan
. Dixon's affiliation with Simon lasted eight years, during which time he recorded two albums, Paul Simon in Concert: Live Rhymin'
(1974) and Still Crazy After All These Years
(1975), both of which sold a million copies.
Bill and Gloria Gaither
invited him to sing at a Homecoming
video taping. Dixon was a favorite on the series, and has traveled all over the United States and abroad surprising gospel audiences with his stirring performances of "It's A Highway To Heaven," "Operator", "Leaving On My Mind", "Blood Bought Church", "The Wicked Shall Cease Their Troubling", "Lord Prepare Me To Be A Sanctuary", and "I Am Redeemed". Dixon performed in the show, Black Nativity with The Jessy Dixon Theater Group.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
gospel singer, songwriter, and pianist, with success among audiences across racial lines. He garnered seven Grammy nominations during his career.
Musicians with whom he worked include Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
, Andrae Crouch
Andrae Crouch
Andraé Crouch is a seven-time Grammy Award-winning American gospel singer, songwriter, arranger, recording artist, record producer, and pastor.-Early years:Born Andraé Edward Crouch in San Francisco, California....
, DeGarmo & Key and most recently Bill Gaither in the Homecoming series
Gaither Homecoming
Gaither Homecoming is the name applied to a series of videos, music recordings and concerts, which are organized, promoted and usually presented by Christian music songwriter and impresario Bill Gaither...
of concerts. He wrote songs for Amy Grant
Amy Grant
Amy Lee Grant is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, media personality and actress, best known for her Christian music. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christian Pop"...
, Natalie Cole
Natalie Cole
Natalie Maria Cole , is an American singer, songwriter and performer. The daughter of jazz legend Nat King Cole, Cole rode to musical success in the mid-1970s as an R&B artist with the hits "This Will Be ", "Inseparable" and "Our Love"...
, Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
, and Diana Ross
Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
. Allmusic credits
Dixon was an ordained minister with Calvary Ministries International of Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...
.
Biography
Born in San Antonio, TexasSan Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
, Dixon sang and played his first song at the age of five. As a youngster he moved to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, where he was discovered by James Cleveland
James Cleveland
The Reverend Dr. James Cleveland was a gospel singer, arranger, composer and, most significantly, the driving force behind the creation of the modern gospel sound, bringing the stylistic daring of hard gospel and jazz and pop music influences to arrangements for mass choirs...
, one of the first artists to sing and record Jessy Dixon's compositions, "God Can Do Anything But Fail," and "My God Can Make A Way." The organizers of the Newport Jazz Festival invited him to perform his new song, "The Wicked Shall Cease Their Troubling," at New York's Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
in 1972. After the performance, Dixon and The Jessy Dixon Singers were requested to do four encores. Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
(of Simon & Garfunkel fame), was in the audience and invited Dixon to share the stage with him as lead vocalist on NBC-TV's Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
.
Dixon found himself touring with Simon across the U.S., France, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Dixon's affiliation with Simon lasted eight years, during which time he recorded two albums, Paul Simon in Concert: Live Rhymin'
Paul Simon in Concert: Live Rhymin'
Paul Simon in Concert: Live Rhymin' is an album by Paul Simon, released in March 1974 by Columbia Records. It was recorded during Simon's 1973-74 tour in the wake of the release of There Goes Rhymin' Simon – which produced a number of hit singles and radio staples...
(1974) and Still Crazy After All These Years
Still Crazy After All These Years
Still Crazy After All These Years is the fourth studio album by Paul Simon.Recorded in 1975, the album produced four US Top 40 hits, "Gone at Last" , "My Little Town" , "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover" and the title track . It won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1976...
(1975), both of which sold a million copies.
Bill and Gloria Gaither
Gloria Gaither
Gloria Gaither is a Christian songwriter, author, speaker, editor, and academic. She is the wife of Bill Gaither and also sang in the Bill Gaither Trio, one of the most influential groups in recent Christian music.-Early Years:...
invited him to sing at a Homecoming
Gaither Homecoming
Gaither Homecoming is the name applied to a series of videos, music recordings and concerts, which are organized, promoted and usually presented by Christian music songwriter and impresario Bill Gaither...
video taping. Dixon was a favorite on the series, and has traveled all over the United States and abroad surprising gospel audiences with his stirring performances of "It's A Highway To Heaven," "Operator", "Leaving On My Mind", "Blood Bought Church", "The Wicked Shall Cease Their Troubling", "Lord Prepare Me To Be A Sanctuary", and "I Am Redeemed". Dixon performed in the show, Black Nativity with The Jessy Dixon Theater Group.
Quotes
- Natalie ColeNatalie ColeNatalie Maria Cole , is an American singer, songwriter and performer. The daughter of jazz legend Nat King Cole, Cole rode to musical success in the mid-1970s as an R&B artist with the hits "This Will Be ", "Inseparable" and "Our Love"...
: "Jessy's music is just like him, beautiful." - Bill GaitherBill GaitherWilliam J. Gaither is an American singer and songwriter of southern gospel and Contemporary Christian music. Besides having written numerous popular Christian songs with his wife, Gloria, he is also known for performing as part of the Bill Gaither Trio, and the Gaither Vocal Band...
: "I have traveled with Jessy Dixon for the past several years and never have I been with an artist with more heart. He is the real thing." - Bette MidlerBette MidlerBette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...
: "I've heard Jessy Dixon sing many times and in all of gospel music, Jessy Dixon is my favorite. Jessy Dixon has the gospel soul." - Diana RossDiana RossDiana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
: "There's an element in Jessy's music that can't be mistaken. That element is love, and wow do I feel it."
External links
- [ Allmusic]
- Official website