Tina Dixon was an American R&B singer, actress and comedian. She became a featured singer in swing bandleader Jimmie Lunceford's band early in her career and recorded for Excelsior, Aladdin, and King Records in the 1940s. By the 1970s, Dixon was making x-rated party records as Auntie Tina Dixon.
Born in Detroit, Dixon began her singing career at the age of 18. Her first gig was at the Club Ballyhoo in Detroit and eventually she performed at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. In 1939, Dixon married tap dancer Leon Collins in Detroit. In 1942, they moved to New York City where Dixon was billed to perform with the Jimmie Lunceford orchestra. Dixon helped land her husband a spot in the show when the opening act called out sick, resulting in a five-year contract for Collins. [1] They with his band at theaters and nightclubs. She appeared at the Tic Toc Club in Boston; Cafe Zanzibar in New York; Club Bali in Washington, D.C.. Dixon was managed by Harold F. Oxley [who also managed Jimmie Lunceford and Mabel Scott]. Dixon also appeared on television, made color movie shorts for Pathe, and performed at army and navy camps. [2]
In June 1945, Dixon recorded "E-Bob-O-Le-Bob" with Jimmie Lunceford for Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) Jubilee. AFRS recordings were made by African-American artists to showcase their music to the United States Armed Forces and allied nations; they weren't meant for commercial release. [3] Dixon is credited as the songwriter for the record, but shortly after, singer Helen Humes released the song under the title "Be-Baba-Leba" (Philo 106). [4] Humes is credited as the songwriter on her record which became a hit single although Dixon had been performing it on her act since 1942. Later in 1945, Dixon recorded "E-Bob-O-Le-Bob" with the Flennoy Trio. [5] The copyright controversy was noted in Billboard (January 26, 1946), when Humes' version was hot on the chart:
Charlie Barnet has secured exclusive publishing rights for his Indigo pub outfit to the swing novelty tune.... Barnet closed deal for Be-Baba-Leba with Harold Oxley, the agent, who controlled original copyright of the tune introduced in the first place by Tina Dixon, whom Oxley manages. Dixon also made recording of tune for Excelsior label. Her side, however, came out after the Humes version for Philo. Barnet dickered with Helen Humes on tune for a while until he learned that her recorded version followed Dixon's featuring of the song in night clubs, therefore making Dixon's a prior copyright. [4]
Dixon never achieved chart success, but she continued performing and befriending other entertainers, including comedian Redd Foxx. In 1975, she appeared on his hit television series Sanford & Son. By then she was known as Auntie Tina Dixon and she released two raunchy comedy albums, Take It Out Of This! and Calling All Freaks on Laff Records. [6] Dixon had a role in the 1977 film Big Time.
Tina Turner is an American-born Swiss singer, songwriter, and actress. Widely referred to as the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she is regarded as one of the greatest music artists of the 20th century. Turner rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before launching a successful career as a solo performer.
Ike & Tina Turner were an American musical duo consisting of husband and wife Ike Turner and Tina Turner. From 1960 to 1976, they performed live as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, supported by Ike Turner's band the Kings of Rhythm and backing vocalists called the Ikettes. The Ike & Tina Turner Revue was regarded as "one of the most potent live acts on the R&B circuit".
James Melvin Lunceford was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader in the swing era.
Helen Humes was an American jazz and blues singer.
Melvin James "Sy" Oliver was an American jazz arranger, trumpeter, composer, singer and bandleader.
"You Are My Sunshine" is a song copyrighted and published by Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell in 1940. According to BMI, it has been recorded by more than 350 artists, and translated into 30 languages. In 1977, the Louisiana State Legislature decreed that "You Are My Sunshine" would be a state song, to honor two-time governor Jimmie Davis.
"Blues in the Night" is a popular blues song which has become a pop standard and is generally considered to be part of the Great American Songbook. The music was written by Harold Arlen, the lyrics by Johnny Mercer, for a 1941 film begun with the working title Hot Nocturne, but finally released as Blues in the Night. The song is sung in the film by William Gillespie.
Mabel Bernice Scott was an American gospel music and R&B vocalist. She lived in New York and Cleveland before arriving on the West Coast blues scene in 1942. Mabel is probably remembered more for her 1948 hits "Elevator Boogie" and "Boogie Woogie Santa Claus" than for her 1949–1951 marriage to the featured piano player of "Elevator Boogie", Charles Brown of Johnny Moore's Three Blazers.
Maxine Sullivan, born Marietta Williams in Homestead, Pennsylvania, United States, was an American jazz vocalist and performer.
"Ain't She Sweet" is a song composed by Milton Ager, with lyrics by Jack Yellen. It was published in 1927 by Ager, Yellen & Bornstein, Inc. It became popular in the first half of the 20th century and typified the Roaring Twenties. Like "Happy Days Are Here Again" (1929), it became a Tin Pan Alley standard. Both Ager and Yellen were elected to the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Excelsior Records was an American record label established by Otis René, which existed from 1944 to 1971. It is particularly notable as having released some of the earliest recordings of Nat King Cole. It is not to be confused with former MCA and current independent record label Excelsior Recordings of The Netherlands.
"The Honeydripper " is an R&B song by Joe Liggins and his Honeydrippers which topped the US Billboard R&B chart for 18 weeks, from September 1945 to January 1946.
"A Fool in Love" is the debut single by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner. It was released on Sue Records in 1960. The song is Tina Turner's first professional release although she had been recording with Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm since 1958. It was the first national hit record for bandleader Ike Turner since the number-one R&B hit "Rocket 88" in 1951, for which he didn't receive proper credit.
"It's Gonna Work Out Fine" is a song written by Rose Marie McCoy and Joe Seneca. It was originally released by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner in 1961 as a single from their album Dynamite! (1962). The record is noted for being their first Grammy nominated song and their second million-selling single after "A Fool In Love".
Leon René was an American music composer of pop, R&B and rock and roll songs and a record producer in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. He sometimes used the songwriting pseudonym Jimmy Thomas or Jimmie Thomas. He also established several record labels.
Hindsight Records is an American record company founded by Wally Heider.
The Soul of Ike & Tina Turner is the debut album by Ike & Tina Turner. It was released on the Sue Records in February 1961. The album is noted for containing the duo's debut single "A Fool in Love" and their follow-up singles "I Idolize You" and "I'm Jealous."
"Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop" is a 1946 song by Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra. The song's lead vocals were performed by Lionel Hampton himself and the recording featured Herbie Fields on alto sax. The song went to number one on the R&B Juke Box chart for sixteen non-consecutive weeks and reached number nine on the national pop charts.
"The Last Letter" is a song written by country music singer Rex Griffin. Griffin wrote the song in 1937, after he was left by his wife. The song tells through a suicidal letter the feelings of an older man who is left by his young wife. The song, released on Decca Records became a hit for Griffin
"Boxtop" is a song written and produced by musician Ike Turner. It was originally released as a single in 1958 on Tune Town Records. "Boxtop" is noted for being Tina Turner's first appearance on a record under the name "Little Ann," two years before her debut as Tina Turner on "A Fool In Love" in 1960.