Samuel John "Lightnin" Hopkins was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist from Centerville, Texas.
22 Facts About Lightnin' Hopkins
2.
The musicologist Robert "Mack" McCormick opined that Lightnin' 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.
Lightnin' Hopkins was a notable influence on Townes Van Zandt, Hank Williams, Jr.
4.
Lightnin' Hopkins developed a deep appreciation for the music at the age of 8, when he met Blind Lemon Jefferson at a church picnic in Buffalo, Texas.
5.
Lightnin' Hopkins went on to learn from his distant older cousin, the country blues singer Alger "Texas" Alexander; Hopkins had another cousin, the Texas electric blues guitarist Frankie Lee Sims, with whom he later recorded.
6.
Lightnin' Hopkins began accompanying Jefferson on guitar at informal church gatherings.
7.
Lightnin' Hopkins convinced Hopkins to travel to Los Angeles, where he accompanied the pianist Wilson Smith.
8.
Lightnin' Hopkins returned to Houston and began recording for Gold Star Records.
9.
Lightnin' Hopkins performed regularly at nightclubs in and around Houston, particularly on Dowling Street, where he had been discovered by Aladdin.
10.
Lightnin' Hopkins recorded the hit records "T-Model Blues" and "Tim Moore's Farm" at SugarHill Recording Studios in Houston.
11.
In 1959, the blues researcher Robert "Mack" McCormick contacted Lightnin' Hopkins, hoping to bring him to the attention of a broader musical audience engaged in the folk revival.
12.
McCormack presented Lightnin' Hopkins to integrated audiences first in Houston and then in California.
13.
Lightnin' Hopkins made his debut at Carnegie Hall on October 14,1960, alongside Joan Baez and Pete Seeger, performing the spiritual "Mary Don't You Weep".
14.
In 1968, Lightnin' Hopkins recorded the album Free Form Patterns, backed by the rhythm section of the psychedelic rock band 13th Floor Elevators.
15.
Lightnin' Hopkins toured extensively in the United States and played a six-city tour of Japan in 1978.
16.
Lightnin' Hopkins recorded more albums than any other blues musician.
17.
Lightnin' Hopkins died of esophageal cancer in Houston on January 30,1982, at the age of 69.
18.
Lightnin' Hopkins's style was born from spending many hours playing informally without a backing band.
19.
Lightnin' Hopkins played both "alternating" and "monotonic" bass styles incorporating imaginative, often chromatic turnarounds and single-note lead lines.
20.
Much of Lightnin' Hopkins's music follows the standard 12-bar blues template, but his phrasing was free and loose.
21.
Lightnin' Hopkins dealt with these subjects with humor and good nature.
22.
Lightnin' Hopkins often referred to himself as "Poor Lightnin'" in his songs when talking about himself or referring to himself as the protagonist of the song.