A once-in-a-lifetime meeting of the three Hopkins brothers in Waxahatchie, TX in 1964 produced this marvelous brace of field recordings. The oldest brother was considered the best songster in the family, and certainly his performances here are throwbacks to a more archaic style, although he's an amazingly energetic performer. Middle brother Joel is the crudest of the three, surprising since he's the one of the three who spent the most time around mentor Blind Lemon Jefferson. These are loose, conversational recordings made with a single microphone. They capture three brothers enjoying each other's company immensely. Sam Hopkins was a Texas country bluesman of the highest caliber whose career began in the 1920s and stretched all the way into the 1980s. Along the way, Hopkins watched the genre change remarkably, but he never appreciably altered his mournful Lone Star sound, which translated onto both acoustic and electric guitar. Hopkins' nimble dexterity made intricate boogie riffs seem easy, and his fascinating penchant for improvising lyrics to fit whatever situation might arise made him a beloved blues troubadour.
Hopkins' brothers John Henry and Joel were also talented bluesmen, but it was Sam who became a star. In 1920, he met the legendary Blind Lemon Jefferson at a social function, and even got a chance to play with him. Later, Hopkins served as Jefferson's guide. In his teens, Hopkins began working with another pre-war great, singer Texas Alexander, who was his cousin. A mid-'30s stretch in Houston's County Prison Farm for the young guitarist interrupted their partnership for a time, but when he was freed, Hopkins hooked back up with the older bluesman.
The pair was dishing out their lowdown brand of blues in Houston's Third Ward in 1946 when talent scout Lola Anne Cullum came across them. She had already engineered a pact with Los Angeles-based Aladdin Records for another of her charges, pianist Amos Milburn, and Cullum saw the same sort of opportunity within Hopkins' dusty country blues. Alexander wasn't part of the deal; instead, Cullum paired Hopkins with pianist Wilson "Thunder" Smith, sensibly re-christened the guitarist "Lightnin'," and presto! Hopkins was very soon an Aladdin recording artist.
"Katie May," cut on November 9, 1946, in L.A. with Smith lending a hand on the 88s, was Lightnin' Hopkins' first regional seller of note. He recorded prolifically for Aladdin in both L.A. and Houston into 1948, scoring a national R&B hit for the firm with his "Shotgun Blues." "Short Haired Woman," "Abilene," and "Big Mama Jump," among many Aladdin gems, were evocative Texas blues rooted in an earlier era.
A load of other labels recorded the wily Hopkins after that, both in a solo context and with a small rhythm section: Modern/RPM (his uncompromising "Tim Moore's Farm" was an R&B hit in 1949); Gold Star (where he hit with "T-Model Blues" that same year); Sittin' in With ("Give Me Central 209" and "Coffee Blues" were national chart entries in 1952) and its Jax subsidiary; the major labels Mercury and Decca; and, in 1954, a remarkable batch of sides for Herald where Hopkins played blistering electric guitar on a series of blasting rockers ("Lightnin's Boogie," "Lightnin's Special," and the amazing "Hopkins' Sky Hop") in front of drummer Ben Turner and bassist Donald Cooks (who must have had bleeding fingers, so torrid were some of the tempos).
But Hopkins' style was apparently too rustic and old-fashioned for the new generation of rock & roll enthusiasts (they should have checked out "Hopkins' Sky Hop"). He was back on the Houston scene by 1959, largely forgotten. Fortunately, folklorist Mack McCormick rediscovered the guitarist, who was dusted off and presented as a folk-blues artist; a role that Hopkins was born to play. Pioneering musicologist Sam Charters produced Hopkins in a solo context for Folkways Records that same year, cutting an entire LP in Hopkins' tiny apartment (on a borrowed guitar). The results helped introduced his music to an entirely new audience.
Lightnin' Hopkins went from gigging at back-alley gin joints to starring at collegiate coffeehouses, appearing on TV programs, and touring Europe to boot. His once-flagging recording career went right through the roof, with albums for World Pacific; Vee-Jay; Bluesville; Bobby Robinson's Fire label (where he cut his classic "Mojo Hand" in 1960); Candid; Arhoolie; Prestige; Verve; and, in 1965, the first of several LPs for Stan Lewis' Shreveport-based Jewel logo.
Hopkins generally demanded full payment before he'd deign to sit down and record, and seldom indulged a producer's desire for more than one take of any song. His singular sense of country time befuddled more than a few unseasoned musicians; from the 1960s on, his solo work is usually preferable to band-backed material.
Filmmaker Les Blank captured the Texas troubadour's informal lifestyle most vividly in his acclaimed 1967 documentary, "The Blues Accordin' to Lightnin' Hopkins". As one of the last great country bluesmen, Hopkins was a fascinating figure who bridged the gap between rural and urban styles. - AMG
Tracklist:
1. See About My Brother John Henry
2. Hot Blooded Woman
3. Black Hannah
4. I Want To Go Fishing
5. Doin' Little Heiffer
6. Hey, Baby Hey
7. Saddle Up My Grey Mare
8. Tell Me, Tell Me
9. Little Girl
10. I Got A Brother in Waxahachie
11. Matchbox Blues
12. Home With Mama
13. Come Down To My House
14. Grosebeck Blues
15. The Dice Game
16. I Walked From Dallas
17. Two Brothers Playing (Going Back To Baden-Baden)
The Hopkins Brothers - Joel, Lightning & John Henry (1964)
(320 kbps, cover art included)
12 Kommentare:
Wha a great blues album! Thank you for sharing :)
Thanks for this great post. I lived in Dallas in north Texas for ten years and had an opportunity to travel around the state, which is really the size of a small country. As a native New Englander who grew up accustomed to the ocean breeze rolling inland on warm Summer nights and cooling off the humid, muggy (or as we would say in Boston, wicked muggy) evenings, I missed the ocean greatly in Texas so on Summer weekends my family and I would pack up the car, leave no later than 7 a.m., and drive two hundred and fifty miles to Galveston, passing through Houston. We would spend ten or eleven hours at the beach, enjoy Gulf seafood, and return home, usually arriving at one or two in the morning. Texas is incredibly diverse and many people don’t realize that east Texas is incredibly wooded and the home of a large lumber industry and the areas that border the Gulf are often scenically beautiful seashore although it was initially disconcerting while lying in the sun on the beach or swimming to see the beauty of flying fish contrast with the spectral oil derricks, reminiscent of giant wicker men off shore. For the first view visits, it was also strange to wade into the Gulf as if one were still back home, running cautiously to lessen the shock of, and mentally bracing oneself for, the always cold north Atlantic water only to discover each time that the water was bathtub-warm.
Further inland, especially from Houston eastward, pine trees grew abundantly and reminded me of central Maine or eastern Canada except the land was much flatter and had red clay soil. Many people are unaware that east Texas is home to a large lumber industry and bears no resemblance to the Texas depicted in many westerns. More importantly, Houston and east Texas were much more southern than western culturally which explains to some extent why so many great bluesmen and blueswomen came from there. Traveling near Houston and eastward allowed me to better understand the culture in which Hopkins and others lived, and learned and practiced their craft. The vastness and varied topography of Texas also allowed me to better understand why so many music styles blossomed there; for example, the Tejano music of south Texas with its borrowing of the accordion from German and Czech music, the Cajun and zydeco of Cajun and Creole descendants of Orange triangle area near Louisiana, the blues of central and east Texas, and the country and western swing of west Texas. Of course, the music styles and genres are not solely confined to specific regions and often influence one another. Then there is Austin in which all styles come together to make a great and eclectic music scene.
Living on the east coast again, I find that what I miss most about Texas is the music and diversity of cultures. What I didn’t miss were the attitudes about race that many still held although there has been some progress. Many of my African-American friends attended segregated schools and did not interact on a daily basis with whites until they entered the workplace. Moreover, my workplace was unusual because it was the federal government and was considerably more diverse than the private sector there. Still, the first black director wasn’t appointed to my district until the mid-1990s (prior his appointment, there were no black executives in my district) and, upon his assuming office, his assistant retired after a few months because, as he often expressed, he didn’t want to work for “that boy.” I also was living in Dallas when the first African-American mayor was elected. I mention race because it clearly shaped the blues music of Texas and many of my African-American friends were astounded that I listened to, knew about, and avidly bought the music of blues and soul musicians. One can’t understand, for example, the music of Johnny Winters or Stevie Ray Vaughn unless one understands how unusual it was for white boys of their time to admire and want to emulate black musicians. More importantly, I think one can’t truly understand the world in which the Hopkins brothers, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Willie Johnson, and other black blues musicians lived and played unless one understands the strict racial boundaries of the culture in which they lived. The rigid parameters of their lives were shaped by white supremacy. Even in the 1990, the Confederate battle flag still flew in more than a few places in east Texas.
Another factor underlying the music was that Texas was very much a part of the Bible Belt, especially in east Texas. Blues musicians may have opted to play the “devil’s music” but they were often raised in deeply religious, if not evangelical, homes. The church was still an integral part of my friends’ spiritual and social lives. The first week I reported to work, I was frequently asked what church I attended, and when I replied, “None”, I received astonished and incredulous stares. I left Texas in 1998 so I write of my experiences then with the understanding that many things may have changed since I left although my friends there tell me they haven’t.
When people ask me what it was like to live in Texas, I tell them that Texas has never forgotten that it was once an independent republic and the closest comparison I can offer them is that Texas is to the United States as Québec is to Canada. The influx of northerners, especially from the Midwest, to Texas has brought about change but I think my description is still apt in many ways. More to the point, I have read many books about the blues, including Texas blues, but the best book I have found concerning Texas blues and, more specific to my comments, the experience of being a blues musician in Texas is Mance Lipscomb’s autobiography I Say Me for a Parable: The Oral Autobiography of Mance Lipscomb. In addition, Lipscomb and Hopkins are featured on the compact disc “Masters of the Country Blues - Mance Lipscomb and Lightnin' Hopkins.” Both are still readily available as is Les Blank's film about Lipscomb. Lipscomb’s autobiography also makes clear that many blues musicians were actually songsters with diverse repertoires who were restricted to only blues when recording because the race record industry demanded it. Regardless of the imposition of restrictions on their repertoire, there is nothing limited about the music that the Hopkins brothers played. The ironic conundrum of artists innovating and creating great art in oppressive societies will always be an unsolved mystery for me.
That’s enough rambling for one day. Again, many thanks for posting the brothers playing together. As usual, your posts provoke reflection in addition to providing great musical experiences.
As a clarification, I'll add that it would be wrong for anyone to assume that people in Texas are more racist than people in other parts of the United States. What was distinct about the racism there and in other parts of the South was that it was both de facto and de jure, codified in law during the Jim Crow era, and often expressed more overtly and violently. There is an institutional and economic legacy from slavery and Jim Crow in the South that translated into a more public and, if you will, official, racism than other parts of the country. Equally important, the measures taken to enforce social and legal restrictions on race were often more violent and extrajudicial.
Outside of major cities. the number of African-American citizens was considerably smaller than in the North and was not perceived to be as significant a challenge to white supremacy or de facto segregation as it was in the South. As is so evident today in our news and despite some progress in the last fifty years, this country still has not overcome its racial and racist history W.E.B. DuBois perceived the color line as the most critical issue of the twentieth century for this country. Notwithstanding the election of Barack Obama, DuBois' perception is still poignantly and painfully relevant which means that, even if the music were not as great as it is, the blues and its practitioners and the mirror they offer in which we can view ourselves as a society are also still relevant.
Thanks a lot for these very interesting comments! Greetings!
Please, could you re-up this one? Many thanks
Now there´s a working link. Best wishes!
Dear Sir... fine piece of history... a restore here?
Blessings...
Now there´s a fresh link...
You are welcome!
Un grand merci pour ce joli moment musical!
Amicales salutations de Suisse - Nenest
Thanks a lot for your feedback. All the best!
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