I'm Just Dead, I'm Not Gone

“Jim Dickinson communicated in parables. Stories were his tools and weapons—for teaching, entertaining, inspiring, for offending and defending. He drew not just from his musical experiences but all experiences, and his lessons, ideas, and suggestions, even if they were about a song, were about much more than music. Jim may be dead, but he ain’t gone—and this collection of his life’s stories ensures that those who never knew him can yet experience him. Insightful, hilarious, emotional, Jim writes the way he played: from his heart, through his soul, to the gut.”

—Robert Gordon

“An endlessly fascinating ride with one of the greatest artists the South ever produced. Jim Dickinson drew upon everyone from Faulkner to Furry Lewis to make his own unique sound and then share it with the world. These pages you hold in your hands are the very personal tale of that incredible journey. Above all else, Dickinson was a master storyteller. I’m Just Dead, I’m Not Gone is a trip into the depths and soul of Americana. I was mesmerized and inspired by Dickinson’s final gift.”

—Ace Atkins

“Jim Dickinson was both student and creator of the finest in American music. As a musician and singer, he brought out the best in the songs he served. As a producer, he brought out the best in his artists. From his early work singing and playing at Sun Records, to producing brilliant and influential rock bands like Big Star and the Replacements, Jim left an undeniable mark on rock ’n’ roll and roots music in a time when the two weren’t so easily separated. A lot of the music I love simply wouldn’t exist without Jim’s legendary work.”

—Jason Isbell, two-time Grammy winner

“Jim Dickinson was the great instigator of rock ’n’ roll. From the Rolling Stones to the Replacements, from Alex Chilton to Aretha, his fingerprints are on some of the twentieth century’s most singular recordings. But who knew that Dickinson, one of music’s most mind-blowing raconteurs, was also an extraordinary writer. In his memoir, I’m Just Dead, I’m Not Gone, Dickinson’s prose leaps from the page, packing as much emotional punch as his piano licks on ‘Wild Horses.’ His eye for detail and his acute observations on his Chicago childhood, his coming of age in Memphis and Waco (as a Baylor student), and his early music career in Tennessee, Miami, and L.A., provide a stunning portrait of a seeker’s odyssey in 1950s and ’60s America.”

—Holly George-Warren, author of A Man Called Destruction: The Life and Music of Alex Chilton, From Box Tops to Big Star to Backdoor Man