Lightnin Hopkins

By Dominic Percell

Lightnin Hopkins
Born Sam Hopkins in March 15, 1912 in Centerville Texas

He was a Texas Country Bluesman, and he followed the 12 bar blues pattern for most of his music His Career spanned from the 1930s through the 1970s
He died January 30, 1982 in Houston Texas from Cancer

Start in music
Hopkins learned to play the guitar from his brother Joel who also became a blues musician

Hopkins interest in blues began at the early age of 8 when he met the Texas blues legend Blind Lemon Jefferson. A few years latter Hopkins served as the Blind Bluesman guide and apprentice.

Hopkins and Alexander

While in his teens, Hopkins hooked up with his cousin, Bluesman Alger Texas Alexander.

The pair traveled across east Texas playing house parties and picnics
Unfortunately sometime during the 1930s Hopkins was arrested for some unknown offense and was sent to Houston County Prison Farm for a while.

Aladdin years
After being released from the prison farm Hopkins hooked back up with Alexander and started playing again. In 1946 Hopkins was discovered in Houston by Lola Anne Cullum, a talent scout for Aladdin records. He then went to L.A. and was paired up with pianist Wilson Smith. The pair was than dubbed Lightnin and Thunder by an Aladdin executive

Aladdin years part 2

His First regional hit he recorded with Smith was Katie May. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAe11J6Y5wI He would continue to make more hit with Smith such as Shotgun Blues, Short Haired Woman, and Abilene. He then left Aladdin records after recording 43 songs during two lengthy sessions in 1946 and 47.

After Aladdin
During the 1950s Hopkins recorded prolifically, a flurry of songs like Tim Moores Farm, T-Model Blues, and Coffee blues, all charting for both indie labels like Gold Star and Sittin the with as well as majors like Decca and Mercury. In the late 1950s popular interest in his style had given way to the electric blues of chicago artist like Muddy Waters and Howlin Wolf.

Folk Blues
In the late 1950s Folklorist Mack McCormick Tracked Hopkins down in Houston and he reinvented him as a folk blues artist. Then producer Sam Charters recorded Hopkins in his living room for the ground breaking the Roots of Lightnin Hopkins album for folkways, which introduced him to an entirely different audience

The 1960s
Following his success from the song Mojo Hand Hopkins went from playing back ally dives in Houston to performing on the stage of Carnegie Hall. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keQR4_7DBn M

Throughout most of the 1960s and into the 1970s Hopkins mostly toured solo and played at colleges, folk clubs, and coffee houses, but he also toured Europe as part of the American Folk blues festival in 1964.

Later Years
In his Hopkins would record for almost any label as long as they paid him up front.

He would also usually only lay down a single take of any song, regardless of the producers request. He was than inducted to the Blues hall of fame in 1980.

References
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/lightnin-hopkinsmn0000825208/biography

http://www.mtv.com/artists/lightninhopkins/biography/
http://blues.about.com/od/artistprofile1/p/Lightnin Hopkins.htm