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 ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine ranked him No. 71 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. The

musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

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". He influenced Townes Van Zandt, Hank Williams, Jr., and a generation of blues musicians such as

Stevie Ray Vaughan Stephen Ray Vaughan (also known as SRV; October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble (band), Double Trouble. Although his ma ...

, whose Grammy-nominated song " Rude Mood" was directly inspired by the Texan's song "Hopkins' Sky Hop". In his own lifetime, Hopkins was one of the initial inductees in 1980 to the

Blues Hall of Fame The Blues Hall of Fame is a music museum operated by the Blues Foundation at 421 S. Main Street in Memphis, Tennessee. Initially, the "Blues Hall of Fame" was not a physical building, but a listing of people who have significantly contributed to b ...

Life

Hopkins was born in Centerville, Texas. As a child, he was immersed in the sounds of the

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

. He developed a deep appreciation for the music at the age of eight, when he met Blind Lemon Jefferson at a church picnic in Buffalo, Texas. He 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. Hopkins began accompanying Jefferson on guitar at informal church gatherings. Jefferson reputedly never let anyone play with him except Hopkins, and Hopkins learned much from Jefferson at these gatherings. In the mid-1930s, Hopkins was sent to Houston County Prison Farm, but why he was imprisoned is unknown. In the late 1930s, he moved to Houston with Alexander in an unsuccessful attempt to break into the music scene there. By the early 1940s, he was back in Centerville, working as a farm hand. Hopkins took a second shot at Houston in 1946. While singing on Dowling Street in Houston's Third Ward, which would become his home base, he was discovered by Lola Anne Cullum of Aladdin Records, based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. She convinced Hopkins to travel to Los Angeles, where he accompanied the pianist Wilson Smith. The duo recorded twelve tracks in their first sessions in 1946. An Aladdin executive decided the pair needed more dynamism in their names and dubbed Hopkins "Lightnin'" and Wilson "Thunder". Hopkins recorded more sides for Aladdin in 1947. He returned to Houston and began recording for Gold Star Records. In the late 1940s and 1950s he rarely performed outside Texas, only occasionally traveling to the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

and the

East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

for recording sessions and concert appearances. He performed regularly at nightclubs in and around Houston, particularly on Dowling Street, where he had been discovered by Aladdin. He recorded the

hit record A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single, or simply hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record'' ...

s "T-Model Blues" and "Tim Moore's Farm" at SugarHill Recording Studios in Houston. By the mid- to late 1950s, his prodigious output of high-quality recordings had gained him a following among

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

s and blues aficionados. In 1959, the blues researcher Robert "Mack" McCormick contacted Hopkins, hoping to bring him to the attention of a broader musical audience engaged in the folk revival. McCormack presented Hopkins to integrated audiences first in Houston and then in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. He made his debut at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

on October 14, 1960, alongside

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (, ; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing mo ...

and

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...

, performing the spiritual " Mary Don't You Weep". In 1960, he signed with

Tradition Records Tradition Records was an American record label from 1955 to 1966 that specialized in folk music. The label was founded and financed by Guggenheim heiress Diane Hamilton (the pseudonym of Diane Guggenheim) in 1956. Its president and director was ...

. The recordings which followed included his song " Mojo Hand" in 1962. In 1968, Hopkins recorded the album '' Free Form Patterns'', backed by the rhythm section of the

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

band 13th Floor Elevators. Through the 1960s and into the 1970s, he released one or sometimes two albums a year and toured, playing at major

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

festivals and at folk clubs and on college campuses in the U.S. and internationally. He toured extensively in the United States and played a six-city tour of Japan in 1978. Hopkins was Houston's poet-in-residence for 35 years. He recorded more albums than any other blues musician. Hopkins was one of the initial inductees to the

in 1980. Hopkins died of

esophageal cancer Esophageal cancer (American English) or oesophageal cancer (British English) is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include dysphagia, difficulty in swallowing and weigh ...

in Houston on January 30, 1982, at the age of 69. His obituary in the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' described him as "one of the great country blues singers and perhaps the greatest single influence on rock guitar players". Hopkins is buried at Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery in Houston, Texas. A statue of Hopkins, unveiled in 2003, sits in Crockett, Texas. His Gibson J-160e "hollowbox" is on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, and his Guild Starfire at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, both on loan from the Joe Kessler Collection.

Musical style

Hopkins's style was born from spending many hours playing informally without a backing band. His distinctive fingerstyle technique often included playing, in effect,

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular r ...

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

, and

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

at the same time. He played both "alternating" and "monotonic" bass styles incorporating imaginative, often chromatic turnarounds and single-note lead lines. Tapping or slapping the body of his guitar added rhythmic accompaniment. Much of Hopkins's music follows the standard 12-bar blues template, but his phrasing was free and loose. Many of his songs were in the talking blues style, but he was a powerful and confident singer. Lyrically, his songs expressed the problems of life in the segregated South, bad luck in love and other subjects common in the blues idiom. He dealt with these subjects with humor and good nature. He often referred to himself as "Po' Lightnin'" in his songs when talking about himself or referring to himself as the protagonist of the song. This is also the name of one of his albums. Many of his songs are filled with

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, one of which is typically obvious, and the other often conveys a message that would be too socially unacc ...

s, and he was known for his humorous introductions to songs. Some of his songs were of warning and sour prediction, such as "Fast Life Woman":

Discography

Early compilations of previously issued material

*'' Early Recordings'' ( Arhoolie, 1946-50 969 - collection of Gold Star recordings *'' Early Recordings Vol. 2'' (Arhoolie, 1946-50 971 - collection of Gold Star releases *'' Lightnin' Hopkins Strums the Blues'' ( Score, 1946-48

958 Year 958 (Roman numerals, CMLVIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * October / November – Battle of Raban: The Byzantine Empire, Byzantines under John I Tzimiskes, Jo ...

- collection of

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...

releases *'' Lightning Hopkins Sings the Blues'' ( Crown, 1947-1951 961 - collection of

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

releases *'' Last of the Great Blues Singers'' (Time, 1950-51 960 - collection of Sittin' in With releases *'' Lightnin' and the Blues'' (

Herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen ...

, 1954 960 - collection of

releases

Original LP releases

*'' The Rooster Crowed in England'' (77, 1959 960 *'' Lightnin' Hopkins'' ( Folkways, 1959) - reissued as ''The Roots of Lightnin' Hopkins'' *'' Country Blues'' (

Tradition A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common e ...

, 1959) *'' Autobiography in Blues'' (Tradition, 1960) *'' Down South Summit Meetin''' ( World Pacific, 1960) with Brownie McGhee,

Big Joe Williams Joseph Lee Williams (October 16, 1903 – December 17, 1982) was an American Delta blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter, notable for the distinctive sound of his nine-string guitar. Performing over five decades, he recorded the songs "Baby, Pl ...

and Sonny Terry - reissued as ''Summit Meetin' '' *'' Last Night Blues'' ( Bluesville, 1960) with Sonny Terry *'' Lightnin''' (Bluesville, 1960) *'' Lightnin' in New York'' ( Candid, 1960) *'' Mojo Hand'' (

Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...

, 1960 962 *'' Blues in My Bottle'' (Bluesville, 1961) *'' Blues Hoot'' (

Horizon The horizon is the apparent curve that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This curve divides all viewing directions based on whethe ...

, 1961 963 with Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry - reissued as ''Coffee House Blues'' *'' On Stage'' ( Imperial Records, 962 reissued Dolchess 2013 *'' Lightnin' Sam Hopkins'' (Arhoolie, 1962) *'' Walkin' This Road by Myself'' (Bluesville, 1962) *'' Lightnin' and Co.'' (Bluesville, 1962) *'' Smokes Like Lightning'' (Bluesville, 1962 963 *'' Lightnin' Strikes'' ( Vee-Jay, 1962) *'' Hootin' the Blues'' ( Prestige Folklore, 1962 965 *'' Goin' Away'' (Bluesville, 1963) *'' The Swarthmore Concert'' (Prestige, 1964 993 *'' Down Home Blues'' (Bluesville, 1964) *''

Soul Blues Soul blues is a style of blues music developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s that combines elements of soul music and urban contemporary music. Origin American singers and musicians who grew up listening to the electric blues by artists s ...

'' (

Prestige Prestige may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Films *Prestige (film), ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnett: woman travels to French Indochina to meet up with husband *The Prestige (film), ''The Prestige'' (fi ...

, 1964 965 *'' Lightning Hopkins with His Brothers Joel and John Henry / with Barbara Dane'' (Arhoolie, 1964 966 *'' My Life in the Blues'' (Prestige, 1964 965 *'' Live at the Bird Lounge'' (Guest Star, 1964) *'' The King of the Blues'' ( Pickwick, 1965) - reissued as ''Let's Work Awhile'' *'' Blue Lightnin''' ( Jewel, 1965 967 *'' Live at Newport'' (

Vanguard The vanguard (sometimes abbreviated to van and also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. ...

, 1965 002 *'' Lightnin' Strikes'' ( Verve Folkways, 1965 966 - reissued as ''Nothin' But the Blues'' *'' Something Blue'' ( Verve Folkways, 1967) *''Thats My Story'' (

Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

, 1965 970 *''Blues Festival Song & Dance'' (Arhoolie, 1967) shared disc with Mance Lipscomb and Clifton Chenier *'' Texas Blues Man'' (Arhoolie, 1967) *'' Free Form Patterns'' ( International Artists, 1968) *'' Talkin' Some Sense'' (Jewel, 1968) *'' Lightnin' Hopkins Strikes Again'' (Home Cooking, 1968 975 *'' The Great Electric Show and Dance'' (Jewel, 1969) *'' California Mudslide (and Earthquake)'' (Vault Records, 1969) *'' Lightnin'!'' (Poppy, 1969) - rereleased on Arhoolie in 1993 *'' In the Key of Lightnin''' (

Tomato The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...

, 1969 002 *'' Lightning Hopkins in Berkeley'' (Arhoolie, 1969 970 *'' Po' Lightnin''' (Arhoolie, 1961/69 983 *''The Legacy of the Blues Vol. 12'' ( Sonet, 1974 977 *''New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival 1976'' (

Island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

, 1977) shared disc with various artists *''The Rising Sun Collection Vol. 9'' (Just a Memory, 1977 996 *''Mighty Crazy'' (Catfish, 1980 002 shared disc with Big Mama Thornton *''The Rising Sun Collection'' (Just a Memory, 1980 996 shared disc with Louisiana Red, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee *''Forever'' (Paris Album, 1981 983

As sideman

With Sonny Terry *'' Sonny Is King'' (Bluesville, 1963)

Films

*''The Blues Accordin' to Lightnin' Hopkins'' (1968), directed by Les Blank and Skip Gerson (Flower Films & Video) * ''The Sun's Gonna Shine'' (1969), directed by Les Blank with Skip Gerson (Flower Films & Video) * '' Sounder'' (1972), directed by Martin Ritt (the soundtrack included

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...

singing a version of Hopkins "Needed Time") * His song "Once a Gambler" is on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

of the 2009 film '' Crazy Heart''.

Books

* ''Mojo Hand: An Orphic Tale'', by J.J. Phillips (Serpent's Tail), . * ''Lightnin' Hopkins: Blues Guitar Legend'', by Dan Bowden, . * ''Deep Down Hard Blues: Tribute to Lightnin, by Sarah Ann West, . * ''Lightnin' Hopkins: His Life and Blues'', by Alan Govenar (Chicago Review Press), . * '' Mojo Hand: The Life and Music of Lightnin' Hopkins'', by Timothy J. O'Brien and David Ensminger (

University of Texas Press The University of Texas Press (or UT Press) is the university press of the University of Texas at Austin. Established in 1950, the Press publishes scholarly and trade books in several areas, including Latin American studies, Caribbean, Caribbea ...

), .

References

;Inline citations ;Further reading *Stambler, Irwin; Landon, Grellun (1983). ''The Encyclopedia of Folk, Country & Western Music'' (2nd ed.). St. Martin's Press. . *Liner notes to the CD ''Country Blues'', Ryko/

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkins, Lightnin 1912 births 1982 deaths People from Leon County, Texas American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues singer-songwriters Country blues singers Blues revival musicians Texas blues musicians Musicians from Houston Aladdin Records artists Modern Records artists RPM Records (United States) artists Gold Star Records artists Imperial Records artists Jewel Records artists Fire Records artists Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners 20th-century American guitarists Singer-songwriters from Texas Guitarists from Texas American acoustic guitarists Arhoolie Records artists African-American male singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters African-American guitarists 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers Deaths from esophageal cancer in Texas