Sunday 15 March 2020

Lightnin' Hopkins born 15 March 1912


Samuel John Hopkins, better known as Lightnin’ Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist, from Centerville, Texas. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 71 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. Hopkins was Houston's poet-in-residence for 35 years. He recorded more albums than any other bluesman.

Hopkins was born in Centerville, Texas, and as a child was immersed in the sounds of the blues. He developed a deep appreciation for this music at the age of 8, when he met Blind Lemon Jefferson at a church picnic in Buffalo, Texas. That day, Hopkins felt the blues was "in him". He went on to learn from his older distant cousin, the country blues singer Alger "Texas" Alexander. Hopkins began accompanying Jefferson on guitar at informal church gatherings. Jefferson reputedly never let anyone play with him except young Hopkins, and Hopkins learned much from Jefferson at these gatherings.

In the mid-1930s, Hopkins was sent to Houston County Prison Farm; the offense for which he was imprisoned is unknown. In the late 1930s, he moved to Houston with Alexander in an unsuccessful attempt to break into the music scene there. By the early 1940s, he was back in Centerville, working as a farm hand.

Hopkins took a second shot at Houston in 1946. While singing on Dowling Street in Houston's Third Ward (which would become his home base), he was discovered by Lola Anne Cullum of Aladdin Records, based in Los Angeles. She convinced Hopkins to travel to Los Angeles, where he accompanied the pianist Wilson Smith. The duo recorded twelve tracks in their first sessions in 1946. An Aladdin executive decided the pair needed more dynamism in their names and dubbed Hopkins "Lightnin'" and Wilson "Thunder".


                              

"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. He returned to Houston and began recording for Gold Star Records.

In the late 1940s and 1950s he rarely performed outside Texas, only occasionally travelling to the Midwest and the East for recording sessions and concert appearances. It has been estimated that he recorded between eight hundred and a thousand songs in his career. He performed regularly at nightclubs in and around Houston, particularly on Dowling Street, where he had been discovered by Aladdin. 
He recorded the hit records "T- Model Blues" and "Tim Moore's Farm" at Sugar Hill Recording Studios in Houston. 

By the mid- to late 1950s, his prodigious output of high-quality recordings had gained him a following among African Americans and blues aficionados.

Hopkins's style was born from spending many hours playing informally without a backing band. His distinctive finger style technique often included playing, in effect, bass, rhythm, lead, and percussion at the same time. He played both "alternating" and "monotonic" bass styles incorporating imaginative, often chromatic turnarounds and single-note lead lines. Tapping or slapping the 
body of his guitar added rhythmic accompaniment. Many of his songs were in the talking blues style, but he was a powerful and confident singer. Many of his songs are filled with double entendres, and he was known for his humorous introductions to songs.

In 1959, the blues researcher Mack McCormick contacted Hopkins, hoping to bring him to the attention of a broader musical audience engaged in the folk revival. McCormack presented Hopkins to integrated audiences first in Houston and then in California. He made his debut at Carnegie Hall on October 14, 1960, alongside Joan Baez and Pete Seeger, performing the spiritual "Mary Don't You Weep". In 1960, he signed with Tradition Records. The recordings which followed included his song "Mojo Hand" in 1960.

In 1968, Hopkins recorded the album Free Form Patterns, backed by the rhythm section of the psychedelic rock band 13th Floor Elevators. Through the 1960s and into the 1970s, he released one or sometimes two albums a year and toured, playing at major folk music festivals and at folk clubs and on college campuses in the U.S. and internationally. He toured extensively in the United States and played a six-city tour of Japan in 1978.He was at Carnegie Hall again, in 1979, for a four-hour Boogie 'n Blues concert and appeared for the last time in New York the following year for a three-night stand at Tramps on East 15th Street.


Hopkins died of oesophageal cancer in Houston on January 30, 1982, at the age of 69. His obituary in the New York Times described him as "one of the great country blues singers and perhaps the greatest single influence on rock guitar players."  (Edited mainly from Wikipedia)

7 comments:

boppinbob said...

For “Lightnin’ Hopkins - Thinkin’ and Worryin’
– The Aladdin Singles 1947-1952” go here:

https://pixeldrain.com/u/ZDuXkPX3

1947
1. KATIE MAE BLUES
2. THAT MEAN OLD TWISTER
3. I FEEL SO BAD
4. ROCKY MOUNTAIN BLUES
5. FAST MAIL RAMBLER
6. THINKIN' AND WORRYIN'
7. SHORT-HAIRED WOMAN
8. BIG MAMA JUMP
9. SUGAR MAMA
10. PICTURE ON THE WALL
1948
11. DOWN HOME BABY
12. LET ME PLAY WITH YOUR POODLE
1949
13. NIGHTMARE BLUES
14. WOMAN, WOMAN
15. MORNING BLUES
16. HAVE TO LET YOU GO
1950
17. BABY CHILD
18. CHANGING WEATHER BLUES
19. SHOTGUN BLUES
20. ROLLING BLUES
1951
21. HONEY HONEY BLUES
22. MOONRISE BLUES
23. MISS ME BLUES
24. ABILENE
1952
25. YOU'RE NOT GOING TO WORRY MY LIFE ANYMORE
26. DADDY WILL BE HOME ONE DAY


Lightnin' Hopkins was one of the greatest and most popular authentic blues artists. These 26 titles comprise the first 13 singles released by Lightnin' Hopkins between 1947 and 1952. They weren't his first recordings but they were the first released under his own name.Although he did record with other musicians and even with full bands it's these acoustic classics that best illustrate his art and they are some of the most endearing blues tracks ever recorded.
Includes the popular songs 'Katie Mae Blues', 'Big Mama Jump' and his biggest chart hit 'Shotgun Blues'.
A true genius of the genre this Lightnin' Hopkins release by Jasmine is a must have for blues and R&B fans.

(Jasmine notes)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For “The Very Best of Lightnin 'Hopkins (1999)” go here:

https://www.upload.ee/files/11271299/Lightnin__Hopkins_-_Very_Best.rar.html

1 - Mojo Hand
2 - Santa Fe Blues
3 - Lightnin 'Jump
4 - Short Haired Woman
5 - Coffee For Mama
6 - Rainy Day Blues
7 - Sometimes She Will
8 - Late in the Evening
9 - The Foot Race Is On
10 - Glory Be
11 - That Gambling Life
12 - Gonna Pull A Party
13 - Shotgun
14 - Shine On Moon
15 - Lightnin 'Strikes One More Time
16 - Back Door Friend
17 - Pneumonia Blues
18 - Katie Mae
19 - Let Me Play With Your Poodle
20 - West Texas Blues

Thanks to Brutus @ osbrutostambemouvem blog for original post.

boppinbob said...

A very big thanks to The Blues That Jazz for the selected discography below:

Lightnin' Hopkins - Blues Train (1951 recordings) (1991)

http://www.mediafire.com/file/8dxcsyxoakb550o/LghtnnHpkns-BT91.zip/file

Lightnin’ Hopkins – Lightnin’ And The Blues (1954 recordings) (2001)

https://yadi.sk/d/6z8QjwKc4euf8

Lightnin' Hopkins - The Roots Of Lightnin' Hopkins (1959)

https://yadi.sk/d/p-RIpsQH4efZ4

Lightnin' Hopkins ‎– Lightnin' (The Blues Of Lightnin' Hopkins) (1960)

https://yadi.sk/d/ygRSMZr5lSGk3w

Lightnin Hopkins – Autobiography In Blues (1960)

https://yadi.sk/d/Z6h33HZR4diXG

Lightnin' Hopkins - Nothing But The Blues (1962)

https://yadi.sk/d/W_V2oivsdjLHr

Lightnin’ Hopkins – Talkin’ Some Sense (1968)

https://yadi.sk/d/2KXbup6l4eYE2

Lightnin’ Hopkins – The Texas Blues Man (1969)

https://yadi.sk/d/O4nESyhv4el1U

Lightnin' Hopkins - Lightnin' (1969)

https://yadi.sk/d/GO-RiWUowWYpN

Lightnin’ Hopkins – The Great Electric Show and Dance (1970)

https://yadi.sk/d/p6LL2_qPDHcXA

Lightnin' Hopkins - Blues Is My Business (1971)

https://yadi.sk/d/fYWaS1fy4dnlE

Lightnin' Hopkins - Double Blues (1973 recordings) (1989)

http://www.mediafire.com/file/0c35ip5aw18t28c/LhnHks-DB89.zip/file

Lightnin Hopkins - Soul Blues (1991)

http://www.mediafire.com/file/zsd8ju3njxzddt6/LHk-SB91.zip/file

Lightnin' Hopkins - Sittin' In With (1992)

http://www.mediafire.com/file/aqcyc9j9rr5f43h/LhnHks-SIW92.zip/file

Lightnin' Hopkins - Texas Blues - The Blues Collection Vol.31

https://yadi.sk/d/dTZXQcGQ4dhOq

egroj.jazz said...

thanks a lot
;)

Gary Field said...

just in time to play me some Lightnin' at christmas.. thank you!

Gary Field said...

...by the way, is it possible to re-up The Aladdin singles again? The link appears to be dead.

boppinbob said...

Hello Gary, Here's a new link for The Alladin Singles

http://www.mediafire.com/file/rpicazr9srprizy/LHTAWTAS4752.rar/file

Regards, Bob

NiKT said...

So much Lightnin'! Thank you so much!