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Calvin P. Dixon

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Reverend Calvin P. Dixon (died November 4, 1946) was a Black preacher notable as one of the first Black preacher to record a sermon record.

Career

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Dixon's home base was Newport News, Virginia.[1] He appears to have started preaching in Canada before moving to Virginia and holding revivals in Georgia, Maryland, New England and North Carolina among other places.[2][3][4][5][6] Rev. Dixon had a few unfortunate run ins with the law throughout his career. Immorality charges were dismissed early in his career and in 1922, he was arrested again for being out late at night with two girls. He asserted that he was just escorting them home.[7] He was later charged for not having a muffler against ordinance and for being a public nuisance, a charge of which he was acquitted.[8][9] On January 14, 1925, Rev. Dixon recorded the first set of his sermons for Columbia in New York.[10][11] He returned on the 15th and 16th to record eight more.[12] He was billed on the label as "Black Billy Sunday", a pseudonym under which he often worked.[13] His first release was "As An Eagle Stirreth Up Her Nest" and "The Prodigal Son."[14][15] He is considered the first Black person to record and release sermons on phonograph records.[16][17] Also in 1925, he received a letter from the KKK and sent one to the original Billy Sunday.[18][19] He became affiliated with the Evangelical Christian denomination in 1926, eventually becoming a president.[20][21] In 1930 and into 1931, he broadcast church services on WGH radio from his Tabernacle.[22][23] Preceded by his wife in 1944, Rev. Dixon died on November 4, 1946, with a funeral on the 8th followed by burial in Lincoln Memorial Cemetery.[24][1]

Notes

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Dixon is not to be confused with Rev. J. Gordon McPherson, also billed as "Black Billy Sunday", who recorded for Paramount in 1931.[25]

References

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  1. ^ a b "DIXON, REV. CALVIN P." Evening Star. November 7, 1946. p. 18.
  2. ^ "BLACK BILLY SUNDAY TO HOLD SERVICES". Daily Press. December 12, 1919. p. 14.
  3. ^ "NOTED COLORED EVANGELIST TO PREACH HERE". The Morning New Bernian. February 20, 1923. p. 4.
  4. ^ ""Black Billy" Will Preach Here Today". Daily Press. October 6, 1929. p. 2.
  5. ^ ""Negro Billy Sunday" TO PREACH IN MACON". The Macon News. May 21, 1920. p. 2.
  6. ^ ""BLACK BILLY SUNDAY" WILL HOLD REVIVAL". Daily Press. October 24, 1928. p. 11.
  7. ^ ""BLACK BILLY" IS NOW UNDER ARREST". The Roanoke Times. June 7, 1922. p. 4.
  8. ^ ""BLACK BILLY SUNDAY" APPEARS IN COURT AGAIN". Daily Press. August 21, 1923. p. 2.
  9. ^ "BLACK BILLY SUNDAY ACQUITTED IN COURT". Daily Press. August 21, 1923. p. 2.
  10. ^ Martin, Lerone (2014). Preaching on Wax: The Phonograph and the Shaping of Modern African American Religion. NYU Press. pp. 62–69. ISBN 9781479890958.
  11. ^ ""Black Billy Sunday"". Daily Press. January 11, 1925. p. 2.
  12. ^ "Calvin P. Dixon". Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  13. ^ Dixon, C. (1925) As An Eagle Stirreth Up Her Nest [Recorded by Calvin P. Dixon]. Columbia 14057-D [Shellac Record] New York, United States: Columbia Phonograph Company (1925)
  14. ^ ""Black Billy Sunday" Records for Columbia". The Talking Machine World. 30 (3): 102. March 15, 1925.
  15. ^ Oliver, Paul (1984). Songsters and Saints: Vocal Traditions on Race Records. Cambridge University Press. p. 140. ISBN 9780521269421.
  16. ^ Oliver, Paul (1984). Songsters and Saints: Vocal Traditions on Race Records. Cambridge University Press. p. 140. ISBN 9780521269421.
  17. ^ Young, Alan (2012). Woke Me Up This Morning: Black Gospel Singers and the Gospel Life. University Press of Mississippi. p. 190. ISBN 9781604737325.
  18. ^ "BLACK BILLY GETS LETTER FROM KLAN". Daily Press. September 15, 1925. p. 3.
  19. ^ "BLACK BILLY SUNDAY GREETS COLLEAGUE". Daily Press. March 1, 1925. p. 2.
  20. ^ "DIXON'S CHURCH JOINS A GENERAL MOVEMENT". Daily Press. January 23, 1926. p. 9.
  21. ^ "Revival Meetings Being Held Here". The Courier-News. March 25, 1938. p. 23.
  22. ^ "NEGRO EVANGELIST TO BROADCAST HIS SERMON". Daily Press. January 15, 1930. p. 12.
  23. ^ "BLACK BILLY SUNDAY: APPEALS TO THE PEOPLE OF NEWPORT NEWS and VICINITY". Daily Press. February 22, 1931. p. 2.
  24. ^ "DIXON, KATIE MAE". Evening Star. May 31, 1944. p. 12.
  25. ^ "How Evangelist J. Gordon McPherson, Often Called the 'Black Billy Sunday,' Drew Blacks and Whites Together in 1920s Gulfport". BCNN1 - Black Christian News Network. February 28, 2022. Archived from the original on November 16, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
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