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Authors: Lightnin' Hopkins: His Life,Blues

Tags: #Biography, #Hopkins; Lightnin', #United States, #General, #Music, #Blues Musicians - United States, #Biography & Autobiography, #Blues, #Genres & Styles, #Composers & Musicians, #Blues Musicians

Alan Govenar (62 page)

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hootenannies, 78–79, 85, 296n23

Hootenanny at the Alley, 78–80

Hootin' the Blues
(recording), 130

Hopkins, Abe, 3; murder of, 4

Hopkins, Abe Jr., 3

Hopkins, Alice, 3

Hopkins, Charles Lewis, 228

Hopkins, Emma, 227

Hopkins, Frances, xiii, 3, 4, 17, 37, 42, 125, 288n11

Hopkins, Joel, xiii, 3, 8–10, 125, 135–36, 164

Hopkins, John Henry, 3, 5, 8, 135–36

Hopkins, Lucien, 36

Hopkins, Oland, xii–xiii

Hopkins, Sam “Lightnin,'” 29, 47, 59, 61–63, 69, 88, 90, 107–11, 113, 119–20, 131, 138, 144, 150, 170, 181–82, 185–86, 189–92, 195, 197, 202–3, 213–14, 231, 297n37, 298n64, 299n21; airplane disasters, mental record-keeping of, 118; air travel, dread of, 140–41; on Aladdin, 43–45, 48–50; Alexander, Texas, influence on, 30; Alexander, Texas, traveling with, 24–26; appeal of, 52–53, 114; and black audiences, 121–22, 147, 196; on the blues, 11–12; and blues revival, 96–97, 128; boyhood of, 1, 3–8; broke, complaints of, 153; brothers, recording with, 135–36; in California, 98–100, 196; in Canada, 205, 206, 221; car accident, 194; as caricature, 215; at Carnegie Hall, 105, 218–20; cash payments, preference for, 91; in chain gang, 13–15, 27; character of, 19; and Samuel Charters, 71–76, 81–82; clothing of, 164; contracts, disregard of, 48, 112, 135, 188, 201; “country bumpkin,” dressed as, 99; death of, 225–26; discography of, 95–96, 151–52, 237–38, 240; discovery of, 41–42; documentary on, 175–80; drinking of, 82–83, 153–54, 184; education of, as minimal, 44; electric guitar, denigration of, 93–94; as enigma, x; European tour, 208; floating verses, use of, ix, 12; flying, hatred of, 118; as folk artist, 83, 106; as folk hero, 42; and Folkways, 90–93; at fraternity party, 134; funeral of, 226–28; gambling, fondness for, 5, 13, 28–29, 153; at Gaslight Club, 148; on Gold Star, 46, 48–50, 55; Grammy nomination, 198; as guitar collector, 220–21; guitar playing of, 8–9; health of, 126, 216, 220; Herald sessions, 67; Herald sessions, as watershed, 64; as high maintenance, 98; in Houston, 35–36, 38–39, 54, 199–200, 216; as icon, 173; illness of, 223–25; improvisation of, viii, x, 103, 105; in Japan, 208–10; Blind Lemon Jefferson, meeting with, 9–11; legacy of, 146, 232–36; as legend, 204; local following of, 52–53, 67; marriage of, 16; and Mack McCormick, 76–81, 83, 87, 89, 124–28; memory of, 12; in Mexico, 222; on Modern, 58; mood swings of, 207; mother, importance of to, 125–26; as musically versatile, 139; as nationally known, 56; nickname of, xiv, 43; performances, descriptions of, 142–43, 205, 215, 302–3n11; persona of, 15; personality of, 217–19, 227; personal life of, 124–25; and J. J. Phillips, 155, 157–69, 171–72; physical appearance of, 16; rediscovery, myth of, 82–83, 115; romanticizing of, 84; royalties of, 229–30; self-mythologizing of, 233; signature sound of, ix; and social protest, 86; songs, selling rights of, 60, 152, 238; and talking blues, 133; temper of, 15; and Texas blues tradition, vii, ix; touring, dislike of, 57, 68; touring of, 132–34, 149, 188, 192, 193, 215; victim, self-portrayal as, 15, 37; at Village Gate, 107, 114, 130, 132–33; virtuosity of, viii, 18; white audiences, performing for, 80, 100–1, 112, 117, 122, 137, 145, 183, 218, 234; whites, distrust of, 68, 129, 211–12; wife, as term, loose attitude toward, 18, 38; will of, 228–29

“Hopkins Sky Hop,” 64–65

House Committee for Un-American Activities, 104

House, Son, 147, 190

Houston (Texas): African Americans in, 31–33, 86, 293n39; black music scene in, 52; Creole population in, 51; Dowling Street in, 33, 36, 39, 199, 304n61; Fifth Ward in, 32–33, 86; Fourth Ward in, 32, 86; marching bands in, 33; racism in, as rampant, 32, 84–86; Third Ward in, 33–35, 52–54, 86, 199

Houston, Cisco, 111, 114

Houston Folklore Group, 69, 79, 81, 92, 97

Howlin' Wolf, 141, 219

“Howling Wolf Blues,” 49

Hughes, Joe, 232

Hurt, Mississippi John, 145, 147

“I Can't Stay Here in Your Town,” 239.
See also
“Rocky Mountain Blues”

“Ida Mae,” 17, 64–65. See
also
“Don't Think ‘Cause You're Pretty”

“I Feel So Bad,” 43

“I'm Going to Build Me a Heaven of My Own,” 151

“I'm Wild about You Baby,” 63

International Artists Records, 184, 306n23

It's a Sin to Be Rich
(recording), 307n60

“I've Been ‘Buked (and Scorned),” 11

“I've Got My Mojo Working,” 113

“I Worked Down on the Chain Gang,” 14

Jackson, J. J., 209

Jackson, John, xiii

Jackson, Lil' Son, 56, 58, 295n61

Jackson, Rayfield, 67

“Jackstropper Blues,” 58

Jack Yates High School, 33

“Jail House Blues,” 14, 55, 239

“Jake Head Boogie,” 58

James, Clifton, 141

James, Elmore, 131

James, Skip, 147, 307n34

Jax Records, 62

Jazzman
(Ramsey and Smith), 70

Jazz: New Orleans 1885–1957
(Charters), 70

Jefferson Airplane, 173

Jefferson, Blind Lemon, ix, 9–11, 18, 23, 43, 75–76, 84, 87, 146, 289n39

Jefferson, George, 10–11

Jefferson, Marcella, 10–11

“Jesus, Won't You Come by Here,” 11, 121.
See also
“Now Is the

Needy Time”

Jewel Records, 149, 150, 151, 186

Jim Crow laws, 32, 85

Johnson, Conrad, 33

Johnson, Floyd, 4

Johnson, Lonnie, 23, 30

Johnson, Robert, 17

“Jole Blon,” 46, 48

Jones, Abner, 33

Jones, Little Hat, 23

Jordan, Tucker, 8

Joseph, Harold “Frenchy,” 146

juke joints, 25

Juneteenth Blues Festival, 205, 221, 223; and “Lightnin' Hopkins Day,” 220

Kagan, Shel, 130

Kahal, Sol, 294n47

“Katie Mae Blues,” 43, 116

KCOH, 53

Kelly, J. D., xii

Kelly, Reverend Johnny, 227

Kessler, Joe, 118

KFVD, 66–67

Kilpatrick, Joe “Spider,” 77, 103, 122–23, 146

King, B. B., 233

King, Freddie, 232

King, Martin Luther Jr., 86

Knight, Elizabeth, 104

Kroll, Connie, 62

KPRC, 40

KYOK, 53

Lacy, Elamer, 16, 28, 38, 224

Lang, Eddie, 23

Langford, Clyde, xiii, 4, 8, 18, 37, 42

Last Night Blues
(recording), 107, 109

“Late in the Evening,” 64

Lay, Sam, 148

“Leaving Blues,” 64

Ledbetter, Huddie (Leadbelly), 15, 61, 70, 79, 87, 100, 115, 156

Ledbetter, Martha, 115, 129

Leadbitter, Mike, 41, 179, 301n81

Legacy of the Blues
series, 203

Lennon, John, 184

Leonard, Victor, 122

Leon County (Texas), 1, 12; slave property in, 2

Leona (Texas), 5

Lester, Julius, 172

“Let Me Play with Your Poodle,” 36

“Letter to Lightnin' Hopkins,” 299n21

“(Letter to My) Back Door Friend,” 150

“Levee Camp Moan,” 25

Leventhal, Harold, 79, 83, 104–5, 110–11, 114, 121

Lewis, George, 70

Lewis, Huey, 230, 310n89

Lewis, Stan, 149–50, 186, 192

“Life I Used to Live,” 64

Lightnin'
(recording), 109

“Lightnin' Blues,” 50, 131, 132

Lightnin' and the Blues
(recording), 115–16

Lightnin' and Co.
(recording), 123

Lightnin' in New York
(recording), 110, 111

“Lightnin' Don't Feel Well,” 65.
See
also
“Wonder What Is Wrong with Me”

Lightnin' Hopkins Appreciation Society, 151

Lightning Hopkins: Last of the Great

Blues Singers
(recording), 116

Lightnin' Hopkins, Rare Performances
1960–1979
(recording), 302n7

Lightnin' Hopkins Strums the Blues
(recording), 115

“Lightnin' Jump,” 64

“Lightnin's Piano Boogie,” 110

Lightnin' Slim (Otis Hicks), 232

Lightning Strikes
(recording), 119, 149, 198, 301n82

Lippmann, Horst, 135, 147

Lipscomb, Mance, 54, 102–3, 131, 140, 179, 181, 188, 190, 197, 231

“Little Antoinette,” 182

Little Richard (Richard Penniman), 67

“Little School Girl,” 56

Little Walter (Walter Jacobs), 148

Live at the Bird Lounge
(recording), 161

Lockett, Jesse, 46

Logan, Don, 186–88, 192

Lohr, Fran Petters, 190

Lomax, Alan, 147, 307n34

Lomax, John A. Jr., 69, 78–79, 92, 96–101, 104, 117, 140, 175, 179, 188, 227, 307n34

Lomax, John A. Sr., 100

The London Muddy Waters Session
(recording), 198

Lone Star Colored Baseball League of Texas, 21

Lore, Nick, 300n51

Lyday, Jim, 79

Lyon, George, 137

lynching, 3

Mahal, Taj, 194

Marshall, Thurgood, 86

Mary Allen College, 9, 289n35

“Matchbox Blues,” 136

Matrix (club), 173–74

Mayhew, Aubrey, 146

McAdoo, Bill, 104–5

McCarthy, Joseph, 104

McCartney, Paul, 184

McCaskill, Bill “Rascal,” 53

McCormick, Robert “Mack,” 18, 30, 45, 47, 54, 61, 68, 69–70, 73, 84, 90, 93, 95–96, 98, 101–4, 106–8, 113, 117, 119, 120–23, 146, 153, 188, 297n37, 298n64; arrest warrant of, 127; and Folkways letter, 91–92; Lightnin' Hopkins, promoting of, 78–81, 83; Lightnin' Hopkins, recording of, 76–77, 87, 89; Lightnin' Hopkins, relationship with, as deteriorating, 124–28

McDowell, Fred, 147, 231

McGhee, Brownie, 70, 79–80, 100, 147, 210, 299n21

“Mean Old Frisco,” 109

“Mean Old Twister,” 43

Meeker, Robert C., 53

Mello, Breno, 159

Mercury Records, 62, 64

“Mercy,” 48

“Merry Christmas,” 63

Mesner, Eddie, 41, 43, 45, 48

Michel, Ed, 101

“Mighty Crazy,” 111

Mikofsky, Anton J., 218–20

Milburn, Amos, 40–41, 44

Miles, Luke “Long Gone,” 99, 103, 189

Miller, Henry, 171

Milton, Mabel, 13, 125

“Mini Skirt,” 184

Mississippi Sheiks, 23

Mister Jelly Roll
(Lomax), 70

“Moanin' Blues,” 64

Modern Records, 48, 58

“Mojo Hand,” 113, 114, 193, 206, 300n62

Mojo
Hand
(Phillips), 155, 159, 166–67; critical reaction to, 171–72

Mojo Hand
(recording), 113, 130

Monroe, Bill, 196

Moon, Bucklin, 167

“Moonrise Blues,” 49

Moore, Chintz, 22–23

Moore, Ella B., 22

Moore, Tom, 54–55, 87, 102.
See also

“Tom Moore's Farm”

Morgenstern, Dan, 132–33, 192

Morrison, Van, 230, 310n89

Mousner, Jim, 86

“Move on Out Boogie,” 64, 151

“Mr. Charlie,” 97, 184, 186, 219, 223

“Mr. Charlie, Your Rollin' Mill Is Burnin' Down,”
See
“Mr. Charlie”

Mullen, Patrick, 84

Murray, Albert, 171

Musselwhite, Charlie, 67

“My Little Kewpie Doll,” 64–65. See
also
“Bad Boogie”

Naifeh, Alfie, 200, 212

Napier-Bell, Simon, 152

Nash, Tom, 5

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), 85

National Students Association, 156

Newell, Inez, 46

New Lost City Ramblers, 114

Newport Folk Festival, 147

Nixon, Elmore, 137, 185, 187

Nixon, Hammie, 141

Normangee (Texas), 22

“Nothin' But the Blues,” 65

“Now Is the Needy Time,” 11.
See
also
“Jesus, Won't You Come by Here”

Ochs, Phil, 145

Odetta, 156

“Old Country Stomp,” 7

Oliver, Joe “King,” 23, 61

Oliver, Paul, xiii, 95, 102–4, 142, 151–52, 295n69

Olivier, Barry, 97

O'Neal, Jim, 222

On the Road Again: Down Home
Blues, Jazz, Gospel, and More
(film), 302n7

Otis, Charles “Honey Man,” 219

Paley, Tom, 114

Palmer, Earl, 149

Palmer, Robert, 205, 222

Patoski, Joe Nick, 134, 302–3n11

A
Pattern of Words
(television program), 110

Patterson, J. L. Jr., 127

Paula Records, 186

Pearl, Bernie, 194–95, 197, 232

Pearl, Ed, 98–100, 125, 189, 194, 196, 197, 198

Peery, Carroll, 118–19, 138–39, 183, 191, 235

“Penitentiary Blues” (“Groesbeck Blues”), 75, 181–82. See
also

“Bud Russell Blues”

Phelan, Charlotte, 82–83, 88

Phillips, J. J., 155, 166, 170, 304n4, 305n12; arrest of, 157; background of, 156; and Lightnin' Hopkins, 157–69, 171–72

Phillis Wheatley High School, 33

Pickens, Buster, 29, 123, 200

Pickwick Records, 146

Plessy v. Ferguson,
32

Point, Michael, 217

“Policy Game,” 63

Pollock, Mark, 212

“Polo Blues,” 27

Pope, Kay, 144

Poppy Records, 190–91

Porper, Howard, 69

“Prairie Dog Hole,” 27

Prestige/Bluesville Records, 117, 126–27, 146, 151, 201, 229–30

Price, Sam, 23

Puckett, Riley, 7

Pullum, Joe, 53

Quinn, Bill, 45–46, 48–52, 54, 56–59, 69, 91, 119, 152, 293n38, 294n46, 295n59, 295n61, 301n82

race records, 48, 115, 294n52

Racine, Marty, 226–27

radio: African Americans, targeting of, 66

Rainey, Ma, 133

Ramey, Ben, 79, 81

Ramsey, Frederic, 70, 73

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