Lightnin' to Strike Again

Lightnin' Hopkins, the ultimate Texas bluesman, is going to be getting some posthumous recognition this year.

Thanks to the efforts of a fan in Houston, a historical marker paying tribute to Hopkins will be dedicated in Houston's Third Ward in the fall, the Houston Chronicle says. It's being financed by individual donors, as well as the Houston Blues Society.

In May, a Hopkins biography by Alan Govenar will be published and it promises to debunk myths about his relationship with Blind Lemon Jefferson, his gambling and drinking and his time on a chain gang. I hope it doesn't deconstruct the myths too severely; you hate to see a good reputation like that destroyed.

Hopkins started out playing his finger-picked country blues in his hometown of Centerville, Texas, which is where that statue on the right is located, before making a name for himself in the Third Ward, the same neighborhood that would spawn Beyonce many decades later. It would be a vast understatement to say that he was an influence on several generations of blues players who came after him.

"Po' Sam," as he referred to himself, played everywhere from New York's Carnegie Hall to Austin's Armadillo World Headquarters but he was more likely to be found working a street corner or a dive bar in Houston's Dowling Street. Sometimes he'd just hop on a city bus and play for the passengers to rustle up some spare change.

Hopkins was cantankerous, untrusting, unpredictable and didn't particularly care about fame. He could have put together a pretty good family band since bluesmen Mance Lipscomb and Texas Alexander were his cousins and zydeco great Clifton Chenier was a cousin-in-law.

In the video below (source unknown) Hopkins does "Baby, Please Don't Go," which I've been trying to pick up. I'm nowhere close to sounding like him (I think it's because I don't have the sunglasses) but my version still sounds kind of cool and dangerous.

For more about Lightnin', who died in 1982 at the age of 69, try this 2007 Texas Monthly story.