Today in Labor History July 1, 1915: American bluesman, Willie Dixon, was born. He was one of the most influential blues songwriters and performers of the post-World War II era. Some of his most well-known (and most covered) songs include: My Babe, Spoonful, Hoochie Coochie Man, Little Red Rooster, I Just Want To Make Love To You, Wang Dang Doodle, Pretty Thing, I Ain’t Superstitious, The Seventh Son, You Shook Me, Back Door Man and You Can’t Judge a Book By Looking At Its Cover. His music was an important link between blues and rock and roll. Sadly, many rock and rollers stole his music and made more money from the songs than he ever did. However, in 1987, he did reach an out-of-court settlement with Led Zeppelin, the band that probably gained the most from plagiarizing his music. A really great book on the link between American blues and jazz and the evolution of rock and roll is Billy Bragg’s 2017 “Roots, Rockers and Radicals: How Skiffle Changed the World.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFqwQ6xPjF0#ddg-play #workingclass #LaborHistory #blues #williedixon