Dick Dickinson

Dick Dickinson (b. Emory, Georgia, January 2, 1928 – d. Indianapolis, December 1, 2008) – Drummer and Jazz Radio Host. Although born in the Atlanta area, Dick Dickinson grew up in Petersburg, Indiana. After serving in the U.S. Army from 1946 to 1948, he completed a music degree at Indiana University. In the early to mid 1950s, he played with the local Fred Dale Orchestra, which recorded some sides in New York for Decca Records. Around the same time, he started playing in the clubs of Indianapolis and eventually led his own groups. For twenty-two years, the Dick Dickinson Jazztet had a Wednesday night gig at the Chatterbox until he retired in April of 2008, about seven months before his death at age eighty. Dickinson was also well known as a radio host, working out of Bloomington and Indianapolis. His popular shows included “Explorations in Jazz” on WFIU (1970-72), “Just Jazz” on WIAN (1985-86), and “All That Jazz” on WIAN (1986-1990). His “Just Jazz” show was re-aired on WFYI from 1986 to 1990. In 1998, Dickinson was inducted into the Indianapolis Jazz Foundation Hall of Fame.