Lefty Dizz

Photo by Marc PoKempner Dizz at the Checkerboard © Marc PoKempner

By Benjamin Newell a.k.a. Pistol Pete

Trigger warning: Profanity. Viewer discretion is advised.

My first time playing the Chicago Blues Fest was with Johnny Dollar and Lefty Dizz. I was living with Johnny Dollar at the time, and my girlfriend's friend, Pinky, was Johnny’s girlfriend and Pinky said “They’re playing Blues Fest wanna play?” And I said “Hell yea!” So, I played in their band. I don't know if I got paid or what, but it was a great time!

They were brothers, Johnny Dollar and Lefty Dizz, brothers you know and totally different, totally different! You got one West Side brother that's cool as hell, you got the other one just gangster looking and that's Lefty.  He’ll play the shit right out of that mother fucking guitar boy, keep his razor blade on him in his pocket “I'll cut your ass motherfucker don’t fuck with me!” That was Lefty, Lefty was a bad motherfucker even Jimi Hendrix talked about Lefty Dizz, you know, how Lefty was a bad motherfucker.

And you wouldn't believe how Hendrix worshiped a lot of Chicago guitar players. I couldn't believe it, Buddy Guy for example, you know, everybody loves Buddy, but Hendrix even worshipped Buddy, you know what I’m saying?

Anyways, I always called him Lefty, since I was a kid, but I didn’t really know him as a kid. And it's so weird I met Lefty before I met Johnny. I met Lefty by playing around the neighborhood, the 1815 Club and all that stuff.

I never got a chance to like, talk to him, or play with him to really learn from him. I met Lefty early in my life when I was a teen, and then I met Lefty and Johnny again when I'm like 25, 26. I'm not a teen no more, I'm a grown man. I’m still playing, and I had opportunities to jam with Johnny a lot.

When I did play with Lefty it was when he did an appearance and I was in the backup band, but nothing serious. But I never knew that he watched me like he was, and influenced how things in my life unfolded later on.

Lefty recommended me, him and Sammy Fender, recommended me to play at B.L.U.E.S. because I played with Merle Perkins. Bill and Rob said they knew I played with Merle and at first said no because I played too loud, because of Merle and they said “Oh no he's not like that he knows how to play with the band you should hire this boy.” Then they said OK let’s bring him on. After a while I also started playing at Rose’s too, yeah that's how I got my start up on the Northside.

After we left Redmond’s Show Lounge, I did Close Encounters on Rush St. and I was doing Wrigley Side like after every Cubs game, playing the Blues stuff. I got recommended for the job at Wrigley Side playing with Lefty, I remember hearing him say “He’s the man, hire him.”

But when I started playing with Lefty, he was dying of cancer, and I didn't know that at the time. He was getting sick. I remember him sitting there smiling, playing his guitar and having a great time, but he was hurting inside. He normally would be standing up playing, swinging his leg up high doing acrobatic stuff.

I got to play with Lefty two times. I think he just got really sick couldn't do it no more, so I got the job. From there I kept playing at Wrigley Side with John McDonald. John’s a real Blues purist, and we kept it going.

If it wasn't for Sammy Fender and Lefty, R.I.P., I probably wouldn't been at B.L.U.E.S and I'd like to thank those guys for getting me the gig at B.L.U.E.S.