Prestige Profiles - Album
Prestige Profiles (Album) by Lightnin' Hopkins
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Artist Biography For Lightnin' Hopkins
Samuel John "Lightnin'" Hopkins March 15 1912 – January 30 1982 Was An American Country Blues Singer Songwriter Guitarist And Occasional Pianist From Centerville Texas. Rolling Stone Magazine Ranked Him Number 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". Hopkins Was Born In Centerville Texas And As A Child Was Immersed In The Sounds Of The Blues. He Developed A Deep Appreciation For This Music At The Age Of 8 When He Met Blind Lemon Jefferson At A Church Picnic In Buffalo Texas. That Day Hopkins Felt The Blues Was "in Him". Citation Needed He Went On To Learn From His Older Distant 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 Young Hopkins And Hopkins Learned Much From Jefferson At These Gatherings. 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 Rhythm Lead And Percussion 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. Citation Needed 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. Many Of His Songs Are Filled With Double Entendres And He Was Known For His Humorous Introductions To Songs. Hopkins Died Of Esophageal Cancer In Houston On January 30 1982 At The Age Of 69. His Obituary In The New York Times Described Him As "one Of The Great Country Blues Singers And Perhaps The Greatest Single Influence On Rock Guitar Players.".
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Biography - Lightnin' Hopkins
Samuel John "Lightnin'" Hopkins March 15 1912 – January 30 1982 Was An American Country Blues Singer Songwriter Guitarist And Occasional Pianist From Centerville Texas. Rolling Stone Magazine Ranked Him Number 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". Hopkins Was Born In Centerville Texas And As A Child Was Immersed In The Sounds Of The Blues. He Developed A Deep Appreciation For This Music At The Age Of 8 When He Met Blind Lemon Jefferson At A Church Picnic In Buffalo Texas. That Day Hopkins Felt The Blues Was "in Him". Citation Needed He Went On To Learn From His Older Distant 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 Young Hopkins And Hopkins Learned Much From Jefferson At These Gatherings. 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 Rhythm Lead And Percussion 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. Citation Needed 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. Many Of His Songs Are Filled With Double Entendres And He Was Known For His Humorous Introductions To Songs. Hopkins Died Of Esophageal Cancer In Houston On January 30 1982 At The Age Of 69. His Obituary In The New York Times Described Him As "one Of The Great Country Blues Singers And Perhaps The Greatest Single Influence On Rock Guitar Players.".
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Published: 01 Jan 2018, 12:28
During His Long Career Lightnin' Hopkins Did More Than His Share Of Label Hopping Aladdin Folkways Mercury Arhoolie Decca Ivory Vee-Jay Modern World Pacific Verve Fire Jewel Gold Star/Jax And Herald Are Among The Countless Labels That The Texas Bluesman Recorded For Over The Years. Hopkins Also Recorded For Prestige Where He Provided Around 11 Or 12 LPs From 1960-64 -- Some On Prestige/Bluesville Some On Prestige/Folklore And Some On Simply Prestige -- And In 1991 Nine Years After His Death All Of Those Recordings Were United On Fantasy's Seven-CD Box Set The Complete Prestige/Bluesville Recordings. Among Hardcore Blues Collectors That Set Is Held In High Regard. But For Those Who Have A More Casual Interest In Hopkins' Legacy The Best Of Lightnin' Hopkins Would Be A More Appropriate Starting Point. This 66-Minute 16-Track CD Underscores Prestige's Willingness To Record Hopkins In A Variety Of Settings -- Some Electric And Some Acoustic Some Unaccompanied And Some With Other Musicians. These 1960-64 Recordings Came At A Time When People In The Folk Market Were Paying A Lot Of Attention To Acoustic Country Blues And Even Though Hopkins Wasn't A Folk Artist Per Se His Earthy Down-Home Simplicity Appealed To Folk Audiences -- A Simplicity That Serves Him Well Whether He Is Unaccompanied On "You Is One Black Rat" And "Blues In The Bottle" Or Joined By Other Musicians On "Katie Mae " "Pneumonia Blues" And Big Joe Williams' "Baby Please Don't Go" Which Received The Heavy Metal/hard Rock Treatment From Motor City Madman Ted Nugent In The Late '70s . The Best Of Lightnin' Hopkins Doesn't Pretend To Tell The Entire Story Of Hopkins' Prestige Output But For Novices It Can Be A Rewarding Introduction To His Four-Year Association With That Label.