Don Dixon

Donald Allen Dixon (born December 13, 1950) is an American record producer, songwriter, and musician. He is considered to be one of the key producers of what is called the jangle pop movement of the early 1980s, including working with R.E.M. and the Smithereens. He said, "I bought a bass, one of those great Danelectro Silvertones, and I wish I had it back. From Sears for $79. Then a few months later I really liked upright, so I found an old upright in a church in Charlotte, and just was sort of self-taught on those things, but I could read music." He shared lead vocals, played the bass, and also wrote songs. Before breaking up in 1983, Arrogance became North Carolina's top local act. He says, "Even though Arrogance never made it big nationally, we did play all over the eastern part of the country and we did release six albums. In fact, we really did help pioneer the independent approach to putting out albums in the '70s. ...We took it upon ourselves to play original music in clubs, to force club owners and audiences to realize that new music doesn't have to come from someplace else." Richard Barone (formerly of the Bongos), Guadalcanal Diary, and Marshall Crenshaw.

Dixon met with Nirvana as a potential producer for Nevermind.

Solo artist Dixon became a solo performer in 1983. This album reflected his love of classic pop melodies and spiky, Nick Lowe-inspired word play. In 1987, Dixon recorded Romeo at Juilliard described as Big Star–style power pop. Chi-Town Budget Show (1988) was a recording of a Chicago's Park West nightclub broadcast.

After four years, he released The Invisible Man (2000), an album about mortality, with songs from the viewpoints of people of various ages. Note Pad #38 in 2001 was an odds–and–ends collection of unreleased material from his solo career. In 2014, Dixon released High & Filthy & Borderline, based on the lives of a male and a female assassin.

Collaborations Dixon and wife Marti Jones released the download-only album Lucky Stars: New Lullabies for Old Souls in 2008.

Although Dixon and his wife Marti Jones have collaborated on each other's albums for years, in 2011 they released Living Stereo, their first proper duet album. Dixon says, "It's really a pleasure working with Marti because we have a lot of common sensibilities. When we get a nice creative thing going, it keeps on going without little stumbling blocks. It ends up being challenging without being frustrating." Dixon 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 (Red Clay Ramblers)

Publications In 2009, a book of his song lyrics, Songs 101: the Lyrics of Don Dixon, was published by VanZeno Press.

Personal life While producing for A&M Records, Dixon met singer/artist Marti Jones who was from Uniontown, Ohio. The couple have a daughter, born in 1991. In July 2001, an R.E.M. tribute show at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, North Carolina, doubled as a benefit for Dixon, to help defray the medical costs.

Discography

Studio albums 1985: Most of the Girls Like to Dance but Only Some of the Boys Like To (Enigma Records) 1984: Beat Rodeo – Staying Out Late with...Beat Rodeo (I.R.S. Records) 1985: Marti Jones – Unsophisticated Time (A&M Records) 1985: The Windbreakers – Terminal (Mark Records/Minotauro) 1985: Marti Jones – Match Game (A&M Records) 1986: Mathew Sweet – Inside (Columbia Records) 1987: Marshall Crenshaw – Mary Jean & 9 Others (Warner Bros.) 1988: Marti Jones – Used Guitars (A&M Records) 1990: Marti Jones – Any Kind of Lie (RCA Records) 1997: Pat DiNizio – Songs and Sounds (Velvet Records) 1998: Kyle Davis – Raising Heroes (N2K Encoded Music) 1999: astroPuppees – Pet (High Tone Records) 1999: Robert Crenshaw – Full-Length Stereo Recordings (Gadfly) 1999: The Smithereens – God Save the Smithereens (Koch Records) 2000: Mark Bryan – Thirty on the Rail (Atlantic Records) 2000: Robert Crenshaw – Victory Songs (Gadfly) 2000: Kyle Davis – Don't Tell the World (KIk Records) 2000: Ruth Gerson – Fools & Kings (The Orchard) 2000: Carrie Newcomer – The Age of Possibility (Rounder Records) 2000: The Pinetops – Above Ground and Vertical (Soundproof/Monolyth) 2001: The Orange Humble Band – Humblin' Across America (Half A Cow) 2001: Red Clay Ramblers – Yonder (RCA) 2002: Marti Jones – My Tidy Doily Dream (Dixon Archival Records) The Accelerators The Accelerators Profile Records 1987 Richard Barone Primal Dream Paradox/MCA Records 1990 Mark Bryan 30 On A Rail Atlantic Records 2000 The Buzz of Delight Sound Castles DB Records 1984 Kim Carnes Gypsy Honeymoon EMI 1993 The Carpenter Ants Picnic with the Lord Alpo Records 2000 The Carpenter Ants Insect Ball Alpo Records 2004 The Carpenter Ants Ants in Your Pants Alpo Records 2005 The Carpenter Ants Ants & Uncles Alpo Records 2012 David Childers Run Skeleton Run Ramseur Records 2017 John Cody Duke Street Records/MCA Canada 2012 The Connells Darker Days TVT Records 1985 Contenders The Contenders Gadfly 2002 Marshall Crenshaw Mary Jean & 9 Others Warner Bros. 1987 Kyle Davis Raising Heroes N2K Encoded Music 1998 Pat DiNizio Songs And Sounds VelVel/BMG Records 1997 Don Dixon Most of The Girls Like To Dance...But Only Some of the Boys Do Mega DK / Demon UK / Enigma US 1985 emmet swimming Arlington To Boston Epic Records/Sony 1996 The Fabulous Knobs The Fabulous Knobs Moonlight 1980 Fast Annie Unsafe at Any Speed Chelsea Records 1976 Dip Ferrell Unplugged House Party CB Baby / Patman & Robin 2012 Dip Ferrell & The Truetones Central Avenue Arcade Records 2009

Fetchin Bones Galaxie 500 DB Records / Capitol 1987 Moxy Früvous Thornhill Bottom Line / BMG Records 1999 Ruth Gerson Fools & Kings Orc 2000 Gin Blossoms Mixed Reality Cleopatra Records 2018 The Graphic People in Glass Dolphin Music 1984 Greer Between Two Worlds Sugarbush 1973

The Hangups Second Story Restless Records / BMG Records 1999 Hey Mavis Red Wine Self-Release 2010 Hey Mavis Honey Man Self-Release 2013

The Reivers Saturday DB/Capitol 1987

Snagglepuss Parading Around in the Altogether Coolidge Records 2003 Surfaholics Tiki-A-Go-Go Pixler Discs 2020 Matthew Sweet Inside Columbia 1986 Treva Better Late than Never Avert 1999 US Secret Service US Secret Service Moonlight 1980 Volatile Baby Traveling Light SilverMeteor 2006 Jim Wann Sings Johnny Mercer; Pardon My Southern Accent vol 1 Creekmore 2002

The Windbreakers Terminal Mark Records / Minotauro 1985 X-teens Eponymous Dolphin Music 1982 Blood Incarnation Timewave Zero Century Media Records 2022 cover art Bop Dead Where Robots Go to Die Fishhead Records 1997 mixing Rosanne Cash She Remembers Everything Blue Note Records 2018 photography David Clayton-Thomas A Blues for the New World ILS Group 2013 cover photo David Clayton-Thomas Canadiana Antoinette / Linus Entertainment 2016 photography Joe Cocker Night Calls Capital Records 1992 composer Joe Cocker Heart & Soul EMI 2004 composer Marshall Crenshaw Live: My Truck is My Home Razor & Tie 1994 composer Counting Crows August and Everything After: Live at Town Hall Eagle Records 2011 composer Mike Cross Bounty Hunter Sugar Hill Records 1979 engineer, remixer Escape from Earth Three Seconds Test Cupcake 2004 cover art Feedbag Stickfigure Monolyth 1998 mixer Gee Dawg 'n' Joe Boy They Don't Understand Menace Entertainment 1996 engineer The Golden Palominos Blast of Silence Charly Records 1986 composer The Golden Palominos Surrealistic Surfer Dressed to Kill 2001 composer The Golden Palominos Run Pony Run: An Essential Collection Full 2000 2002 composer Michael Kaeshammer Something New Linus Records 2018 photography Michael Kaeshammer No Filter Idia 2017 photography Fred Koller Sweet Baby Fred Appaloosa 1998 composer Bill Mulls Dreamland The Orchard 1999 composer Amy Rigby Little Fugitive Signature Sounds Recordings 2005 audio engineer, mixing Robin Rogers Treat Me Right Blind Pig Records 2008 horn arrangements Ronnie Spector Unfinished Business Lemon Recordings 1987 composer

2000 sequences Sally Spring Made of Starrs Sniffinpup Record 2010 tray photographs Sue Thompson Golden Classic Collectibles 1995 composer Daniel Whittington Taking You Home Daniel Whittington / Rhodes 2010 mixing