He hollered, rave on, children, I’m with you
Rave on, cats, he cried
It’s almost dawn, the cops are gone
Let’s all get Dixie fried
He was born James Luther Dickinson but most people knew him as Jim Dickinson. It doesn’t get much more southern than this album and the title track.
He worked at Memphis Sun Records and Ardent Studios in the 1960s on, to sessions with the Rolling Stones (piano on Wild Horses at Muscle Shoals), Ry Cooder and Bob Dylan. He also played with his roots band Mud Boy & The Neutrons and the Dixie Flyers.
Dickinson produced recordings for performers as diverse as Willy DeVille, Green on Red, Mojo Nixon, Tav Falco’s Panther Burns, Toots and the Maytals and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins.
In the 70s he produced Big Star’s 3rd Sisters/Lovers album and in the 80s The Replacements Please To Meet Me album in Memphis.
In 1971 he started to focus on production work, producing and appearing on Ry Cooder’s acclaimed Into The Purple Valley and Boomer’s Story albums. Atlantic offered him a chance to record a solo album, and his debut Dixie Fried came out in 1972. It gave him the chance to present his own off-beat take on southern roots music, resulting in an album full of R&B and country.
The song was written by Carl Perkins and Howard “Curley” Griffin.
So if you want… sit back and sip some Tennessee Straight Sour Mash Whiskey and get Dixie Fried.
Dixie Fried
On the outskirts of town, there’s a little night spot
Dan dropped in about five o’clock
Took off his jacket, said, the night is short
He reached in his pocket and he flashed a quart
He hollered, rave on, children, I’m with you
Rave on, cats, he cried
It’s almost dawn, the cops are gone
Let’s all get Dixie fried
Well, Dan got happy and he started raving
He pulled out a razor, but he wasn’t shaving
And all the cats knew to jump and hop
‘Cause Dan was raised in a butcher shop
He hollered, rave on, children, I’m with you
Rave on, cats, he cried
It’s almost dawn, the cops are gone
Let’s all get Dixie fried
Well, the cops heard Dan when he started to shout
They all ran in to see what it was about
And I heard him holler as they led him away
He turned his head and this is what he had to say
He hollered, rave on, children, I’m with you
Rave on, cats, he cried
It’s almost dawn, the cops are gone
Let’s all get Dixie fried
Now, Dan was the bravest man that we ever saw
He let us all know, he wasn’t scared of the law
The black dog barked, but the boy didn’t flinch
He said, it ain’t my fault, hon, that I been pinched
He hollered, rave on, children, I’m with you
Rave on, cats, he cried
It’s almost dawn, the cops are gone
Let’s all get Dixie fried
Now, Dan was the bravest man we ever saw
He let us all know he wasn’t scared of the law
And I heard him holler as they led him away
He turned his head and this was what he had to say
He hollered, rave on, children, I’m with you
Rave on, cats, he cried
It’s almost dawn, the cops are gone
Let’s all get Dixie fried
Yeah, it’s almost dawn, the cops ain’t gone
And I’ve been Dixie fried
PowerPop... An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture 
Thanks for the history lesson. That’s why I love your posts
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Thank you for reading. I don’t think many people will get into this one…but I like it.
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With everything, you don’t know where you are going unless you are aware of where you come from
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That is true!
Roger how are things there? Covid wise? It’s getting better around here knock on wood.
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Max this post reminded me that you were going to try drinking Scotch and tell me how you liked it, but I don’t remember you getting back to me on that. Pretty cool song and it was nice to learn about Jim Dickinson.
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It’s still on my entertainment system…It’s coming though
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I’d never heard of the guy but it’s an interesting story and resume he had. Don’t know if I love the sound of that song,but it sounds like A) something from about a decade and a half earlier, and b) that should have found more fans than it did.
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Carl Perkins wrote it and came out with a single of it in 1956…but this version is much longer. I didn’t put the Carl Perkins on here because I was afraid everyone would listen to that one and not this one.
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I didn’t know he released his own music!
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I’ve heard this song a long time but I didn’t know who it was until the last few years. It has such a great groove to it.
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He’s a pretty engaging vocalist. Reminds me of Little Feat a bit.
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Good comparison…Little Feat with a Dr John feel of singing.
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The lyrics remind me of Jim Croce but the music and how he sings remind me of Leon Russell. Was virtually sipping some “Tennessee Straight Sour Mash Whiskey” as I listened. Mighty tasty both!
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Leon Russell is good…I was thinking Dr John also…it’s a groove song.
Your song should be tomorrow.
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Ah cool!
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Cool tune. And, wow, Dickison’s credits were impressive!
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Yes he was something…he did a little bit of everything.
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Great stuff Max. Know the name but not the music. has worked with a lot of the folks I like. Will be checking out more. Really hear that old Cooder connection.
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Little Feat with a Dr John singing style is what comes to mind to me at first…an old rockabilly song that he turned into a pure southern thing.
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Absolutely. I will be tuning into more right away.
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