Editing Lightnin' Hopkins

{{Short description|American singer-songwriter, pianist, and guitarist (1912–1982)}}
{{Other people|Sam Hopkins|Samuel Hopkins (disambiguation){{!}}Samuel Hopkins}}
{{For|the R.E.M. song|Document (album)}}
{{Refimprove|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians -->
| name                = Lightnin' Hopkins 
| image               = Lightnin'_Hopkins.jpg
| caption             = 
| image_size          =
| background          = solo_singer
| birth_name          = Samuel John Hopkins
| alias               =
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|1912|03|15}}
| birth_place         = [[Centerville, Texas]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1982|01|30|1912|03|15}}
| death_place         = [[Houston]], Texas, U.S.
| origin              =
| instrument          = {{hlist|Guitar|piano|[[organ (music)|organ]]|vocals}}
| genre               = {{hlist|[[Electric blues]]|[[country blues]]|[[Texas blues]]}}
| occupation          = {{hlist|Musician|songwriter}}
| years_active        = 1946–1982
| label               = {{hlist|[[Aladdin Records (US)|Aladdin]]|[[Modern Records|Modern]]|[[RPM Records (USA)|RPM]]|[[Gold Star Records|Gold Star]]|[[Sittin' in With]]/Jax|[[Mercury Records|Mercury]]|[[Decca Records|Decca]]|[[Herald Records|Herald]]|[[Folkways Records|Folkways]]|[[Pacific Jazz Records|World Pacific]]|[[Vee-Jay Records|Vee-Jay]]|[[Arhoolie Records|Arhoolie]]|[[Bluesville Records|Bluesville]]|[[Tradition Records|Tradition]]|[[Fire Records|Fire]]|[[Candid Records|Candid]]|[[Imperial Records|Imperial]]|[[Prestige Records|Prestige]]|[[Verve Records|Verve]]|[[Jewel Records (Shreveport record label)|Jewel]]}}
| website             =
}}

'''Samuel John''' "'''Lightnin''''" '''Hopkins''' (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982)<ref name="bare">{{cite book| first1= Bob| last1= Eagle| first2= Eric S.| last2= LeBlanc| year= 2013| title= Blues: A Regional Experience| publisher= Praeger | location= Santa Barbara, California| pages=294 | isbn= 978-0313344237}}</ref> was an American [[country blues]] singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist from [[Centerville, Texas]]. In 2010, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine ranked him No. 71 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-guitarists-of-all-time-19691231/lightnin-hopkins-19691231 |title=Lightnin' Hopkins {{pipe}} Rolling Stone Music {{pipe}} Lists |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=2010-08-09}}</ref>

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".<ref name="russell">{{cite book
| first= Tony
| last= Russell
| year= 1997
| title= The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray
| publisher= Carlton Books
| location= Dubai
| page= 64
| isbn= 1-85868-255-X}}</ref>  He influenced [[Townes Van Zandt]], [[Hank Williams, Jr.]], and a generation of blues musicians such as [[Stevie Ray Vaughan]], whose Grammy-nominated song "[[Rude Mood]]" was directly inspired by the Texan's song "Hopkins' Sky Hop".<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/1984/grammys.htm|title = 26th Grammy Awards - 1984|date = |access-date = |website = |publisher = Rock on the Net|last = |first = }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C06sjY7YgXE|title = Stevie Ray Vaughan - Interview 06/23/88|date = 23 June 1988|access-date = 28 Jul 2014|via=[[YouTube]]}}</ref> In his own lifetime, Hopkins was one of the initial inductees in 1980 to the [[Blues Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web |title=1980 Blues Hall of Fame Inductees |url=https://blues.org/hof_years/1980-blues-hall-of-fame-inductees/page/2/|website=Blues.org}}</ref>

==Life==
Hopkins was born in [[Centerville, Texas]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Woke Up This Mornin': Poetry of the Blues |last=Nicholas |first=A. X. |year=1973 |publisher=[[Bantam Books]] |page=87 }}</ref> As a child, he was immersed in the sounds of the [[blues]]. 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]].<ref name="amg">{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lightnin-hopkins-mn0000825208|title=Lightnin' Hopkins Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=January 16, 2024}}</ref> He went on to learn from his distant older cousin, the country blues singer [[Alger "Texas" Alexander]];<ref name="amg"/> Hopkins had another cousin, the Texas electric blues guitarist [[Frankie Lee Sims]], with whom he later recorded.<ref name=Dahl>{{cite web | url = {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=frankie-lee-sims-p125539/biography|pure_url=yes}} | title = Frankie Lee Sims: Biography | website= [[AllMusic]] | last = Dahl | first = Bill | access-date = 2010-10-19}}</ref> 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.<ref name="amg"/> 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.<ref name="russell"/>

Hopkins took a second shot at Houston in 1946.<ref name="russell"/> While singing on Dowling Street in Houston's [[Third Ward, Houston|Third Ward]], which would become his home base, he was discovered by Lola Anne Cullum of [[Aladdin Records (US)|Aladdin Records]], based in [[Los Angeles]].<ref name="amg"/> 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.<ref name="Wirz">{{Cite web|url=https://www.wirz.de/music/hopkins.htm|title=Illustrated Sam Lightnin' Hopkins discography|website=Wirz.de|access-date=January 9, 2025}}</ref> An Aladdin executive decided the pair needed more dynamism in their names and dubbed Hopkins "Lightnin'" and Wilson "Thunder".<ref name="LarkinBlues">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Who's Who of Blues]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1995|edition=Second|isbn=0-85112-673-1|pages=181/3}}</ref>

[[File:Hopkins-Goldstar-Promo.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Gold Star promotional photograph, 1948]]

Hopkins recorded more sides for Aladdin in 1947.<ref name="Wirz"/> He returned to Houston and began recording for [[Gold Star Records]].<ref name="Wirz"/> In the late 1940s and 1950s he rarely performed outside Texas, only occasionally traveling to the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]] and the [[Eastern United States|East]] for recording sessions and concert appearances.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}} He performed regularly at nightclubs in and around Houston, particularly on Dowling Street, where he had been discovered by Aladdin.<ref name="russell"/> He recorded the [[hit record]]s "T-Model Blues" and "Tim Moore's Farm" at [[SugarHill Recording Studios]] in Houston.<ref name="Wirz"/> By the mid- to late 1950s, his prodigious output of high-quality recordings had gained him a following among [[African American]]s and blues aficionados.<ref name="LarkinBlues"/>

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 [[Roots revival|folk revival]].<ref name="amg"/> McCormack presented Hopkins to integrated audiences first in Houston and then in [[California]]. He made his debut at [[Carnegie Hall]] on October 14, 1960, alongside [[Joan Baez]] and [[Pete Seeger]], performing the spiritual "[[Mary Don't You Weep]]". In 1960, he signed with [[Tradition Records]]. The recordings which followed included his song "[[Mojo Hand]]" in 1962.<ref name="Wirz"/>

In 1968, Hopkins recorded the album ''[[Free Form Patterns]]'', backed by the rhythm section of the [[psychedelic rock]] band [[13th Floor Elevators]].<ref name="Wirz"/> Through the 1960s and into the 1970s, he released one or sometimes two albums a year and toured, playing at major [[folk music]] festivals and at folk clubs and on college campuses in the U.S. and internationally.<ref name="LarkinBlues"/> He toured extensively in the United States<ref name="russell"/> and played a six-city tour of Japan in 1978.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

Hopkins was Houston's poet-in-residence for 35 years. He recorded more albums than any other blues musician.<ref name="russell"/> Hopkins was one of the initial inductees to the [[Blues Hall of Fame]] in 1980.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blues.org/halloffame/inductees.php4?YearId=25|title=1980 Hall of Fame Inductees|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070305080004/http://www.blues.org/halloffame/inductees.php4?YearId=25 |access-date=2025-01-10|archive-date=5 March 2007 }}</ref>

Hopkins died of [[esophageal cancer]] in Houston on January 30, 1982, at the age of 69.<ref name="Wirz"/> 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".<ref>{{cite news| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1982/02/01/obituaries/sam-lightnin-hopkins-69-blues-singer-and-guitarist.html| title = Obituary: Sam (Lightnin') Hopkins, 69; Blues Singer and Guitarist| author = Saxon, Wolfgang| date = February 1, 1982| access-date = November 11, 2012| newspaper = [[The New York Times]]}}</ref> Hopkins is buried at Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery in Houston, Texas.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://digitalcollections.rice.edu/Documents/Detail/lightnin-hopkins-grave/306782|title=Lightnin' Hopkins' grave|website=rice.edu|publisher=Rice University Fondren Library Woodson Research Center Special Collections & Archives|date=2001}}</ref>

A statue of Hopkins, unveiled in 2003, sits in [[Crockett, Texas]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.campstreetcafe.com/HoustonChronicle.htm|title=''Houston Chronicle'' article|author=Marty Racine|date=2002|website=Campstreetcafe.com|access-date=January 10, 2025}}</ref> His Gibson J-160e "hollowbox" is on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in [[Cleveland]], [[Ohio]], and his Guild Starfire at the [[National Museum of African American History and Culture]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], both on loan from the Joe Kessler Collection.<ref name="Where Lightnin Strikes 2011">{{cite web | title=The Team | website=Wherelightninstrikes.com | date=2011-02-28 | url=https://www.wherelightninstrikes.com/the-team/ | access-date=2023-08-24}}</ref>

==Musical style==
{{Unsourced section|reason=One referenced source only|date=January 2025}}
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 guitar|bass]], [[Rhythm guitar|rhythm]], [[Lead guitar|lead]], and [[percussion]] at the same time.{{citation needed|date=July 2012}} He played both "alternating" and "monotonic" bass styles incorporating imaginative, often chromatic [[Turnaround (music)|turnarounds]] and single-note lead lines. Tapping or slapping the body of his guitar added rhythmic accompaniment.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

Much of Hopkins's music follows the standard [[Twelve bar blues|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|date=July 2012}} 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]]s, and he was known for his humorous introductions to songs.{{citation needed|date=July 2012}}

Some of his songs were of warning and sour prediction, such as "Fast Life Woman":

{{blockquote|<poem>You may see a fast life woman sittin' round a whiskey joint,
Yes, you know, she'll be sittin' there smilin',
'Cause she knows some man gonna buy her half a pint,
Take it easy, fast life woman, 'cause you ain't gon' live always...<ref name="russell"/></poem>}}

==Discography==
===Early compilations of previously issued material===
*''[[Early Recordings (Lightnin' Hopkins album)|Early Recordings]]'' ([[Arhoolie Records|Arhoolie]], 1946-50 [1969]) - collection of [[Gold Star Records|Gold Star]] recordings
*''[[Early Recordings Vol. 2]]'' (Arhoolie, 1946-50 [1971]) - collection of Gold Star releases
*''[[Lightnin' Hopkins Strums the Blues]]'' ([[Aladdin Records|Score]], 1946-48 [1958])  - collection of [[Aladdin Records|Aladdin]] releases
*''[[Lightning Hopkins Sings the Blues]]'' ([[Crown Records|Crown]], 1947-1951 [1961]) - collection of [[RPM Records (United States)|RPM]] releases
*''[[Last of the Great Blues Singers]]'' (Time, 1950-51 [1960]) - collection of [[Sittin' in With]] releases
*''[[Lightnin' and the Blues]]'' ([[Herald Records|Herald]], 1954 [1960]) - collection of [[Herald Records|Herald]] releases<ref name="Wirz"/>

===Original LP releases===
*''[[The Rooster Crowed in England]]'' (77, 1959 [1960])
*''[[Lightnin' Hopkins (album)|Lightnin' Hopkins]]'' ([[Folkways Records|Folkways]], 1959) - reissued as ''The Roots of Lightnin' Hopkins''
*''[[Country Blues]]'' ([[Tradition Records|Tradition]], 1959)
*''[[Autobiography in Blues]]'' (Tradition, 1960)
*''[[Down South Summit Meetin']]'' ([[Pacific Jazz Records|World Pacific]], 1960) with [[Brownie McGhee]], [[Big Joe Williams]] and [[Sonny Terry]] - reissued as ''Summit Meetin' ''
*''[[Last Night Blues]]'' ([[Bluesville Records|Bluesville]], 1960) with Sonny Terry
*''[[Lightnin' (album)|Lightnin']]'' (Bluesville, 1960)
*''[[Lightnin' in New York]]'' ([[Candid Records|Candid]], 1960)
*''[[Mojo Hand]]'' ([[Fire Records|Fire]], 1960 [1962])
*''[[Blues in My Bottle]]'' (Bluesville, 1961)
*''[[Blues Hoot]]'' ([[Horizon Records|Horizon]], 1961 [1963]) with Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry - reissued as ''Coffee House Blues''
*''[[On Stage (Lightnin' Hopkins album)|On Stage]]'' ([[Imperial Records]],[1962]) 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 [1963])
*''[[Lightnin' Strikes (Vee-Jay album)|Lightnin' Strikes]]'' ([[Vee-Jay Records|Vee-Jay]], 1962)
*''[[Hootin' the Blues]]'' ([[Prestige Records|Prestige Folklore]], 1962 [1965])
*''[[Goin' Away]]'' (Bluesville, 1963)
*''[[The Swarthmore Concert]]'' (Prestige, 1964 [1993])
*''[[Down Home Blues (Lightnin' Hopkins album)|Down Home Blues]]'' (Bluesville, 1964)
*''[[Soul Blues (album)|Soul Blues]]'' ([[Prestige Records|Prestige]], 1964 [1965])
*''[[Lightning Hopkins with His Brothers Joel and John Henry / with Barbara Dane]]'' (Arhoolie, 1964 [1966])
*''[[My Life in the Blues]]'' (Prestige, 1964 [1965])
*''[[Live at the Bird Lounge]]'' (Guest Star, 1964)
*''[[The King of the Blues]]'' ([[Pickwick Records|Pickwick]], 1965) - reissued as ''Let's Work Awhile''
*''[[Blue Lightnin']]'' ([[Jewel Records (Shreveport record label)|Jewel]], 1965 [1967])
*''[[Live at Newport (Lightnin' Hopkins album)|Live at Newport]]'' ([[Vanguard Records|Vanguard]], 1965 [2002])
*''[[Lightnin' Strikes (Verve Folkways album)|Lightnin' Strikes]]'' ([[Verve Forecast Records|Verve Folkways]], 1965 [1966]) - reissued as ''Nothin' But the Blues''
*''[[Something Blue (Lightnin' Hopkins album)|Something Blue]]'' ([[Verve Forecast Records|Verve Folkways]], 1967)
*''Thats My Story'' ([[Polydor Records|Polydor]], 1965 [1970])
*''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 [1975])
*''[[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 Records|Tomato]], 1969 [2002])
*''[[Lightning Hopkins in Berkeley]]'' (Arhoolie, 1969 [1970])
*''[[Po' Lightnin']]'' (Arhoolie, 1961/69 [1983])
*''The Legacy of the Blues Vol. 12'' ([[Sonet Records|Sonet]], 1974 [1977])
*''New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival 1976'' ([[Island Records|Island]], 1977) shared disc with various artists 
*''The Rising Sun Collection Vol. 9'' (Just a Memory, 1977 [1996])
*''Mighty Crazy'' (Catfish, 1980 [2002]) shared disc with [[Big Mama Thornton]]
*''The Rising Sun Collection'' (Just a Memory, 1980 [1996]) shared disc with [[Louisiana Red]], Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee
*''Forever'' (Paris Album, 1981 [1983])<ref name="Wirz"/>

===As sideman===
'''With [[Sonny Terry]]'''
*''[[Sonny Is King]]'' (Bluesville, 1963)<ref name="Wirz"/>

==Films==
*''The Blues Accordin' to Lightnin' Hopkins'' (1968), directed by [[Les Blank]] and Skip Gerson (Flower Films & Video)<ref name="amg"/><ref name="LarkinBlues"/>
* ''The Sun's Gonna Shine'' (1969), directed by Les Blank with Skip Gerson (Flower Films & Video)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lesblank.com/films/the-suns-gonna-shine-1969/|title=The Sun's Gonna Shine (1969) - Les Blank Films|website=Lesblank.com|date=July 7, 2024|access-date=January 10, 2025}}</ref>
* ''[[Sounder (film)|Sounder]]'' (1972), directed by Martin Ritt (the soundtrack included [[Taj Mahal (musician)|Taj Mahal]] singing a version of Hopkins "Needed Time")<ref name="CG">{{cite book| last=Christgau| first=Robert| year=1981 |title=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies| publisher=Ticknor & Fields| chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: M| chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=M&bk=70| access-date=January 31, 2021| isbn=978-0899190266}}</ref>
* His song "Once a Gambler" is on the [[Crazy Heart (soundtrack)|soundtrack]] of the 2009 film ''[[Crazy Heart]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/crazy-heart-original-motion-picture-soundtrack--mw0001954842|title=Crazy Heart [Original Motion Picture Soundtrac...|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=January 8, 2025}}</ref>

==Books==
* ''Mojo Hand: An Orphic Tale'', by [[J.J. Phillips]] (Serpent's Tail), {{ISBN|978-1852421090}}.
* ''Lightnin' Hopkins: Blues Guitar Legend'', by Dan Bowden, {{ISBN|978-0786602384}}.
* ''Deep Down Hard Blues: Tribute to Lightnin''', by Sarah Ann West, {{ISBN|978-1556181504}}.
* ''Lightnin' Hopkins: His Life and Blues'', by Alan Govenar (Chicago Review Press), {{ISBN|978-1556529627}}.
* ''[[Mojo Hand: The Life and Music of Lightnin' Hopkins]]'', by Timothy J. O'Brien and David Ensminger ([[University of Texas Press]]), {{ISBN|978-0292762145}}.

==See also==
*[[List of blues musicians]]
*[[Texas blues]]
*[[Six Strings Down]]

==References==
;Inline citations
{{Reflist}}

;Further reading
*Stambler, Irwin; Landon, Grellun (1983). ''The Encyclopedia of Folk, Country & Western Music'' (2nd ed.). St. Martin's Press. {{ISBN|0-312-24818-0}}.
*Liner notes to the CD ''Country Blues'', Ryko/[[Tradition Records]].

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|id=0394222}}
* {{Discogs artist|Lightnin' Hopkins}}

{{Lightnin' Hopkins}}
{{Authority control}}

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