On this day (January 29) in 1992, blues legend Willie Dixon died of heart failure in Burbank, California, at the age of 76. His impact on the music world is immeasurable. Dixon was one of the fathers of Chicago blues, a prolific songwriter, and a major influence on future blues artists as well as iconic rock bands like the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin.
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Dixon grew up in Mississippi, where he found a love for poetry, singing, and the blues. Then, in 1936, he left his home state for Chicago, Illinois. A large man, standing roughly six and a half feet tall and weighing over 200 pounds, Dixon took up boxing. He won the Illinois Golden Glove championship and had a brief professional career. A guitarist and singer named Leonard “Baby Doo” Caston trained at the same gym. When they weren’t working out, they were singing together, with Dixon singing bass…