Jim Dickinson, the famed pianist, producer, and a central figure in the Memphis music world, died last Saturday, August 15, at the age of 67, due to complications from earlier heart surgery.

Over the years, Dickinson was a contributor to a number of seminal albums in rock history, including Aretha Franklin's Spirit in the Dark (1970), as part of Atlantic Records' house band the Dixie Flyers; the Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers (1971), playing piano on "Wild Horses" when the band's pianist, Ian Stewart, walked out of the studio; Bob Dylan's Time Out of Mind (1997); and, not least, as a producer or performer on nearly a dozen records with Ry Cooder, beginning with 1971's Into the Purple Valley (just a year before Dickinson released his own solo debut, Dixie Fried), and including Boomer's Story, Long Riders, Slide Area, Alamo Bay, Blue City, Crossroads, and the unforgettable score to Wim Wenders's 1984 film Paris, Texas. He also produced records for a diverse array of artists, including, notably, Big Star and the Replacements.

In 2005, Dickinson joined Cooder, Buckwheat Zydeco, and others in performing the George Perkins tune "Cryin' in the Streets" for the Nonesuch release Our New Orleans. The album was recorded shortly after Hurricane Katrina hit the Crescent City, with proceeds going to support Habitat for Humanity's efforts to aid those affected by the storm. You can hear the track now on Nonesuch Radio.

"[R]ock and roll has lost one of its great cult heroes and Memphis has lost a musical icon," writes Bob Mehr of the Commercial Appeal, the hometown paper of the town to which he was so closely linked, in a thoughtful remembrance of Dickinson's life and career. Read more at commercialappeal.com.