Another forecoming book, this is the "official" announcement which I've just received from former BBFer "Sam Hopkins".
Lightnin' Hopkins: His Life and Blues by Alan Govenar. Chicago Review Press.
To be published May 2010.
By the time of his death in 1982, Sam "Lightnin'" Hopkins was likely the
most recorded blues artist in history. This brilliant new biography--the
first book ever written about him--illuminates a man of many contradictions.
He poured out his feelings in his songs, but it was hard to tell if he was
truly sincere. He appeared to trust no one, yet he knew how to endear
himself to his audience, whether he was playing for black audiences in
Houston¹s Third Ward or for white crowds at the Matrix in San Francisco or
in the concert halls of Europe.
Born in 1912 on a small farm to a poor, sharecropping family in the cotton
country between Dallas and Houston, Hopkins left home when he was only nine
years old with a guitar his brother had given to him. Picking cotton was not
what he wanted to do, so he made his living however he could, sticking to
the open road, playing the blues and taking odd jobs when money was short.
This biography delves into Hopkins¹ early years, debunking the myths
surrounding his meetings with Blind Lemon Jefferson and Texas Alexander, his
time on a chain gang, his women, and his life-long appetite for gambling and
drinking.
Hopkins didn¹t begin recording until 1946, when he was dubbed
"Lightnin¹'"during his first session, and he soon joined Muddy Waters and
John Lee Hooker on the national charts. But by the time he was
"rediscovered" by Mack McCormick and Sam Charters in 1959, his popularity
had begun to wane. A second career emerged--now Lightnin¹ was pitched to
white audiences, not black ones, and he became immensely successful, singing
about his country roots and the injustices that informed the civil rights
era with a searing emotive power.
More than a decade in the making, this biography is based on scores of
interviews with Lightnin's relatives, friends, lovers, producers,
accompanists, managers, and fans.
Lightnin' Hopkins: His Life and Blues by Alan Govenar. Chicago Review Press.
To be published May 2010.
By the time of his death in 1982, Sam "Lightnin'" Hopkins was likely the
most recorded blues artist in history. This brilliant new biography--the
first book ever written about him--illuminates a man of many contradictions.
He poured out his feelings in his songs, but it was hard to tell if he was
truly sincere. He appeared to trust no one, yet he knew how to endear
himself to his audience, whether he was playing for black audiences in
Houston¹s Third Ward or for white crowds at the Matrix in San Francisco or
in the concert halls of Europe.
Born in 1912 on a small farm to a poor, sharecropping family in the cotton
country between Dallas and Houston, Hopkins left home when he was only nine
years old with a guitar his brother had given to him. Picking cotton was not
what he wanted to do, so he made his living however he could, sticking to
the open road, playing the blues and taking odd jobs when money was short.
This biography delves into Hopkins¹ early years, debunking the myths
surrounding his meetings with Blind Lemon Jefferson and Texas Alexander, his
time on a chain gang, his women, and his life-long appetite for gambling and
drinking.
Hopkins didn¹t begin recording until 1946, when he was dubbed
"Lightnin¹'"during his first session, and he soon joined Muddy Waters and
John Lee Hooker on the national charts. But by the time he was
"rediscovered" by Mack McCormick and Sam Charters in 1959, his popularity
had begun to wane. A second career emerged--now Lightnin¹ was pitched to
white audiences, not black ones, and he became immensely successful, singing
about his country roots and the injustices that informed the civil rights
era with a searing emotive power.
More than a decade in the making, this biography is based on scores of
interviews with Lightnin's relatives, friends, lovers, producers,
accompanists, managers, and fans.
