Jinx Dawson

Jinx Dawson
Birth name	Esther Jinx Dawson
Born	Template:Br separated entries
Died	Template:Br separated entries
Genres	Hard Rock
Instruments	Vocalist
Associated acts	Coven (band)

Jinx Dawson, originally Esther Jinx Dawson, was born in Indianapolis on January 13, 1950. She started the band Coven, which is credited as being the first band to mix the occult and rock. She is often called the mother/creator of metal. She started the band as a teenager with the bassist Greg "Oz" Osborne and drummer Steve Ross in the mid-1960s. She has performed with artists like Alice Cooper, MC5, and the Yardbirds.

Early Life

She was a twin, but her sibling died in the womb. The doctor who delivered her was named Jinxs, which is why her mother named her Jinx.

Dawson's parents were a Left Hand Path family who would hold secret ceremonies. She also grew up around a staff of maids and cooks who practiced Hoodoo. She was raised to keep her spirituality a secret, which she deeply resented. Her family owned Dawson’s Lumber Company, which was a prominent business in Indianapolis. Her family can be traced back to the Mayflower Compact.

At age 13, her family named her Magus High Priestess of their coven.

Music Career

Influences

Growing up, she mostly listened to Opera, Classical music, and Blues. She didn't know that many rock bands when she first started Coven, so her producers gave her acid and had her listen to rock musicians.

Opera

Dawson was awarded a scholarship to study opera at age 10 at Butler University. She honed her singing and piano talent at the school. She won many state opera competitions singing "Love is Where You Find It." She first started playing in bands while in college. While studying Opera she became interested in rock music.

Cover Band

After graduating, Dawson went on to play in the band Them and renamed the band Him, Her, and Them. This is where Dawson's local celebrity began, and she started to get booked for many gigs.

Coven

As Dawson started to gain popularity, she wanted to make her own music, not just performing covers. Dawson met Osborne and Ross while playing at local Indianapolis rock clubs. They teamed up to create Coven in 1967. They were on hiatus from 1975-2007.

Personal Life

Due to her use of the occult in her music and vocalness of having been raised in the Left Hand Path, Dawson was taken out of her family's wills. They were also disappointed in her for not having any offspring, thus ending the line of great female Mages.

During Coven's hiatus, Dawson's father was diagnosed with liver cancer, and despite wanting to reunite the band, she had to take care of him. She moved back to Indianapolis from LA for 10 years to take care of him. When he died, she had to wait another 5 years due to problems with his estate. Which she ultimately lost and was auctioned off by the sheriff's department.

In 2008, Dawson suffered a heart attack and was pronounced dead for 20 minutes. She says this close call has reinvigorated her.

Controversy

Manson and Witchcraft

When Charles Manson was spotted in LA holding her album Witchcraft, Dawson and Coven were falsely linked to the Manson Family, despite never having met him or supported him. This photo caused most of their shows to be canceled, many records to be returned, and for them to be dropped by their label. This led to the band hiatus in 1976.

Sign of the Horns

Dawson learned this gesture from her family. She then used the gesture on her album cover and while performing on stage. In 2017 Gene Simmons took credit for the symbol and tried to trademark it, stating he introduced it to the rock world. In response, she posted on Facebook that she would sue him if he did so, and that her use of it predates his. She also said that she never wanted to trademark it, for she wants the symbol to be free to use by all. Simmons never followed through with his claim.

References

This page has been copied from EverybodyWiki/Jinx Dawson licence CC-BY-SA