In a career that took him from the cotton fields of East Texas to the concert stage at Carnegie Hall and beyond, Lightnin' Hopkins became one of America's greatest bluesmen. Excerpted from Mojo Hand: The Life and Music of Lightnin' Hopkins by Timothy J. O'Brien and David A. Ensminger (footnotes omitted). (Copyright � 2013) Appears by the permission of the University of Texas Press. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or printed without permission in writing from the publisher. For more information visit www.utexaspress.com. ONE East Texas Cotton Picking Blues The blues is born with you. When [...]
Première partie : http://www.lechoix.fr/blues/le s-indispensables-blues-premier e-partie/ Je vous avais parlé dans la première partie de cette série de 21 artistes de blues des années 20, 30 et 40, que l'on résume parfois comme le blues d'avant-guerre. Une brochette de bluesmen (et women) qui sont les pionniers du blues et des références inévitables pour des générations entières de musiciens. Je m'intéresse maintenant aux musiciens qui ont marqué les années 50 et 60, influencés par ceux et celles de mon article précédent, et je vous vois venir tout de suite, puristes [...]
mp3: Lightnin' Hopkins - Uncle Stan, The Hip Hit Record Man The Uncle Stan referred to in this unusual song title is Stan Lewis. Lewis started his business life with a few jukeboxes in Shreveport, Louisiana. He then opened a record store, moved into producing records, including Dale Hawkins' Susie Q, and founded the record labels Jewel, Paula and Ronn. Lightnin' Hopkins got on well with Lewis and made many recordings with him. Uncle Stan, The Hip Hit Record Man was released in 1965. It's juke joint dance music, a [...]
A film by Les Blank with Skip Gerson featuring Lightnin' Hopkins, with Billy Bizor, Mance Lipscomb, and Ruth "Blues" Ames.
mp3: Lightnin' Hopkins - Mojo Hand mp3: Lightnin' Hopkins - Glory Be Lightnin' Hopkins was another of Fire's big stars. Hopkins learned to play guitar as a child from fellow Texan blues giant, Blind Lemon Jefferson. He was a prolific artist on a variety of labels, but 1960's Mojo Hand is probably his best known recording. It showcases his virtuosity on the guitar, which influenced countless others. Glory Be is a slower blues, but no less hard hitting. Hopkins stated early on that he felt the blues [...]
It took the Texas Historical Society long enough to appropriately recognize Houston bluesman Lightnin' Hopkins, but not as long as the Grammys. As part of the run-up to Sunday night's 55th annu... Continue reading "Lightnin' Hopkins Finally Wins a Grammy" >
Lightnin Hopkins - Baby Please Don’t Go Roots and history right here good folks!
The Houston Texans are hosting a playoff game tomorrow, but only after a spectacular late-season collapse that cost them the AFC's top seed and invoked every Oileresque axiom about Houston sport... Continue reading "If Lightnin' Hopkins Can't Save the Texans, No One Can" >
The Recording Academy this morning announced its 2013 Special Merit Awards recipients. This year's Lifetime Achievement Award recipients are Glenn Gould, Charlie Haden, Lightnin' Hopkins, Carole King, Patti Page, Ravi Shankar who died yesterday just hours before the nomonation, and the Temptations. Trustees Award winners are Marilyn and Alan Bergman, Leonard and Phil Chess, and Alan Livingston. Ikutaro Kakehashi, Dave Smith and Royer Labs are Technical Grammt Award recipients. The Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award "honors performers who have made contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording while the Trustees [...]
Instead of reinventing the wheel this Christmas, let's recycle a past post or two. Today, the holidays in the Lone Star State! Christmas in Texas is pretty much like Christmas in any other place - except most of the time it's hot, everybody's playin' football, people are barbecuing and drinking beer, there's a lot of country music and blues and rock, and the stuffing has jalapenos in it. Okay, it's like no place else. MP3: "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer" by the Texas Tornados [...]
Townes Van Zandt, Mimi Lomax, Antoinette Hopkins, and Lightnin' Hopkins in the Lomax family's back yard in Houston, Texas, in the late 1960s or early 1970s. The photo was taken by Mimi's son, John Lomax III.
Download: lightnin-hopkins_the-walkin-bl ues_10_thinkin-bout-an-old-fri end.mp3
Last night I had the great privilege of watching Swan Fungus super-friend William Fowler Collins perform at Human Resources in Chinatown here in LA. He was joined on stage by Aaron Turner (Isis, Old Man Gloom, Lotus Eaters, et. al.). The duo gave me the best non-pharmaceutically-aided opiate rush I've felt in a while. Tomorrow [...]
And to give you a bit of a teaser for the remainder of our 100 best Texas songs list, which we'll resume on Monday, here's Lightnin' Hopkins performing "Baby Please Don't Go." ... Continue reading "To Prep You For the Weekend: Lightnin' Hopkins" >
John Lee Hooker Don't know about you, but my eyes are still sorta glazed over from the long weekend. No better time to blow some blues for Monday. MP3: "Howling For My Darling (or Baby)" by Howlin' Wolf MP3: "I'm Shakin' " by Little Willie John MP3: "Automobile" by Lightnin' Hopkins MP3: "Delia" by Blind Willie McTell [...]
Hello, friends. I hope your weekends were eventful and fun. Mine was the exact opposite. I caught a cold for the first time in almost a year (see what happens when i stop running four days a week and eating healthy?), so I stayed in and recuperated. This led to watching a number of movies [...]
Born Mar 15, 1912 in Centerville, TX Died Jan 30, 1982 in Houston, TX
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