Don Dixon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Don Dixon is a record producer, songwriter, musician, bassist, and very occasional actor. He is originally from North Carolina.
Contents |
[edit] 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 NC cult heroes Arrogance. Around 1983, Dixon attracted attention by co-producing with Mitch Easter, R.E.M.'s landmark debut LP Murmur. He then spent several years producing the work of varied artists including Chris Stamey (formerly of The dB's) and The Smithereens. 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 wordplay.
Dixon is married to the singer Marti Jones.
In 2006, Dixon released his first new album in six years, The Entire Combustible World in One Small Room.
[edit] Production credits
[edit] As producer
[edit] 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 |
[edit] More complete list
| Artist | Title | Label, Other notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rod Abernethy | Solo | Avanti |
| The Accelerators | The Accelerators | Profile |
| 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 | IRS |
| The Blazers | Ten Easy Lessons | Moonlight |
| Fetchin Bones | Cabin Flounder | DB/Capitol |
| Fetchin Bones | Bad Pumpkin | DB/Capitol |
| Fetchin Bones | Galaxie 500 | DB/Capitol |
| Jim Brock | Tropic Affaire | Reference |
| Brotherhood Of Peace | Cuttin' Loose | Avanti |
| Mark Bryan | 30 On A Rail | Atlantic |
| 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 |
| Dumptruck | Positively Dumptruck | Big Life/RCA |
| emmet swimming | Arlington To Boston | Epic/Sony |
| The Fabulous Knobs | The Fabulous Knobs | Moonlight |
| Fast Annie | Unsafe At Any Speed | Chelsea |
| Moxy Fruvous | Thornhill | Bottom Line/BMG |
| 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 |
| 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 | Dolphin |
| 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 & 2 |
|
| Wednesday Week | What We Had | Enigma |
| X-teens | Big Boy's Dream | Moonlight |
| X-teens | X-teens | Dolphin |
| X-teens | Love & Politics | Dolphin |
[edit] Additional credits
Including co-production, engineering, etc.
| Artist | Title | Label, Other notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Cross | Born in the Country | TGS |
| The Spongetones | WhereEver Land |
[edit] Actor
- Played an alcoholic director in Todd Graff's 2003 film Camp
- Appeared onstage in the musical King Mackerel & the Blues Are Running: Songs & Stories of the North Carolina Coast, co-created with Jim Wann (Pump Boys and Dinettes) and Bland Simpson (of The Red Clay Ramblers)
- Contributor to The General Cabbage Report, a weekly video podcast based in Canton, Ohio. Created by Richard Jay.
[edit] Discography
| Title | Year | Label |
|---|---|---|
| Most of the Girls Like to Dance | 1985 | Capitol |
| Romeo at Juilliard | 1987 | Capitol |
| EEE | 1989 | Restless / Capitol |
| (If) I'm A Ham, Well You're A Sausage | 1993 | Restless |
| Chi-Town Budget Show | 1993 | 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 |
