Sam Hopkins was born on March 15, 1912 in Centerville, Texas. In 1920, at the age of eight, Hopkins met and played with the legendary Blind Lemon Jefferson, even becoming Jefferson’s guide for a short time. Hopkins’ cousin, the great bluesman, Texas Alexander, was another influence. Their musical partnership was broken up by Hopkins’ time in Houston’s County Prison Farm during the 1930s.
When Hopkins made his way to Houston’s Third Ward in 1946 he was introduced to Lola Anne Cullum, a talent scout who had pieced together deals with companies such as Aladdin Records out of Los Angeles. She paired up Hopkins with a piano player by the name of Wilson “Thunder” Smith and came up with the name “Lightnin’” as an obvious match. It stuck.
Hopkins had no little success with a release named “Katie May,” cut on November 9, 1946. After that came a series of releases on the Aladdin label - “Shotgun Blues,” “Short Haired Woman,” “Abilene” and “Big Mama Jump.” The blues floodgate had opened. What followed was more than thirty years of albums on everything from small, obscure labels to big ones. The list includes Modern/RPM, Gold Star, Mercury, Jax, Decca, Astan, and Herald. During this period he cut some of the most ferocious blues guitar mixed with what he called “air songs,” meaning those where he’d just pull the lyrics right out of the air on the spot.
Hopkins’ career faded until a folklorist by the name of Mack McCormick rediscovered him and presented him under the growing label of “folk artist.” It made no difference to Lightnin’ what they called him, he played as he always had. In 1959 he worked with Sam Charters on Folkway Records to record a groundbreaking solo album in Hopkins’ apartment on a borrowed guitar. Again, Hopkins’ career was off and running “like a turkey through the corn.”
More albums than can be counted followed, including those on labels such as Candid, Arhoolie, Prestige, Verve, Jewel, World Pacific, Bluesville, Fire and Vee-Jay. For an upfront fee, the whiskey- or gin-flavored albums were often recorded by tiny, obscure one-person labels. Since Hopkins had the gift of the air song, he had no shortage of material. The songs would range from intense, deep-tissue blues to some of the more surrealistic ever recorded as he reached for rhymes.
An apocryphal story of Hopkins as a performer involved Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top. Supposedly, Gibbons heard Hopkins play at a coffeehouse and muttered, “He doesn’t even know when to change chords.” Hopkins was standing behind Gibbons and leaned forward, surprising the teenager with “Lightnin’ change when Lightnin’ want to.”
Indeed, Hopkins had a bag of licks and patterns that fit largely into two divisions — slow E and Fast E - with an occasional venture into A. His rhythm and the chord changes went with his feelings at that moment in time and, as such, made it difficult for other musicians to follow. With a few exceptions, his recordings with hired bands later in his life become hopelessly entangled - to quote a Hopkins song - “like a ball of twine.”
Hopkins didn’t do much of in the way of recording after 1974. He died in Houston on January 30, 1982.
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BVLP 1019 Lightnin' Hopkins - Lightnin'
Lightnin' Hopkins (g, vo) Leonard Gaskin (b) Belton Evans (d)
Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, November 9, 1960
Recorded for Prestige's Bluesville subsidiary in 1960 and reissued on CD for Fantasy's Original Blues Classics (OBC) series in 1990, Lightnin' is among the rewarding acoustic dates Lightnin' Hopkins delivered in the early '60s. The session has an informal, relaxed quality, and this approach serves a 48-year-old Hopkins impressively well on both originals like "Thinkin' 'Bout an Old Friend" and the familiar "Katie Mae" and enjoyable interpretations of Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee's "Back to New Orleans" and Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's "Mean Old Frisco." Hopkins' only accompaniment consists of bassist Leonard Gaskin and drummer Belton Evans, both of whom play in an understated fashion and do their part to make this intimate setting successful. From the remorseful "Come Back Baby" to more lighthearted, fun numbers like "You Better Watch Yourself" and "Automobile Blues," Lightnin' is a lot like being in a small club with Hopkins as he shares his experiences, insights and humor with you. - Alex Henderson/AMG
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BVLP 1029 Lightnin' Hopkins With Sonny Terry - Last Night Blues
Sonny Terry (hca) Lightnin' Hopkins (g, vo) Leonard Gaskin (b) Belton Evans (d)
Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, October 26, 1960
Outside of Blind Lemon Jefferson, Lightnin' Hopkins may be Texas's most distinctive and influential blues export. His easy, fluid fingerpicking and witty, extemporaneous storytelling are always a delight, and his performances on LAST NIGHT BLUES are no exception. The album is spare and acoustic, with Hopkins's voice and guitar accompanied by minimal percussion and Sonny Terry's harmonica.
Terry's contributions really add a lot to these tunes, threading a high, lonesome whine on the downtempo tunes and a chugging, propulsive shuffle on the faster ones. Hopkins is, of course, one of the kings of the blues boogie, but he's equally compelling on the slow blues, and he never missteps throughout this fine set. All told, this dynamite disc represents what the blues should be: stripped-down, soulful, and full of truth. - Rovi/AMG
When Hopkins made his way to Houston’s Third Ward in 1946 he was introduced to Lola Anne Cullum, a talent scout who had pieced together deals with companies such as Aladdin Records out of Los Angeles. She paired up Hopkins with a piano player by the name of Wilson “Thunder” Smith and came up with the name “Lightnin’” as an obvious match. It stuck.
Hopkins’ career faded until a folklorist by the name of Mack McCormick rediscovered him and presented him under the growing label of “folk artist.” It made no difference to Lightnin’ what they called him, he played as he always had. In 1959 he worked with Sam Charters on Folkway Records to record a groundbreaking solo album in Hopkins’ apartment on a borrowed guitar. Again, Hopkins’ career was off and running “like a turkey through the corn.”
More albums than can be counted followed, including those on labels such as Candid, Arhoolie, Prestige, Verve, Jewel, World Pacific, Bluesville, Fire and Vee-Jay. For an upfront fee, the whiskey- or gin-flavored albums were often recorded by tiny, obscure one-person labels. Since Hopkins had the gift of the air song, he had no shortage of material. The songs would range from intense, deep-tissue blues to some of the more surrealistic ever recorded as he reached for rhymes.
An apocryphal story of Hopkins as a performer involved Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top. Supposedly, Gibbons heard Hopkins play at a coffeehouse and muttered, “He doesn’t even know when to change chords.” Hopkins was standing behind Gibbons and leaned forward, surprising the teenager with “Lightnin’ change when Lightnin’ want to.”
Indeed, Hopkins had a bag of licks and patterns that fit largely into two divisions — slow E and Fast E - with an occasional venture into A. His rhythm and the chord changes went with his feelings at that moment in time and, as such, made it difficult for other musicians to follow. With a few exceptions, his recordings with hired bands later in his life become hopelessly entangled - to quote a Hopkins song - “like a ball of twine.”
Hopkins didn’t do much of in the way of recording after 1974. He died in Houston on January 30, 1982.
_______________________________________________________________________
Lightnin' Hopkins (g, vo) Leonard Gaskin (b) Belton Evans (d)
Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, November 9, 1960
Recorded for Prestige's Bluesville subsidiary in 1960 and reissued on CD for Fantasy's Original Blues Classics (OBC) series in 1990, Lightnin' is among the rewarding acoustic dates Lightnin' Hopkins delivered in the early '60s. The session has an informal, relaxed quality, and this approach serves a 48-year-old Hopkins impressively well on both originals like "Thinkin' 'Bout an Old Friend" and the familiar "Katie Mae" and enjoyable interpretations of Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee's "Back to New Orleans" and Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's "Mean Old Frisco." Hopkins' only accompaniment consists of bassist Leonard Gaskin and drummer Belton Evans, both of whom play in an understated fashion and do their part to make this intimate setting successful. From the remorseful "Come Back Baby" to more lighthearted, fun numbers like "You Better Watch Yourself" and "Automobile Blues," Lightnin' is a lot like being in a small club with Hopkins as he shares his experiences, insights and humor with you. - Alex Henderson/AMG
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BVLP 1029 Lightnin' Hopkins With Sonny Terry - Last Night BluesSonny Terry (hca) Lightnin' Hopkins (g, vo) Leonard Gaskin (b) Belton Evans (d)
Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, October 26, 1960
Outside of Blind Lemon Jefferson, Lightnin' Hopkins may be Texas's most distinctive and influential blues export. His easy, fluid fingerpicking and witty, extemporaneous storytelling are always a delight, and his performances on LAST NIGHT BLUES are no exception. The album is spare and acoustic, with Hopkins's voice and guitar accompanied by minimal percussion and Sonny Terry's harmonica.
