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.
No Mo
North Mississippi Allstars Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
cause it ain't the same no mo
It ain't the same no mo
No it ain't the same)
Back in the day, we were the kids in trouble, home-sliced, school skipping
Me and my brother, breakdancin' duels, dirt clod fightin' fools
Like two dogs scrappin' over the bone, we were fightin' over the telephone
Used to climbs the walls, juiced up on kool-aid, caffiene
Running wild, and pumpin' through our veins
It just ain't the same, it just ain't the same
It ain't like it used to be
It ain't like it used to be around here no mo'
If I didn't have my memories
I'd be so broke down po'
It ain't like it used to be around here no mo'
(It aint the same no mo
Cause it ain't the same no mo
It ain't the same no mo
No it ain't the same)
Once upon a one, two, three
Music was a mystery
When I was young it fascinated me
I didn't know how to play back in the day
Headphones, had my Silvertone
Tuned to open E
Reel-to-reel rollin'
Hey Bo Diddley flowing
This is all I ever wanted to do
Now here I am, 32, I got it goin' on
Gonna continue, got it good, knock on wood
I can't complain, but thinkin' back on the old days
It just ain't the same, it just ain't the same
It ain't like it used to be
It ain't like it used to be
It ain't like it used to be around here no mo, no mo
(It aint the same no mo
Cause it ain't the same no mo
It ain't the same no mo
No it ain't the same)
Big city used to be a forest long gone
Progress went wrong
Should've let it alone, blood bath, buffalo bones
America is bloody, the white man was wrong
America is bloody, the white man was wrong
Indian, African, man, it ain't nothin' but some skin
The Mississippi delta was a jungle before the white man came
It just ain't the same
It ain't like it used to be
It ain't like it used to be
It ain't like it used to be around here no mo'
(It aint the same no mo
Cause it ain't the same no mo
It ain't the same no mo
No it ain't the same)
The North Mississippi Allstars' song "No Mo" captures a sense of nostalgia for times past, both personally and collectively. The lyrics lament the passing of a simpler time, where the singer and his brother were carefree trouble-makers, and music was a mysterious enchantment. Through the vivid imagery of "breakdancin' duels" and "dirt clod fightin' fools", the song paints a picture of a wild youth, characterized by high energy and unbridled enthusiasm. However, as time has passed, and the singer has grown older, things just ain't the same no mo'. The joy and intensity of youth has faded, replaced with memories that are both bittersweet and poignant.
The chorus of the song emphasizes this sense of loss and longing, repeating the refrain "It ain't the same no mo" several times. This line gives the song its title, and serves as a reminder that things inevitably change over time, and we can never return to the past. Despite the melancholic tone of the lyrics, the song ends on a hopeful note, with the singer reflecting on his current happiness and success. Although he cannot go back to the way things were, he can appreciate the present and look forward to the future.
Line by Line Meaning
It aint the same no mo
Things have changed and it's not like it used to be.
cause it ain't the same no mo
Things have changed and they're not the way they used to be.
It ain't the same no mo
Things have changed and it's not like it used to be.
No it ain't the same
Things have changed and they're not the way they used to be.
Back in the day, we were the kids in trouble, home-sliced, school skipping
In the past, the singer and his brother were troublemakers, skipping school and causing mischief.
Me and my brother, breakdancin' duels, dirt clod fightin' fools
The singer and his brother had fun engaging in breakdance battles and throwing dirt clods at each other.
Like two dogs scrappin' over the bone, we were fightin' over the telephone
They fought over the phone like animals fighting over a bone.
Now we don't take calls...
Nowadays, they don't take phone calls like they used to.
Used to climbs the walls, juiced up on kool-aid, caffiene
They used to be full of energy, climbing walls and hyped up on kool-aid and caffeine.
Running wild, and pumpin' through our veins
They used to run wild and have energy coursing through their veins.
It just ain't the same, it just ain't the same
Things have changed and it's not the way it used to be.
It ain't like it used to be
Things have changed and it's not the way it used to be.
It ain't like it used to be around here no mo'
Things have changed and it's not like what it used to be in this area.
If I didn't have my memories
The singer relies on his memories to remember the way things used to be.
I'd be so broke down po'
He would feel emotionally broken down if he didn't have his memories.
Once upon a one, two, three
Referring to a time in the past when things were simpler.
Music was a mystery
Music was something that intrigued the singer when he was younger.
When I was young it fascinated me
The singer was fascinated by music when he was younger.
I didn't know how to play back in the day
The singer didn't know how to play music in the past.
Headphones, had my Silvertone
The singer listened to music with headphones on his Silvertone stereo.
Tuned to open E
The Silvertone was tuned to the open E chord.
Reel-to-reel rollin'
A reference to listening to music on a reel-to-reel tape recorder.
Hey Bo Diddley flowing
Listening to Bo Diddley's music on the tape recorder.
This is all I ever wanted to do
Playing music is what the singer always wanted to do.
Now here I am, 32, I got it goin' on
The singer is now 32 years old and has become successful in playing music.
Gonna continue, got it good, knock on wood
The singer plans to continue playing music and hopes for continued success.
I can't complain, but thinkin' back on the old days
The singer feels content with where he is now but still reflects on how things used to be.
Big city used to be a forest long gone
Referring to how the area used to be wilderness and has now become a big city.
Progress went wrong
The process of developing the area has led to negative consequences.
Should've let it alone, blood bath, buffalo bones
The development has caused destruction and death, similar to the killing of buffalo by the white man.
America is bloody, the white man was wromg
The history of America is violent, and much of the violence was caused by the actions of white people.
Indian, African, man, it ain't nothin' but some skin
The singer believes that race is just skin color and that everyone is equal.
The Mississippi delta was a jungle before the white man came
The Mississippi Delta used to be a wild and untamed area before being developed by white people.
Contributed by Riley C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.