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.
Stompin' My Foot
North Mississippi Allstars Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You turn your back on me and shook it in my face
Give it to me
Remember last time
You let her hair down
Looked up to me and shook it to the ground
Give it to me
No wrong no right
No future no past
I'm Stompin my foot and you shakin your ass
(Girl do what you do
Don't shake that, don't shake that
Don't break that)
Out all night and lost your shoes
Gotta a real bad attitude
Ya got nuthin' to lose
Give it to me
You know it ain't right
You know you're wrong
Run around here all night, no panties on
Give it to me
No wrong no right
No future no past
I'm Stompin my foot, you shakin that ass
(Girl do what you do
Don't shake that, don't shake that
Don't break that)
No wrong no right
No future no past
I'm Stompin my foot, you shakin your ass
Take your time
Don't make it last
I'm stompin my foot, you shakin your ass
(Take it home
Put some meat on the bone
Lemme get my freak on, next day you're gone)
The lyrics of "Stompin' My Foot" by North Mississippi Allstars seem to revolve around a tense dynamic between the singer and a female companion. The first verse describes an encounter in which the woman turns her back on the singer and "shook it" in his face. The chorus maintains a sense of conflict and duality, with the singer stomping his foot while the woman shakes her ass. The second verse describes the woman as having a "real bad attitude" and "run[ning] around here all night, no panties on."
As a whole, the lyrics seem to depict a scene of partying and sexual tension, with an underlying feeling of aggression and frustration. Lines like "No wrong no right / No future no past" suggest that there is no clear resolution or way forward in this situation. Throughout the song, the singer seems to be both attracted and repelled by the woman's behavior, struggling to reconcile his desire with his irritation.
Overall, "Stompin' My Foot" is a vivid and visceral depiction of a particular kind of night-life scene, full of contradictions and conflicts. By presenting this scene in such a raw and unvarnished way, the song captures a certain energy and intensity that is difficult to describe but easy to recognize.
Line by Line Meaning
Last time I seen you in this place
The last time I saw you here, you turned away from me and twerked in my face
You turn your back on me and shook it in my face
You disrespected me by dancing provocatively in front of me after rejecting me
Give it to me
I demand some respect and attention from you
Remember last time
Do you recall the last time we met?
You let her hair down
You were relaxed and confident
Looked up to me and shook it to the ground
You danced seductively, trying to impress me
No wrong no right
There are no rules or boundaries
No future no past
We are living in this moment only
I'm Stompin my foot and you shakin your ass
I am trying to assert my dominance over you while you are trying to tempt me
(Girl do what you do
(Girl, continue to do what you do
Don't shake that, don't shake that
Don't stop dancing seductively
Don't break that)
Don't lose your rhythm or momentum
Out all night and lost your shoes
You have been partying all night, to the point of losing your footwear
Gotta a real bad attitude
You are feeling defiant and confrontational
Ya got nuthin' to lose
You have nothing to lose by being wild and disobedient
You know it ain't right
You are aware that your behavior is inappropriate
You know you're wrong
You are conscious that you are being disrespectful
Run around here all night, no panties on
You have been partying all night without wearing underwear
No wrong no right
There are no consequences or judgment for your actions
No future no past
We are living in the present moment without consideration for our history or potential outcomes
Take your time
There is no rush, enjoy the moment
Don't make it last
Don't hold back in your expression and enjoyment
I'm stompin my foot, you shakin your ass
I am trying to control the situation while you are trying to seduce me
(Take it home
(Let's take it to the next level
Put some meat on the bone
Let's make it a bit more intense
Lemme get my freak on, next day you're gone)
I want to indulge in wild fantasies with you now, without expectations for future commitment
Contributed by Muhammad D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
shrubhater
Definitely some of the best "New" blues that I've heard in a LONG time !
graham chandler
Second that
Ex Democrat
Luther and Cody are 2 of the best musicians around! I miss Chris Chew in NMA as well.
Rodrigo Mesa
Saw this band open and support John Hiatt on his "Master of Disaster" tour. They knocked everyone's socks off. H/T to Hiatt for putting this band out front. They are amazingly good.
Nightdog1978
Very nice guys and this was a long time ago for y'all. Cody playing keys with right hand and keeping time with his left. SON!!! Talent abounds with these guys.
becky locke
god i can't stop listening to this, it's soo amazing!
Art King
The best music has always had less followers than the mainstream garbage. ...the Allstar's are like a clear mountain stream. Support them when they come to a dive bar in you town.
Rcs52590
Fortunately as a Mississippi native I have gotten to see these guys dozens of times. They are always a party. Much love and respect to Luther, Cody, and Chew.
Paul Moser
Damn these guys are so talented...
Simon Folkard
Really,really good and groovy track!