Floyd Dixon prefers to approach life as simply as possible. The “living legend” title that’s irrevocably attached to his name is not something that affects him. His considerable legacy notwithstanding, he lives in the moment and it is that trademark quality that informs Fine! Fine! Thing, his new album on Los Angeles based independent label, HighJohn Records.

For someone whose work as a writer/piano player and vocalist has made him a significant contributor (many say founder) of the early R&B and jump blues genre, Dixon has been circumspect when it comes to recording and releasing records. Since winning the W.C. Handy Award for Comeback Album of the Year in 1997 (for Wake Up And Live), he’s kept a low profile, concentrating on writing, giving an occasional live performance and spending time at home in Southern California with his family and friends.

Fine! Fine! Thing reveals Dixon at his uncomplicated best. Songs like “My Wish”, “Love’s The Key” and the straightforward title don’t require in-depth analysis, just a willingness to reduce life’s complexities to simple, understandable equations. When he sings about long lost love, dancer extraordinaire Carmen De Lavalade, Floyd paints a clear picture of his life long affection for her: “she’s the girl for me, that’s the way it will always be.” The songs on Fine!Fine!Thing reverberate with honesty, decency and traditional family values. Floyd’s reminiscences about growing up in Photo by Astor Morgan Marshall, Texas evoke idyllic images when he sings, “Dad worked hard and took good care of us, Mom washed and ran all the chores… There was a special time for prayer and the whole family was there, and everyone was happy including me. Dad started with a song and we would sing until dawn,

I wish things were the way they used to be.” Anyone who’s accomplished what Floyd Dixon has could justifiably relax and rest on his many laurels, but he feels he’s just getting started on an exciting new phase of his illustrious career. His work ethic is underscored by the string of jobs he held back in his halcyon days as he practiced his craft, learning at the feet of artists like T Bone Walker. While winning talent contests in Los Angeles and drawing encouragement from bandleader, Johnny Otis to record, Floyd worked at Orenstein’s Drug Store, caddied 36 holes a day at the local course, studied hotel management and flirted briefly with a professional football career (he was an all-star high school end) before cutting his 1947 debut, “Dallas Blues” for the Supreme label. All of his hard work paid dividends when he took his accrued life experience and funneled it into his music. For Floyd Dixon Fine! Fine! Thing brings his amazing life full circle, back to a point where his energy and creativity are operating at peak efficiency. He smiles and laughs when his considerable career accomplishments are brought up because for this blues icon and living legend, the best is yet to come.