Carl Dixon

Carleton Anthony "Carl" Dixon is a Canadian rock singer, keyboardist and guitarist. He has been a member of the bands Coney Hatch,[1][2] April Wine and The Guess Who.[3]

Early life and education

Dixon was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and grew up listening to rock music in the 1970s. He graduated from Barrie North Collegiate Institute in 1977.

Career

Dixon moved to Montreal in 1979 to perform with a band called Firefly. In 1981, Dixon left Firefly, moving to Toronto, where he answered an ad from the band Coney Hatch, becoming their lead singer.[4] While with Coney Hatch, he wrote and co-wrote many of their hits, such as "Hey Operator" and "Devil's Deck". He spent most of the 1980s and 1990s touring with Coney Hatch, April Wine,[5] and doing solo projects.

Throughout his career Dixon also toured with heavy metal icons such as Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Triumph, Ted Nugent, Accept and Krokus. Carl also signed a staff songwriting deal with Rondor Music in New York in 1990. Among many songs, Carl wrote the song "Taste of Love" with Brett Walker for Jimi Jamison. That version was featured on an episode of Baywatch. Episode titled Life Guards Can't Jump. In 1989, his demo song Fool's Paradise was heard in the 1989 horror film Freakshow. His music was also featured in Heaven Before I Die, a feature film with Omar Sharif. "Feel the Feeling Again" written by Dixon was featured on an episode of television series Degrassi High.

In 1997, Dixon was invited to join The Guess Who as lead singer; he performed and recorded with the band until the spring of 2000, then again from early 2004 until he was sustained serious injuries in a car accident in Australia in April 2008.[6] He remained hospitalised for five months.[3] He was replaced in the Guess Who by Derek Sharp. Carl made a guest appearance back with The Guess Who as lead singer for two shows in January 2016 in West Palm Beach FL [7] and Albuquerque NM.

His youngest daughter Lauren Dixon is best known for her role as Stevie Lake #2 on The Saddle Club.[8] Carl Dixon wrote the song "Just Because" for The Saddle Club Season 3 CD "Best Friends".

Twenty eight years after the release of their last album Coney Hatch regrouped,[9] keeping a promise made to Carl while he was in his coma: that if he survived they'd release a new album. Coney Hatch Four was released by European label Frontiers Records. It was voted into the top 50 rock albums of 2013 by UK music media but received little airplay in Canada.

Dixon wrote an autobiography about being a singer and musician during the height of Canadian rock, and about redefining his life after the car accident. His book, Strange Way To Live, was published in January 2015 by Dundurn Press. and received favourable reviews including CBC [10][11]

Despite ongoing injuries and effects of severe head trauma, Dixon continues to perform as a musician and singer, and to make appearances as an inspirational speaker and entertainer. He is signed to ole music rights management company of Toronto and The National Speakers Bureau, Canada.

Personal

Dixon is married to Australian television producer and journalist, Helen C. Parker. They met in Canada through mutual friends. He has two adult daughters, three adult step children.

References

  1. ↑ "Coney Hatch". Canadian Pop Encyclopedia. Jam! Canoe.ca. 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  2. ↑ "Coney Hatch". Colin Larkin (1995). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Guinness Pub. p. 913. ISBN 978-1-56159-176-3.
  3. 1 2 "Canadian singer Carl Dixon fighting for life in Melbourne". Herald Sun. April 16, 2008. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  4. ↑ Eddie Trunk (24 September 2013). Eddie Trunk's Essential Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. Abrams. pp. 608–. ISBN 978-1-61312-553-3.
  5. ↑ "CANOE - JAM! Music - Pop Encyclopedia". Jam.canoe.ca. Retrieved 2008-07-26.
  6. ↑ "Saddle Club star's dad critical after crash - World". The Age. April 16, 2008.
  7. ↑ "Guess Who lead singer loses glass eye to rough surf ". Orlando Sentinel, Stephen Hudak, December 18, 2015/
  8. ↑ "The Saddle Club Interview". Girl.
  9. ↑ Keith Sharp (14 April 2014). Music Express: The Rise, Fall & Resurrection of Canada's Music Magazine. Dundurn. pp. 81–. ISBN 978-1-4597-2196-8.
  10. ↑ "Strange Way to Live: A Story of Rock 'N' Roll Resurrection".
  11. ↑ "Carl Dixon's Strange Way to Live: 5 totally random facts".
  • The Guess Who website
  • CanadianBands.com entry
  • CanadianBands.com entry - Coney Hatch
  • Personal website
  • Carl Dixon - National Speakers Bureau
  • "Strange Way to Live". Dundurn.
Preceded by
Terry Hatty		 Lead singer in The Guess Who Succeeded by
Derek Sharp
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