“The blues is the roots; everything else is the fruits.“ (Willie Dixon)

For us on the Epic Metal Blog, there is no question that every decent person has to speak out against racism – fortunately, the same also applies to the vast majority of our readers, who repeatedly express themselves in this regard, in comments, in private messages or on the occasion of concerts (like last Saturday, which made us very happy).

The fact that racism definitely has absolutely no place in our scene becomes clear not least when you consider the roots of our music. Without blues there is no rock’n’roll. Without rock’n’roll no hard rock. Without hard rock no metal. It should be common knowledge that blues and rock’n’roll were originally genres created by Afro-Americans. Anyone listening to a metal record today should always keep in mind that they owe this gift to pioneers like Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry. Or strong women like Ma Rainey, Koko Taylor and Etta James.

One man who deserves the label of founding father in every sense of the word is Willie Dixon (1915-1992). Some of you may not know this name, but I’m sure many of you know some legendary songs Willie composed. Here is a small selection:

“Back Door Man“ – covered by The Doors, among others.
“Bring It On Home“ – covered by Led Zeppelin, among others.
“Evil“ – covered by Gary Moore, among others.
“Hoochie Coochie Man“ – covered by Motörhead, among others.
“I Ain’t Superstitious“ – covered by Megadeth, among others.
“It Don’t Make Sense (You Can’t Make Peace)“ – covered by Styx, among others.
“I Want to Be Loved“ – covered by The Rolling Stones, among others.
“I’m Ready“ – covered by Aerosmith, among others.
“Mellow Down Easy“ – covered by ZZ Top, among others.
“Spoonful“ – covered by Eric Clapton, Grateful Dead and The Who, among others.

This list is almost endless – and shows that Willie Dixon was an extremely important source of inspiration for numerous artists whose records are probably in many of your racks. But Willie himself was also able to interpret his tunes excellently – here I recommend the programmatically titled album I Am The Blues (1970) to anyone who wants to enjoy the roots of their favourite music. After that, at the latest, you will know that this gifted songwriter, singer and bassist is completely deservedly a member of the Blues Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. A man who changed the music world and made the world a better place for many. No matter what skin colour they have. Fortunately, music is universal.