Don Dixon (musician)

Don Dixon (born December 13, 1950)[1] is a record producer, songwriter, musician, bass guitarist, and very occasional actor. He is originally from South Carolina.

Contents

Biography

Don Dixon was born on December 13, 1950 in Lancaster, South Carolina. His college roommate was the writer Bruce Brooks.

Dixon is considered to be one of the key producers of what is called the jangle pop movement of the early 1980s. He spent thirteen years as a member of North Carolina cult heroes Arrogance. Around 1983, Dixon attracted attention by co-producing with Mitch Easter, R.E.M.'s landmark debut LP Murmur and in 1984 R.E.M.'s follow-up LP "Reckoning", also with Mitch Easter (both credited in the Reckoning liner notes as "Machinists"). He then spent several years producing the work of varied artists including Chris Stamey (formerly of The dB's), The Smithereens, Fetchin Bones[2] and Richard Barone. Considered to be a highlight of this period was Tommy Keene's Run Now EP. This success led to Dixon recording his solo debut Most of the Girls Like to Dance But Only Some of the Boys Like To, a further affirmation of his love of classic pop melodies and spiky, Nick Lowe-inspired word play. A book of his song lyrics, Songs 101: the Lyrics of Don Dixon was released in 2009 by VanZeno press.[3]

Dixon is married to the singer/artist Marti Jones.[4]

In 2006, Dixon released his first new album in six years, The Entire Combustible World in One Small Room.

In 2008, Dixon released an album with his bandmates of 20 years, Jamie Hoover of The Spongetones, and Jim Brock. Dubbing the band THE JUMP RABBITS, the collection is called The Nu-Look.

Although Dixon and wife, Marti Jones, have collaborated on each others albums for years; in 2011 they released the first true Jones/Dixon album. Entitled Living Stereo, it is a collection of duets.

Production credits

As producer

Selected albums

Artist Title Label Year Other notes
Dumptruck Positively Dumptruck Enigma
Fetchin Bones Cabin Flounder DB 1984
Fetchin Bones Bad Pumpkin Capitol 1985
Guadalcanal Diary Walking in the Shadow of the Big Man DB 1984
Guadalcanal Diary 2x4 Elektra 1987
Guadalcanal Diary Flip-Flop Elektra 1989
R.E.M. Murmur IRS 1983 co-produced with Mitch Easter
R.E.M. Reckoning IRS 1984 co-produced with Mitch Easter
The Smithereens Especially for You Enigma 1986
The Smithereens Green Thoughts Capitol 1988
The Smithereens A Date with the Smithereens RCA 1994
Chris Stamey Instant Excitement Coyote 1985
Wednesday Week What We Had Enigma
The Red Clay Ramblers Yonder RCR Records 2001

More complete list

Artist Title Label, Other notes
Rod Abernethy Solo Avanti
The Accelerators The Accelerators Profile
Chris Allen Goodbye Girl and the Big Apple Circus Rosa
Chris Allen Things Unbroken Rosa
Arrogance Give Us A Break Sugarbush
Arrogance Prolepsis Sugarbush
Arrogance Lively Moonlight
The Backsliders Southern Lines Mammoth
Richard Barone Primal Dream Paradox/MCA
Matt Barrett The Ruse Moonlight
Beat Rodeo Staying Out Late with Beat Rodeo Zensor/IRS
Bell & Cooper Forty Words for Fear Gaff
Bell & Cooper Postcards Out of the Blue Dogjaw
The Blazers Ten Easy Lessons Moonlight
Jim Brock Tropic Affaire Reference
Brotherhood Of Peace Cuttin' Loose Avanti
Mark Bryan 30 On A Rail Atlantic
The Buzz of Delight (Matthew Sweet) Sound Castles DB
Kim Carnes Gypsy Honeymoon EMI
The Carpenter Ants Picnic with the Lord
The Carpenter Ants Insect Ball Alpo
The Carpenter Ants Ants in Your Pants
Andrew Cash Boomtown Island Canada
David Childers and
the Modern Don Juans		 Room 23
John Cody Zelig Belmondo Duke Street/MCA Canada
The Connells Darker Days TVT
Marshall Crenshaw Mary Jean & Nine Others Warner Bros.
Kyle Davis Raising Heroes N2K Encoded Music
Pat DiNizio Songs And Sounds VelVel/BMG
Don Dixon Most of The Girls Like To Dance... Mega DK / Demon UK / Enigma US
Don Dixon Romeo at Juilliard Enigma
Don Dixon EEE Enigma
Don Dixon Romantic Depressive Sugar Hill
Don Dixon The Invisible Man Gadfly
Don Dixon Notepad #38 DAR
Don Dixon The Entire Combustible World in One Small Room 125 Records
Dumptruck Positively Dumptruck Big Time/RCA
emmet swimming Arlington To Boston Epic/Sony
The Fabulous Knobs The Fabulous Knobs Moonlight
Fast Annie Unsafe At Any Speed Chelsea
Fetchin Bones Cabin Flounder DB/Capitol
Fetchin Bones Bad Pumpkin DB/Capitol
Fetchin Bones Galaxie 500 DB/Capitol
Moxy Früvous Thornhill Bottom Line/BMG
G.B. Leighton Shake Them Ghosts Sallycat
The Graphic People In Glass Dolphin
Greer Between Two Worlds Sugarbush; collector’s item in the UK; value US$300+
Guadalcanal Diary Walking In The Shadow of The Big Man Elektra
Guadalcanal Diary 2 x 4 Elektra
Guadalcanal Diary Flip Flop Elektra
The Hangups Second Story Restless/BMG
Hey Mavis Red Wine 2010 Self-Release
Hootie & the Blowfish "City By A River"
Hootie & the Blowfish Scattered Covered & Smothered Atlantic
Hootie & the Blowfish "Use Me"
In Tua Nua The Long Acre Virgin UK
Jesus: The Epic Mini-series CBS TV soundtrack Sparrow/Capitol
Marti Jones Unsophisticated Time A & M
Marti Jones Match Game A & M
Marti Jones Used Guitars A & M
Marti Jones Any Kind of Lie RCA
Marti Jones Live At Spirit Square Sugar Hill
Marti Jones My Long-Haired Life Sugar Hill
Marti Jones My Tidy Doily Dream DAR
Tommy Keene Places That Are Gone Dolphin
Tommy Keene Back Again...Try Dolphin
The Killer Whales The Killer Whales Moonlight
Toby King Operator Josie
Let's Active Cypress IRS
Original Cast Recording King Mackerel & The Blues Are Running Sugar Hill
Michael McDermott Gethsemane SBK
James McMurtry Where'd You Hide The Body Columbia/Sony
Jeff O’Kelley Just Passing Through Buddy Dog Records
The Pinetops Above Ground And Vertical Soundproof/Monolyth
The Pressure Boys Rangledoon Root-a-Doot
R.E.M. Murmur IRS
R.E.M. Reckoning IRS
R.E.M. Dead Letter Office IRS
The Reivers Saturday DB/Capitol
Rosavelt The Story of Gasoline Gaff
Bland Simpson Follow You All Over the World Gaff
Madison Smartt Bell & Wyn Cooper 40 Words for Fear Gaff; with Jim Brock
The Smithereens Especially for You Enigma
The Smithereens Green Thoughts Enigma/Capitol
The Smithereens A Date with The Smithereens RCA
Sneakers In The Red Carnivorous
Treva Spontaine S'il Vous Plait Moonlight
Chris Stamey InstantExcitement Coyote/TwinTone/A & M
Surfaholics Tiki-A-Go-Go Pixler Discs
Matthew Sweet Inside Columbia
US Secret Service US Secret Service Moonlight
Jim Wann Sings Johnny Mercer;
Pardon My Southern Accent vol 1		 Creekmore
Jim Wann Sings Jim Wann;
Pardon My Southern Accent vol 2		 Creekmore
Wednesday Week What We Had Enigma
X-teens Big Boy's Dream Moonlight
X-teens X-teens Dolphin
X-teens Love & Politics Dolphin

Additional credits

Including co-production, engineering, etc.

Artist Title Label, Other notes
Mike Cross Born in the Country TGS
The Spongetones WhereEver Land
Rebecca Rippy Telling Stories vocals

Actor

Discography

Title Year Label
Most of the Girls Like to Dance 1985 Enigma
Romeo at Juilliard 1987 Enigma
Chi-Town Budget Show 1988 Restless
EEE 1989 Restless / Capitol
(If) I'm A Ham, Well You're A Sausage 1992 Restless
Romantic Depressive 1995 Sugarhill
The Invisible Man 2000 Gadfly
Note Pad #38 2001 Dixon Archival
The Entire Combustible World in One Small Room 2006 125 Records
The Nu-Look 2008 D.A.R.
Don Dixon Sings the Jeffords Brothers 2010 Arcade Records
Living Stereo (with Marti Jones) 2011 D.A.R.

References

  1. ^ Biography
  2. ^ Fetchin' Bones Album Reviews
  3. ^ Songs101: The Lyrics of Don Dixon, VanZeno Press
  4. ^ Ankeny, Jason. "Biography: Don Dixon". AMG. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p4107/biography. Retrieved 8 May 2010. 
Arrogance
  • Rod Abernethy
  • Scott Davison
  • Don Dixon
  • Robert Kirkland
  • Marty Stout
Studio albums
Live albums
Singles
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