The Allstars' first release, Shake Hands With Shorty, was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Contemporary Blues Album". Since then, 51 Phantom and Electric Blue Watermelon have received nominations in that same category. The group also won a Blues Music Award for "Best New Artist Debut" in 2001.
The band has been the backing band for John Hiatt, including appearing on the album "Master of Disaster".
All the members of the Allstars have also teamed up with Robert Randolph and John Medeski to form The Word.
In November 2007, Luther Dickinson joined The Black Crowes as lead guitarist, and has appeared on their albums Warpaint (2008), Before the Frost...Until the Freeze (2009) and Croweology (2010). Luther Dickinson currently devotes his time to both the Black Crowes and the North Mississippi Allstars. Cody Dickinson has also started a side project, Hill Country Revue, featuring Daniel Coburn, Kirk Smithhart, Doc Samba and Ed Cleveland. They are sometimes joined by Luther Dickinson and members of the Burnside family. They have released two albums, Make A Move (2009) and Zebra Ranch (2010),
The mid-90s were a special time for modern Mississippi country blues. RL Burnside, Jr. Kimbrough, Otha Turner and their musical families were at their peak; touring the world, making classic records and doing the all-night boogie at Jr's Juke Joint and Otha's BBQ Goat picnics -- the music and the culture rich as the black Mississippi dirt. Brothers Luther and Cody Dickinson soaked up the music of their father, Jim Dickinson, and absorbed the North Mississippi Blues legacy while playing and shaking it down at the juke joints with their blues ancestors. Luther (guitar and vocals) and Cody (drums and vocals) joined up with bassist Chris Chew to form the core of their own band, The North Mississippi Allstars. Through the filter of generations of Mississippi Blues men, the Allstars pioneered their own blues-infused rock and roll and continue to do so.
The band hit the road with the release of their first record, Shake Hands With Shorty, Grammy-nominated for “Best Contemporary Blues Album.” Bringing their hill country blues-infused rock & roll to stages all over the country and the world (including multiple tours in Europe and Asia), the Allstars quickly gained a loyal fan base, and to date have released six full-length albums. The bands’s third record, Phantom Record also received a Grammy nod.
Electric Blue Watermelon, their third album to receive a Grammy nomination, embodies the Allstars’ own sound. It reflects the band’s old times and lives growing up in their musical community in North Mississippi. “The record holds to the folk tradition of oral history,” as Luther Dickinson puts it. “Electric Blue Watermelon celebrates the lives and legends of men who are folk heroes in my community. If the traditions are passed down and kept alive, they can’t help but mutate and change.” Electric Blue Watermelon is certainly a departure from the blues tradition, but it is a record that reaches in the future and back into the past. It’s loud psychedelic southern folk rock blues.
51 Phantom
North Mississippi Allstars Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Known from the hills to the bottomland
Late in the evening, 'bout this time of night
51 phantom gets to feelin' right.
Memphis to New Orleans the 51 I ride
White lightnin' flash across the Mississippi sky
It's the code of the hills like they've never been told
Don't look for me out where the monkey grass grows
On down the levy, 'round the bend
51 phantom striking again
Just for the rooster crow for day
Had me a howl down the moonshine highway
woooo-oooo-oooooo-wwwooooo-ooooo.
51 phantom, the seventh son
Memphis to New Orleans on the 51
Til I rest my head on the coolin board
51 phantom on up and down the road
woooooooooooooo-ooooooo
(Alternate live lyrics:
From Memphis to New Orleans on the 51
I'm as old as the hills, the hills we run
51 phantom creepin through your town
Might find your woman squeak round
Got your gallop, your monkey grass
Ain't the first time, won't be the last
Mis'sippi moonshine all up in my head
Shotgun and boobytrap livin in my bed
Well, you won't hear me coming in the light of day
But you might hear me howl down the lonesome highway)
The lyrics of the song "51 Phantom" by North Mississippi Allstars speak of a legendary and mysterious figure known as the "51 Phantom." He is described as a bootlegger who is known from the hills to the bottomland. The song describes the journey of the 51 Phantom, who travels from Memphis to New Orleans on the 51, a highway that runs along the Mississippi River. The lyrics suggest that the Phantom is someone who enjoys the thrill of the ride and the freedom of the road, feeling "right" in the night-time hours.
The song's lyrics also refer to the code of the hills, a set of rules and values that are passed down through generations of people who live in the hills. It suggests that the Phantom is a part of this culture and has learned what it means to be a hill person. The line "Don't look for me out where the monkey grass grows" is a reference to the fact that the Phantom doesn't conform to societal norms and expectations; he does things his own way.
Line by Line Meaning
51 phantom, a boolegged man
Referring to the 1951 Chevy, the car comes with a bootlegger reputation.
Known from the hills to the bottomland
The car and the driver are popular, well-known in both the hills and the bottomland, i.e., everywhere around.
Late in the evening, 'bout this time of night
The driver usually hits the road at this time of night.
51 phantom gets to feelin' right.
The driver gets in the mood to drive long distances and transport the bootleg goods.
Memphis to New Orleans the 51 I ride
The driver uses the 51 to travel and transport goods between the cities of Memphis and New Orleans.
White lightnin' flash across the Mississippi sky
The driver often has to go into action mode to outpace his pursuers or the cops, and the car's speed is akin to lightning in the Mississippi sky.
It's the code of the hills like they've never been told
Driving and bootlegging have an unspoken code of conduct that the driver follows and sticks to, learned from past generations of bootleggers.
Don't look for me out where the monkey grass grows
The driver is cautious and doesn't want people to identify him or where he travels or park around the monkey grass.
On down the levy, 'round the bend
On his way, the driver navigates through dangerous turns, over the levee.
51 phantom striking again
The 51 phantom, once again, hits the road to do the work it's supposed to do.
Just for the rooster crow for day
The driver works through the night, before stopping just before daybreak.
Had me a howl down the moonshine highway
The driver has been in the bootlegging game for years, and he's learned to love and enjoy the high speed and thrill of the drive.
woooo-oooo-oooooo-wwwooooo-ooooo.
Sound effects indicating the howl that accompanies the nighttime drive.
51 phantom, the seventh son
The driver is the seventh son in a line of drivers who have used the same car for bootlegging purposes.
Memphis to New Orleans on the 51
The driver uses the car to travel between Memphis and New Orleans for bootlegging.
Til I rest my head on the coolin board
The driver won't stop until he dies or the car fails him permanently.
51 phantom on up and down the road
The 51 phantom is a fixture on the road between Memphis and New Orleans, always moving around.
woooooooooooooo-ooooooo
More howling sound effects to indicate the thrill of driving through the night on dangerous roads.
From Memphis to New Orleans on the 51
Repetition of the line indicating the car's utility and popularity for bootlegging purposes.
I'm as old as the hills, the hills we run
The driver is as old as the hills, experienced and skilled in bootlegging and driving on dangerous roads.
51 phantom creepin through your town
The 51 phantom is passing through people's towns in secrecy, as the driver is wary of informants.
Might find your woman squeak round
The driver is a chick-magnet and probably taking a few ladies along for the ride.
Got your gallop, your monkey grass
The driver is careful with his parking spots, avoiding planting himself around monkey grass, as it could give him away.
Ain't the first time, won't be the last
The driver has been in and out of many towns before, and this won't be his last time either.
Mis'sippi moonshine all up in my head
The driver is possibly buzzed from all the moonshine he's been transporting around the area.
Shotgun and boobytrap livin in my bed
The driver sleeps with a shotgun and booby-traps to keep himself safe since he knows he's making many enemies on his bootlegging runs.
Well, you won't hear me coming in the light of day
The driver is cautious not to move around during the daytime when it's easy to identify people from a distance.
But you might hear me howl down the lonesome highway
The driver might howl down a lonesome highway at night, but mostly, he's a resident ghost that nobody sees or hears in the day.
Contributed by Brayden F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.