James Luther “Jim” Dickinson (1941-2009) played a central role in the Memphis area blues scene for many decades as a producer, vocalist, and pianist. Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, on November 15, 1941, he spent most of his childhood in Memphis, where vocalist Alec Teal introduced him to the blues and other blues musicians. Early influences also included seeing the Memphis Jug Band play in a downtown alley and hearing Howlin’ Wolf perform live on KWEM radio in West Memphis. In high school he sang and played piano in a rock band that covered blues, and while attending Baylor and Memphis State he became deeply interested in folklore. In the early ’60s he played a major role in Memphis’s folk and blues revival as a performer with Sleepy John Estes and Booker “Bukka” White and in creating events including the Memphis Country Blues Festival. His career as a recording artist, sideman, and producer began in the mid-’60s, and in 1969 he became a founding member of Atlantic Records’ studio band the Dixie Flyers, which backed Aretha Franklin, Albert Collins, Sam & Dave, Little Esther Phillips, Hank Ballard, Brook Benton, Bettye LaVette, James Carr, and many others. Although best known for production, session, and soundtrack work with the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, the Replacements, Big Star, and Ry Cooder, he also recorded blues on solo projects and with Mud Boy and the Neutrons, produced or recorded with blues artists Frank Frost, Albert King, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Johnny Woods, and T-Model Ford, and did blues session work at Ace Records in Jackson. His recordings of Woods, John Estes, Mose Vinson, Alec Teal, Furry Lewis, and other traditional artists appeared on the Dickinson-produced Beale Street Saturday Night and two Delta Experimental Project compilations. In 1985 the Dickinson family moved to Hernando, where they operated a home studio before establishing Zebra Ranch studio near Coldwater in 1995, while his wife Mary Lindsay handled the business side of his operations. In 1989 he began performing with his sons Luther and Cody, and later produced and played on albums by their band, the North Mississippi Allstars, which Luther and Cody formed there in 1996 with Chris Chew. The group helped spread the musical traditions of north Mississippi through collaborations with local musicians including Otha Turner and Sharde Thomas; R.L., Duwayne, Garry, Cedric, and Cody Burnside; David and Kinney Kimbrough (Malone); Kenny Brown, Lightnin’ Malcolm, Alvin Youngblood Hart, and Jimbo Mathus. North Mississippi Allstars recordings, along with Luther’s solo releases, received Grammy nominations, and Cody coproduced the 2014 documentary Take Me to the River, featuring veteran performers collaborating with younger artists, including Luther and Cody. Jim Dickinson, who reflected deeply on music, said, “When I heard Afro-American music, something happened. And it wasn’t just me. It was a whole generation of crazy white boys that this happened to. That’s what rock ’n’ roll is. Us trying to be them.” He died on August 15, 2009, and was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame in 2012.