Groundhog Day: Wintertime Blues

Good morning Fackers. We're coming to you a little earlier than usual this morning, with this publishing at 7:00 AM. Twenty six minutes from now, the sun will rise in western Pennsylvania, bringing daylight to the tiny town of Punxsutawney. Shortly thereafter, some quack wearing a tuxedo and top hat will hold a glorified rodent aloft, and it will magically determine whether or not winter will last for another six weeks.

If that furball sees his shadow, I'm gonna be pissed. I've had enough of winter and cannot wait for baseball to start. So I'm not putting my faith in any groundhog today. As we will remind you later on, it's just fifteen days until pitchers and catchers report. And you can't have Spring Training if it's still winter. So shadow or no shadow, winter ends in two weeks and one day. And I couldn't be happier about that.

And if Punxsutawney Phil doesn't tell us what we want to hear, perhaps Staten Island Chuck will have better news for us. At the very least, Chuck should have the decency not to bite the mayor this year; his company has developed some pretty sweet baseball analytics software. On the other hand, if Bloomberg doesn't eventually offer the general public some version of the pro software, I say chomp away Chuck.

Well, it's the same old drill,
About Punxsutawney Phil,
If he's sees his own shadow,
I'm shootin' to kill.

Come on over baby,
I stand accused,
There's a man going crazy up here,
With the wintertime blues.

World Boogie Is Coming

"If you've got Dickinson, you don't need anyone else"
- Bob Dylan to Harp Magazine, May 2003

This will have nothing to do with the Yankees and little to do with anything previously posted at Fack Youk, but given our musical leanings here, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention it. Last week I mentioned how August seems to be a terrible month for deaths, both in baseball and music. Just hours before that post published, Les Paul went to the great beyond. Now, there is another loss to mourn.

Last night, as I was finishing cooking dinner, I logged onto to my favorite music website, jambands.com. It was only then that I learned that Memphis music legend Jim Dickinson passed away Saturday, at the age of 67, following triple bypass surgery.

Even if you're a music buff like Jay or me, you may never have heard of Jim Dickinson, but chances are you've heard Jim Dickinson. The man's music career has spanned the past forty-plus years and has associated him with some of the biggest names in music history.

As a sideman, Dickinson recorded with the likes of Arethra Franklin, Sam & Dave, Ry Cooder, Delaney and Bonnie, Arlo Guthrie, Mavis Staples, and Duane Allman. His Dixie Flyers were the house band during the heyday of Criteria Studios in Miami, where he worked with legenedary producer Tom Dowd.

Dickinson later recorded and toured with the Rolling Stones. He provides the piano on the recording of "Wild Horses". In the Stones documentary Gimme Shelter, Dickinson can be seen lounging next to Keith Richards as the band listens to the playback of the freshly cut track. More than twenty five years later, Dickinson would record with Bob Dylan on his critically acclaimed comeback album, Time Out of Mind.

In the early 1970s, Dickinson returned to the Memphis area, where he'd spent most of his youth. From then until the end of his days, he was at the forefront of the Memphis music scene, the city from which Sam Phillips and his Million Dollar Quartet brought rock and roll to the rest of the nation. He was instrumental in the rediscovery of blues acts such as Furry Lewis, Bukka White*, and Sleepy John Estes, often playing in their backing bands.

*White once played in the Negro Leagues, gifted his cousin B.B. King with the first guitar B.B. ever owned, and was an innovator of the National Steel guitar. One of his steel guitars is currently owned by blog favorite Derek Trucks.

Upon his return to the Memphis area, Dickinson also began a solo career, releasing the critically acclaimed Dixie Fried in 1972 (featuring Dr. John and Eric Clapton). After a 30 year hiatus, he jump started his solo career in 2002, releasing four more albums prior to his passing. During his recording hiatus, Dickinson continued to perform, assembling the legendary Memphis band Mudboy and the Neutrons.

For more than thirty years Dickinson has also enjoyed a wildly successful second career as a producer. He guided the recordings of artists such as Big Star, Toots Hibbert, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, The Replacements, Albert King, The Radiators, and John Hiatt.

In the mid 1970s, Dickinson moved slighly south of Memphis, to the hill country of north Mississippi. There, he established his Zebra Ranch Studios, and along with his wife Mary, raised their sons Luther and Cody. Growing up in that household, and in that region of the country, the Dickinson boys were exposed to a wealth of musical greatness, and were soon taken with the famed blues musicians of the hill country: Otha Turner, R.L. Burnside, and Junior Kimbrough. In 1996 the brothers Dickinson and childhood friend Chris Chew formed the North Mississippi Allstars, my favorite band, whose song "The Meeting" I used for our game preview just last Wednesday. The lyric I quoted at the bottom, "If you ain't right you better get right" was an old phrase Jim was fond of using. As father, mentor, and producer, Jim was a guiding force for NMA.

While Jim Dickinson is now gone, his legacy, in the recorded music he left behind as a performer and a producer and in the music that will continue to be created by his progeny, will last. Another phrase Jim was fond of was "World Boogie is coming". Indeed it is, and when it does, Jim Dickinson will be largely to thank for it. Rest in peace Jim.

Game 69: Your Dad Did

Happy Father's Day. Perhaps more than any other sport, baseball is a game passed down from fathers to sons and shared by them thereafter. Today, the Yankees will post a lineup that features two second generation big leaguers: Robinson Cano, son of Jose Cano, and Nick Swisher, son of Steve Swisher. Jorge Posada is the son a Big League scout, and in the dugout, bench coach Tony Pena, is the father of Big Leaguer Tony Pena Jr. But whether they have a Major League pedigree or not, virtually every man in uniform today owes at least some part of their baseball career to their father's guidance.

I imagine that most of you, like me, learned the game from your father, became interested in the game thanks to your father, and had your father bring you to your first game. I'm very grateful that my dad did these things and more for me. I'm also very lucky that I still have the opportunity to go to a game with my dad, to watch a game with him, or to just talk baseball with him. I know not everyone is fortunate enough to have those luxuries. So to my dad, your dad, and dads everywhere, thanks for all you've done for us and Happy Father's Day to you all.

Big Daddy Sabathia will take the mound today, and I'm sure the Yanks are glad to have their ace on the hill as they try to avoid dropping a second straight series to an inferior team. He'll face another 6'7" hurler, Chris Volstad. Volstad has been knocked around in each of his last two starts; the Yanks hope to make it three in row for him today. A-Rod will return to the lineup today after not starting the first two games of the series.

As they do every year, Major League Baseball will partner with the Prostate Cancer Foundation today in an effort to raise awareness about the disease. As I've mentioned in the past, the company that employs me is dedicated to cancer care, particularly the treatment of prostate cancer. One in six men will be diagnosed with the disease in his lifetime. It's the most commonly diagnosed cancer amongst American males, with close to 200,000 new cases per year, and it's the second leading cause of cancer deaths amongst American males. The good news is that it's a highly treatable disease, particularly if caught early. So dads, make sure you get screened anually. The test isn't the most pleasant thing in the world, but it beats the alternative. We want to have you around for many more years of talking baseball.

The older I get, the more people tell me how much I look like my dad, how much I sound like my dad, how I have the same mannerisms as my dad. If I end up turning into my father, I think I'd be doing alright for myself; he's set a great example for me. I'd be proud to do as my dad did. Once again, Happy Father's Day.



Acting like a kid,
Just like your dad did
And you're a chip off the old block
Why does it come as such a shock
That every road up which you rock
Your dad already did