North Mississippi Allstars: Luther Dickinson (vocals, acoustic, electric, slide, & lap steel guitars, mandolin); Cody Dickinson (vocals, guitar, drums, programming); Chris Chew (vocals, bass). Additional personnel: Alvin Youngblood Hart, Steve Selvidge, Jimbo Mathus (guitar); East Memphis Slim (piano); Richard "Hombre" Price, Garry Burnside (bass); Cedric Burnside (drums); Otha Turner (cane fife); Jimmy Crosthwait (washboard); Tate County Singers, Harmony Four (background vocals). Recorded at Zebra Ranch Studios, Tate County, Mississippi in 1999. Includes liner notes by Larry Brown. SHAKE HANDS WITH SHORTY was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album. Luther and Cody Dickinson, guitarist and drummer respectively for the hotter-than-Hades electric blues boogie trio the North Mississippi All Stars, have a tough rock & roll bloodline to live up to. Their father Jim is among the grandest and most multi-faceted figures to emerge from the Memphis music scene in the last 40 years, playing piano and producing records for a vast cross-section of legends, superstars and the historically notorious. The All Stars' sparkling debut, SHAKE HANDS WITH SHORTY, delivers hip swaying, juke joint blues boogie with teeth and bite. Luther Dickinson's fingerpicking and bottleneck slide are the star attractions at these proceedings. While Cody and bassist Chris Chew lock down the simmering bottom, Luther slips and slides over the groove, glowing with exultant dancing lines that quote Duane Allman on "Po Black Maddie," and reeling and rocking like a freight train on "Goin' Down South." The syncopation points to the dance-floor even when the All Stars invoke their acoustic heritage; their take on Furry Lewis' "KC Jones (On the Road Again)" is a tragic story told with a sunny enthusiasm that must make their pappy proud.
Shake Em On Down Drop Down Mama Po Black Maddie Skinny Woman Drinking Muddy Water Goin' Down South K.C. Jones (On The Road Again) Station Blues Someday Baby All Night Long