Answer the question at the end by quoting:

William James Dixon (July 1, 1915 - January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar and was a capable singer, but he is perhaps best known as one of the most prolific songwriters of his time. Next to Muddy Waters, Dixon is recognized as the most influential person in shaping the post-World War II sound of the Chicago blues. Dixon's songs have been recorded by countless musicians in many genres as well as by various ensembles in which he participated.
Dixon left Mississippi for Chicago in 1936. A man of considerable stature, standing 6 and a half feet tall and weighing over 250 pounds, he took up boxing, at which he was successful, winning the Illinois State Golden Gloves Heavyweight Championship (Novice Division) in 1937. He became a professional boxer and worked briefly as Joe Louis's sparring partner, but after four fights he left boxing in a dispute with his manager over money.  Dixon met Leonard Caston at a boxing gym, where they would harmonize at times. Dixon performed in several vocal groups in Chicago, but it was Caston that persuaded him to pursue music seriously. Caston built him his first bass, made of a tin can and one string. Dixon's experience singing bass made the instrument familiar. He also learned to play the guitar.  In 1939, Dixon was a founding member of the Five Breezes, with Caston, Joe Bell, Gene Gilmore and Willie Hawthorne. The group blended blues, jazz, and vocal harmonies, in the mode of the Ink Spots. Dixon's progress on the upright bass came to an abrupt halt with the advent of World War II, when he refused induction into military service as a conscientious objector and was imprisoned for ten months. He refused to go to war because he would not fight for a nation in which institutionalized racism and racist laws were prevalent. After the war, he formed a group named the Four Jumps of Jive. He then reunited with Caston, forming the Big Three Trio, which went on to record for Columbia Records.

Was he a solo artist or ever part of a group?

In 1939, Dixon was a founding member of the Five Breezes, with Caston, Joe Bell, Gene Gilmore and Willie Hawthorne.

IN: Thomas Jacob "Tommy" Hilfiger (born March 24, 1951) is an American fashion designer best known for founding the lifestyle brand Tommy Hilfiger Corporation in 1985. After starting his career by co-founding a chain of record stores in upstate New York in the 1970s, he began designing preppy sportswear for his own eponymous menswear line in the 1980s. The company later expanded into women's clothing and various luxury items such as perfumes, and went public in 1992. In 1997, Hilfiger published his first book, titled All American: A Style Book, and he has written several since, including Tommy Hilfiger through Assouline in 2010.

After Tommy Hillfiger went through several iterations, in 1984 Hilfiger's first wife Susie Cirona became pregnant with their first child. Searching for more stability, Hilfiger was relieved to be offered a design position with Calvin Klein. However, after he accepted the Calvin Klein position but before he had begun working, he was approached by businessman Mohan Murjani, to pursue his goal of designing and heading a men's sportswear line. Murjani backed the necessary investment for Hilfiger to establish his own brand. Later Hilfiger oversaw the design of the Coca-Cola clothing line for Murjani.  "[Waiting to form my own eponymous line] came from a desire to create something that wasn't out there already. I was really in tune with the market--I knew what existed, and I wanted this to be different. Maybe it's the small-town boy in me, but I've always loved the prep school look, traditional Ivy League, and the clothes that sailors and jocks wear. I wanted to take these familiar old things and give them a more laid-back attitude, to make them modern and cool....[with Tommy Hilfiger Corporation in 1985], finally, I felt like I was doing work that felt natural, that felt good. The brand we were building felt so honest, so true to who I am, that it didn't feel like a struggle at all."  In 1985, he founded the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation with support from The Murjani Group. The new clothing line made its debut with a high-profile marketing campaign, for example setting up a large billboard in Times Square designed by George Lois. Hilfiger left Murjani International in 1989, with Silas Chou instead providing financial backing to the Hilfiger brand, and former executives of Ralph Lauren brought on board as executives of the newly formed company Tommy Hilfiger, Inc. The Tommy Hilfiger Corporation went public in 1992, introducing Hilfiger's signature menswear collection. Hilfiger was named Menswear Designer of the Year by the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 1995. After licensing Pepe Jeans USA in 1995, in 1996, Tommy Hilfiger Inc. began distributing women's clothing. By the end of the next year Hilfiger had opened his first store in Beverly Hills, which was followed by a store in London in 1998. Hilfiger was serving as the company's co-chairman by 1997, and that year he published his first book, titled All American: A Style Book.

what other  aspect of the article you found interesting?

OUT:
Hilfiger was serving as the company's co-chairman by 1997, and that year he published his first book, titled All American: A Style Book.