H
Harmonica
Slim
b: 12-21-1934,
Douglasville, TX
Over the history of the blues, there have been at least three different
people plying their wares as Harmonica Slim, with one of them being far better
known as Slim Harpo. But this Harmonica Slim was born Travis L. Blaylock here in
Texas. He picked up the instrument around the age of 12 and was soon working as
part of the Sunny South Gospel Singers gospel group, broadcasting over radio
station KCMC in his hometown of Texarkana from the mid 40's on. By 1949, he
moved to Los Angeles, ingratiating himself into the burgeoning blues community,
working package shows with Lowell Fulsom and the like. He first recorded as a
sideman on a group of dates in the mid 50's for West Coast labels like Aladdin,
Spry, and Vita. After spending most of the 60's working dates with Percy
Mayfield, Harmonica Fats, B.B. King, T-Bone Walker and others, Slim finally got
to record a full album under his full name for the Bluestime label in
1969.
Peppermint
Harris
b: Jul. 17, 1925,
Texarkana, TX
The contemporary blues boom has resuscitated the career of many a veteran
blues artist who's been silent for ages. Take guitarist Peppermint Harris, who
in 1951 topped the R&B charts with his classic booze ode "I Got Loaded".
Nobody expected a new Peppermint Harris CD in 1995, but Home Cooking producer
Roy C. Ames coaxed one out of old Pep for Collectables nonetheless. Texas On
My Mind may not be as enthralling as Harris' early 50's output, but
it's nice to have him back in circulation.
By the
time he was in his early 20's, Harrison Nelson Jr. was lucky enough to have
found a mentor and friend on the Houston blues front. Lightin' Hopkins took an
interest in the young mans musical development. When Harris was deemed ready,
Lightin' accompanied him to Gold Star Records. Nothing came out of that jaunt,
but Harris eventually recorded his debut 78 for the company in 1948 (as
Peppermint Nelson).
Bob Shad's Sittin' In label was
the vehicle that supplied Harris' early work to the masses - especially his
first major hit, "Raining in My Heart", in 1950. These weren't exactly formal
sessions - legend has it one took place in a Houston bordello. Nor was Shad to
cognizant of Pep's surname - when he couldn't recall it, he simply renamed our
man Harris.
Harris moved over to Eddie Mesner's
Aladdin Records in 1951, cutting far tighter sides for the firm in Los Angeles.
After "I Got Loaded" lit up the charts in 1951, Harris indulged in one booze ode
after another - "Have Another Drink and Talk To Me" "Right Back On It" and
"Three Sheets In The Wind". But try as they might, the bottle let Harris down as
a lyrical launching pad after that.
Later, Harris
worked various jobs around the Houston area, including one at a record pressing
plant, before retiring to Sacramento, Calif.
Alan
Haynes
b: Feb. 19, 1956,
Houston, TX
Texas born and
bred guitar slinger Alan Haynes, started playing guitar at the age of 8 and soon
discovered the blues at the age of 12-13 or so. At that time, Alan never thought
about making a living playing guitar. While listening to B.B. King, Albert
Collins and Freddie King on the radio, he always thought he would become an
artist. His artistic talents were not lost because in 1996, he did the graphics
for his own album, Wishing Well.
In the early
70's, at the age of 18 when Alan found himself at a crossroads and had to choose
a way. He made up his mind to hit the road of Blues and he knew there was no
turning back. Alan's first professional effort started in the late 70's when he
joined "Texas Boogie Band" and was soon the frontman. The bass player was none
other than former Johnny Winter bassist, Tommy Shannon of Double Trouble fame.
The band got plenty of radio air time and was soon the house band at the Texas
Opry House.
After moving to Austin in the
early 80's, Alan formed his own band, "Alan and the Stepchildren" and cut his
first LP, Seventh Son. With him on board was the legendary Uncle John
Turner, who, like Tommy Shannon, had been playing with Johnny Winter for years.
Another legend can be heard on the LP. Bobby Blue Bland's guitarist Wayne
Bennet, with whom Alan had become good friends. Alan later went on the road and
performed a few times with Wayne and Bobby.
Alan has
performed with such blues greats as Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Fabulous
Thunderbirds, Bobby Blue Bland, Albert Collins, John Lee Hooker, Albert King,
Otis Rush and the great Johnny Winter who Alan claims as a major influence. This
influence can be heard, especially in Alan's passionate and throaty singing
style.
His fans had to wait until 1996, when Alan
finally released his second album, Wishing Well with the help of Tommy
Shannon, Chris Layton and 'Thunderbirds' Preston Hubbard and George Rains. This
album received great reviews from all over the world and led to a feature
article in "Guitar Player Magazine", "Alan Haynes - New angles on Classic
Blues", (Aug.'95)
In May of 1998, while leaving an
Austin club, Alan was jumped by two drunken men. Alan was knocked to the ground
and separated his left shoulder. It took months for Alan to regain his his
strength. Alan did not even know if his fingers would respond in the same way.
Lucky for the blues world, Alan fully recovered and is playing the blues better
than ever. (from the
website of Christian Groebel and the official Alan Haynes website )
Z.Z.
Hill
b: Sep. 30, 1935,
Naples TX d: Apr. 27, 1984, Dallas
Texas born singer Z. Z. Hill managed
to resuscitate both his own semi-flagging career and the entire genre at large
when he signed on at Jackson, MS'S Malaco Records in 1980 and began growling his
way through some of the most uncompromising blues to be unleashed on black radio
stations in many a moon.
His
impressive 1982 Malaco album Down Home Blues remained on Billboards soul
album charts for nearly two years, an extraordinary run for such a bluesy
LP. His songs "Down Home Blues" and "Somebody Else is Steppin' In" have
graduated into the ranks of legitimate blues standards (and there haven't been
many of those come along over the last couple of
decades).
Arzell hill started out
singing gospel with a quintet called The Spiritual Five, but the output of
B. B. King , Bobby Bland, and especially Sam Cook made a more indelible mark on
his approach. He began gigging around Dallas, fashioning his distinctive
initials after those of B. B. King. When his older brother Matt Hill ( a
budding record producer with his own label, M. H.) invited Z. Z. to go west to
southern California, the young singer
did.
His debut single on M. H.,
the gutsy shuffle "You Were Wrong" (recorded in an LA garage studio), showed up
on Billboards pop chart for a week in 1964. With such a relatively
successful showing his first time out, Hill's fine subsequent singles for the
Bahari brothers Kent logo should have been even bigger. But "I Need
Someone (to love me)", "Happiness is All I Need", and a raft of other deserving
Kent 45's (many produced and arranged by Maxwell Davis) went nowhere
commercially for the singer.
Excellent singles
for Atlantic, Mankind, and Hill (another imprint operated by brother Matt, who
served as Z. Z.'s producer for much of his career) preceded a 1972 hookup with
United Artists that resulted in three albums and six R&B chart single over
the next couple of years. From there, Z. Z. moved on to
Columbia, where his 1977 single "Love Is So Good When You're Stealing It" became
his biggest-selling hit of all.
Hill's vocal
grit was never more effective than on his blues-soaked Malaco output. From
1980 until 1984, when he died suddenly of a heart attack, Z. Z. bravely led a
personal back-to-the-blues campaign that doubtless helped to fuel the current
contemporary blues boom. It' s a shame he couldn't stick around to see it
blossom.
"Smokey" Hogg
b; Jan. 27, 1914 Westconnie, Texas
d; May 1, 1960
McKinney, Texas
Smokey Hogg was a rural blues man navigating a
post-war era infatuated by R&B, but he got along quite nicely non the less,
scoring a pair of major R&B hits in 1948 and 1950 and cutting a thick
catalog for a slew of labels (including Exclusive, Modern, Bullet, Macy's,
Sittin' in With, Imperial, Mercury, Recorded in Hollywood, Specialty, Fidelity,
Combo, Federal, and Showtime.)
During the early
30's, Hogg who was influenced by Big Bill Broonzy and Peetie Wheatstraw, worked
with a slide guitarist Black Ace at dances around Greenville, Texas. Hogg
first recorded for Decca in 1937, but it was an isolated occurrence-he didn't
make it back into a studio for a decade. Once he hit his stride, Hogg
didn't look back. Both his charts hits-1948's "Long Tall Mama" and 1950's
"Little School Girl" - were issued on Modern, but his rough-hewn sound seldom
changed a whole lot no matter what Los Angeles logo he was appearing on.
Hogg's last few sides were cut in 1958 for Lee Rupe's EBB
label.
Lightin'
Hopkins
b:3-15-1912,Centerville
TX,d:1-30-1982,Houston,TX
Sam Hopkins was a Texas country bluesman of the highest
caliber whose career began in the 1920's and stretched all the way to the
1980's. Along the way, Hopkin's watched the genre change remarkably, but he
never appreciably altered his mournful Lone Star sound, which translated onto
both electric and acoustic guitar. Hopkin's nimble dexterity made intricate
boogie riffs seem easy, and his fascinating penchant for improvising lyrics to
fit whatever situation might arise made him a beloved blues
troubadour.
Hopkin's brother John Henry and Joel
were also talented bluesmen, but it was Sam that became a star. In 1920, he met
the legendary Blind Lemon Jefferson at a social function, and even got to play
with him. Later, Hopkin's served as Jefferson's guide. In his teens, Hopkin's
began working with another pre-war great, singer Texas Alexander, who was his
cousin. A mid-30's stretch in Houston's County Prison Farm for the young
guitarist interrupted their partnership for a time, but when he was freed,
Hopkin's hooked back up with the older bluesman.
The
pair was dishing out their lowdown brand of blues in Houston's Third Ward in
1946 when talent scout Lola Ann Cullum came across them. She had already
engineered a pact with Los Angeles-based Aladdin Records for another of
her charges, pianist, Amos Milburn, and Cullum saw the same sort of opportunity
within Hopkin' dusty country blues. Alexander wasn't part of the deal. instead,
Cullum paired Hopkin's with pianist Wilson "Thunder" Smith, sensibly
rechristened the guitarist Lightin', and presto! Hopkin's was soon an Aladdin
recording artist.
"Katie May", cut on Nov.
9th, 1946, in Los Angeles with Smith lending a hand on the 88's, was Hopkin's
first regional seller of note. He recorded prolifically for Aladdin in both Los
Angeles and Houston into 1948, scoring a national R&B hit for the firm with
his "Shotgun Blues", "Short Haired Woman", "Abilene", and "Big Mama Jump", among
many Aladdin gems, were evocative Texas blues rooted in an earlier
era.
A load of other labels recorded the wily
Hopkin's after that, both in a solo context and with small rhythm
section-Modern/RPM (this uncompromising "Tim Moore's Farm" was an R&B hit in
1949), Gold Star (where he hit with "T-Model Blues" that same year), Sittin' In
With ("Give Me Central 209" and "Coffee Blues" were national chart entries in
1952) and its Jax subsidiary, the major labels Mercury and Decca, and in 1954, a
remarkable batch of sides for Herald where Hopkin's played blistering guitar on
a series of blasting rockers ("Lightin's Boogie", "Lightin's Special", and the
amazing "Hopkin's Sky Hop") in front of drummer Ben Turner and bassist Donald
Cooks.
Hopkin's generally demanded full payment
before he would sit down and record, and seldom indulged a producer's desire for
more than one take of any song. His sense of country time befuddled more than a
few unseasoned musicians. From the 60's on, his solo work is usually preferable
to band-backed material.
Filmmaker Les Blank
captured the Texas player's informal lifestyle most vividly in a 1967
documentary, The Blues Accordin' to Lightin' Hopkins. As one of the last
great country bluesmen, Hopkin's was a fascinating figure who bridged the gap
between rural and urban styles.
Bee Houston
(Edward Wilson
Houston)
b:4-19-1938, San Antonio TX, d: 3-19-1991,
California
Guitarist/Vocalist Edward Wilson 'Bee' Houston's an exciting performer
whose style blends elements of Texas shuffle and Southern gospel-tinged soul.
Houston played in the High School drum and bugle corps as a young man in San
Antonio, and played in the backing bands of Little Willie John, Junior Parker,
Bobby "Blue" Bland, and others in the late 50's and early 60's. After a two year
stint, Houston moved to the West Coast. He toured and recorded frequently with
Big Mama Thornton in the 60's, and also accompanied several visiting blues
players during West Coast visits. Houston recorded for Arhoolie in the 60's and
70's and also made several festival appearances and club dates.
Joe
Houston
b: Austin,
TX
Joe
Houston is a honking R&B saxman of wallpaper-peeling potency who recorded
for virtually every major independent R&B label in Los Angeles during the
1950's. When the jump blues tradition faded, he segued right into rock 'n' roll
even cutting budget 'Twist' and 'Surf' albums for Crown that didn't sound very
different from what he was doing a decade later.
Houston played around Houston (Texas, that is) with the bands of Amos Milburn
and Joe Turner during the late 40's. It was Turner who got the young saxist his
first deal with Freedom Records in 1949. Houston found his way to the West Coast
in 1952 and started recording for labels big and small. Modern, RPM, Lucky,
Imperial, Dootone, Recorded in Hollywood, Cash, and Money ( as well as
considerably better-financed Mercury, where he scored his only national R&B
hit "Worry, Worry, Worry")
Houston's formula was
simple and savagely direct - he'd honk and wail as hard as he could, from any
conceivable position, on his knee's, lying on his back, walking to the bar, etc.
His output for the Bahari Bros. Crown label is positively exhilarating. "All
Nite Long", "Blow Joe Blow", and "Joe's Gone" are great examples of
single-minded sax blowing.
Camille
Howard
b:3-14-1914,
Galveston TX d:3-10-93, Los Angeles,CA
Piano-tinkling chanteuses were quite
the rage during the war years. But Camille Howard's two-fisted thundering boogie
style, much like her Los Angeles contemporary, Hadda Brooks, was undoubtedly the
equivalent of any 88s ace, male or female.
Howard
was part of the great migration from Texas to the West Coast. She was installed
as pianist with drummer Roy Milton & the Solid Senders sometime during WWII,
playing on all their early hits for Art Rupe's Juke Box and Specialty labels
(notably the groundbreaking "RM Blues" in 1945).
Sensing her potential following the success of Milton's 1947 hit "Thrill Me"
(with Howard vocals), Rupe began recording her as a featured artist at the end
of the year. Legend has it that Howard's biggest hit, the roaring instrumental
"X-Temporaneous Boogie, was improvised at the tale end of her first date as a
leader. It's flip, "You Don't Love Me" was a hit in it's own
right.
Howard's vocal abilities were pretty potent
too. Her "Fiesta in Old Mexico" was a hit in 1949, while "Money Blues" credited
to Camille Howard & Her Boyfriends, registered strong coin in 1951. Howard
cranked out storming boogies and sultry ballads for Specialty through 1953, then
jumped from Federal to Vee-Jay before landing in Los Angeles for
good.
Joe
Hughes
b: 1938, Houston,
Texas
Houston was home base to a remarkable cadre of red-hot blues guitarists
during the 1950's. Joe Hughes may not be known as widely as his peers Albert
Collins and Johnny Copeland but he's a solid journeyman with a growing
discovery.
Another of his Houston neighbors, Johnny
'Guitar' Watson, lit a performing fire in a 14-year-old Hughes. Lone Star
stal-warts T-Bone Walker and Gatemouth Brown also exerted their influences on
Hughes's playing. His path crossed Copeland's circa 1953, when the two shared
vocal and guitar duties in a combo called the Dukes of Rhythm. Hughes served as
bandleader at a local blues joint known as Shady's Playhouse from 1958 thru
1963, cutting a few scattered singles of his own in his spare time ("I Can't Go
On This Way", "Ant's In My Pants", "Shoe Shy"). In 1963, Hughes hit the road
with the Upsetters, switching to the employ of Bobby 'Blue' Bland in 1965 (he
also recorded behind the singer for Duke) and Al 'TNT' Braggs from 1967 to
1969.
A long dry spell followed, but Hughes finally
came back to the spotlight with a fine set for Black Top in 1989, If You Want
To See These Blues (by that time he had inserted 'Guitar' into his name like
his old pal Watson). Hughes' latest set for Bullseye Blues, 1996's Texas
Guitar Slinger, is a slashing blend of blues and soul with tightly arranged
horns and more than enough axe to fulfill Hughes' adopted nickname.
Sadly Joe passed
away on 30th. May 2003