Lightnin Hopkins - Live 1964

           

Samuel John "Lightnin'" Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982)^] was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist from Centerville, Texas. In 2010, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him No. 71 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.
                                   

The musicologist Robert "Mack" McCormick opined that Hopkins is "the embodiment of the jazz-and-poetry spirit, representing its ancient form in the single creator whose words and music are one act".^[3] He influenced Townes Van Zandt, Hank Williams, Jr., and a generation of blues musicians like Stevie Ray Vaughan, whose Grammy winning song "Rude Mood" was directly inspired by the Texan's song "Hopkins' Sky Hop".(wikipedia)
 

Lightnin Hopkins - Mojo Hand

                                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.(AllMusic)

                        Mojo Hand

“People have learned how to strum a guitar, but they don’t have the soul. They don’t feel it from the heart. It hurts me. I’m killin’ myself to tell them how it is.”
-Lightnin’ Hopkins, 1968 Interview

                     Samuel John "Lightnin'" Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982)

Sam"Lightnin"Hopkins

Sam "Lightnin’" Hopkins (15 maart 1912 — 30 January , 1982^[1]) was een country blues gitarist, uit Houston, Texas, United States.


Lonesome Road

Sam,,Lightnin,,Hopkins was al vroeg voorbestemd om een van de groten in de blueswereld te worden.


Going Down Slow

Hij leerde gitaarspelen van zijn oudere broer Joel Hopkins en op 8 jarige leeftijd stond hij al op de planken met Blind Lemon Jefferson en een paar jaar later met zijn neef Texas Alexander.



Baby Please Dont Go

Een platenmaatschappij(Alladin Records) kwam op het idee om hem samen te laten spelen met pianist Wilson ,,Thunder,,Smith en dat was het begin van een lange succesvolle carriere.


Mojo Hand



Hij schreef honderden songs waaronder o.a Walking Blues,Somebody,s got to go,Penentiary blues
en dat allemaal op zo,n 20 verschillende labels



In de jaren 60 profiteerde Lighntin Hopkins net als vele andere bluesartiesten van de opleving van de bluesmuziek en kreeg zijn carriere een nieuwe impuls.

Hij stierf in in 1982 in Houston Texas aan longkanker.

Discography

• 1959 - Lightnin' Hopkins Strums the Blues (Score)
• 1959 - Lightnin' Hopkins (Folkways)
• 1959 - Lightnin' and the Blues (Herald)
• 1960 - Country Blues (Tradition Records)
• 1960 - Last Night Blues (Bluesville Records)
• 1960 - Mojo Hand (Fire Records)
• 1960 - Lightnin' (Bluesville)
• 1961 - Autobiography in Blues (Tradition)
• 1961 - Blues in My Bottle (Bluesville)
• 1962 - Walkin' This Road By Myself (Bluesville)
• 1962 - Lightnin' and Co. (Bluesville)
• 1962 - Lightnin' Strikes (Vee-Jay Records)
• 1963 - Blues Hoot (Vee-Jay Records; live at The Ash Grove 1961 w/ Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, and Big Joe Williams)
• 1963 - Smokes Like Lightnin' (Bluesville)
• 1963 - Goin' Away (Bluesville)
• 1964 - Down Home Blues (Bluesville)
• 1965 - Hootin' the Blues (Bluesville)
• 1965 - Lightnin' Strikes (Tradition)
• 1965 - The Roots of Lightnin' Hopkins (Verve Folkways)
• 1966 - Soul Blues (Bluesville)
• 1967 - My Life in the Blues (Bluesville)
• 1967 - Original Folk Blues (Kent Records)
• 1967 - Lightnin'! (Arhoolie Records)
• 1968 - Freeform Patterns (International Artists)
• 1969 - California Mudslide (and Earthquake)
• 1991 - Swarthmore Concert Live, 1964
• 1991 - Sittin' in with Lightnin' Hopkins(Mainstream Records)
• 1991 - The Hopkins Bros. (Arhoolie Records, with his brothers Joel and John Henry)
• 1992 - Lonesome Life (Home Cooking/Collectables)
• 1995 - Po' Lightning
• 1999 - The Very Best of Lightnin' Hopkins