Pearl Dickson

Pearl Dickson (born Pearl Dixon, October 5, 1903 – October 24, 1977)[3] was an American Memphis and country blues singer and songwriter. She recorded four songs, "High Yellow Blues", "Twelve Pound Daddy", "Little Rock Blues", and "Guitar Rag". Of these, only "Twelve Pound Daddy" and "Little Rock Blues" were issued.[1] Little is known of Dickson's life outside of her short recording career.

Pearl Dickson
Birth namePearl Dixon
Born(1903-10-05)October 5, 1903
Somerville, Tennessee, U.S.
DiedOctober 24, 1977(1977-10-24) (aged 74)
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals
Years active1920s
LabelsColumbia

Early life

She was born in Somerville, Tennessee, United States, in 1903.[3]

Recording and legacy

On December 12, 1927, Dickson recorded four tracks, with backing by the guitar playing brothers, Maylon and Richard "Hacksaw" Harney.[4] They were recorded for Columbia Records, in Memphis, Tennessee.[5] For unknown reasons, only one disc containing "Twelve Pound Daddy" and "Little Rock Blues" was released by Columbia in April 1928, on a 10-inch shellac phonograph record. The label billed the ensemble as Pearl Dickson accompanied by "Pet and "Can", the latter being the nicknames of her accompanists.[6]

Some speculation exists that she was related in some way to another obscure blues figure, Tom Dickson. Examples of both person's work have been released on the same compilation album.[7][8]

According to one source, unlike her forebears' generation, who were obsessed with the idea of an afterlife, the descendants of former slaves spent more of their thinking time pondering the realities of the present, and less so on life after death. The opening two lines of Dickson's self penned song, "Little Rock Blues" were "I started to heaven, but I changed my mind / But I'm going to Little Rock, where I can have a better time". Open to interpretation, Dickson nevertheless indicates that a journey to presumably Little Rock, Arkansas, is a better option than piety, or even suicide.[9] Her lyrics were used as an example in another published text, to illustrate changes in inflection and the tense and modification of verbs within blues lyrics.[10] Stefan Grossman used "Little Rock Blues" as the basis for a track he arranged in 1966, which he called "Little Rock Blues Number Two".[11] Another publication quoted the full lyrics for both "Little Rock Blues" and "Twelve Pound Daddy".[12]

Death

She died in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1977, aged 74.[3]

Discography

Singles
Year Title (A-side / B-side) Main artist Record label
1928 "Twelve Pound Daddy" / "Little Rock Blues" Pearl Dickson Columbia
(Columbia 14286-D)
1928 "High Yellow Blues" / "Guitar Rag" Pearl Dickson Columbia
unissued

[6][13]

Selected compilation albums
YearTitleRecord label
2002Legendary Blues: Women of BluesColumbia
2004Great Women Blues Singers: Gold CollectionRetro Music

[14][15]

References
  1. Steve Leggett. "Pearl Dickson Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  2. "Blueswomen of the 1920S and 1930S". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  3. Eagle, Bob; LeBlanc, Eric S. (2013). Blues – A Regional Experience. Santa Barbara: Praeger Publishers. p. 241. ISBN 978-0313344237.
  4. "WBSS Media – Richard 'Hacksaw' Harney". Wbssmedia.com. Retrieved 2020-06-20.
  5. Hawkins, Robert (April 14, 2018). "Richard "Hacksaw" Harney (1902–1973) : Blues Musician". Mississippi Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2020-06-20.
  6. "Illustrated Richard "Hacksaw" Harney Discography". Wirz.de. Retrieved 2020-06-20.
  7. "Various Artists : Memphis Masters: Early American Blues Classics". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-06-20. Both Tom Dickson ("Death Bell Blues") and Pearl Dickson ("Little Rock Blues") tracks are included on this compilation album, although no familial connection is implied
  8. "Memphis Blues Vol. 2 (1927–1938)". Thedocumentrecordstore.com. Retrieved 2020-06-20.
  9. Reed, Teresa L. (June 28, 2003). The Holy Profane: Religion in Black Popular Music. University Press of Kentucky. p. 57. ISBN 0813127939 – via Google Books.
  10. Taft, Michael (June 28, 2006). The Blues Lyric Formula. Taylor & Francis. p. 41. ISBN 9780415974998 – via Google Books.
  11. Grossman, Stefan (June 1, 1972). Contemporary Ragtime Guitar. Oak Publications. ISBN 9781783234493 – via Google Books.
  12. Taft, Michael (October 8, 2013). Talkin' to Myself: Blues Lyrics, 1921–1942. Routledge. p. 163. ISBN 9781136734014 – via Google Books.
  13. "Pearl Dickson (vocalist)". Adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  14. "Various Artists : Legendary Blues: Women of Blues". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  15. "Various Artists : Great Women Blues Singers: Gold Collection". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
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