Lightnin' Hopkins

During the day I listened to the pop stations KLIF and KBOX, as did, it seemed, almost everyone in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Apart from the occasional terrible novelty record....KLIF and KBOX played wonderful music, with KBOX seeming perhaps a little more juvenile, a little more downmarket. As a guide to how good the music was, Lightnin' Hopkins had a number-one chart hit on KLIF with "Mojo Hand". If that means nothing to you, it's time to make some serious adjustments to your life . (John Peel in Margrave Of The Marshes, p.151)

I love Lightnin' Hopkins you know. I've still got more vinyl LPs by Lightnin’ Hopkins than by any other artist. (JP, 27 June 2001)

Met him as well actually. Jumped up on stage when he was playing at Luanne’s in Dallas millions of years ago and shook his hand. (JP, 07 December 1991)

Lightnin Hopkins - Mojo Hand

Mojo Hand

Lightnin Hopkins - Baby Please Dont Go

Baby Please Don't Go

Sam "Lightnin'" Hopkins (1912-1982) was a blues singer, songwriter and guitarist from Houston, Texas. His long career began in the country blues era; in his youth he worked as an accompanist to the legendary Blind Lemon Jefferson, as well as with another noted singer, Texas Alexander. Like a number of other blues singers, he also spent time in prison, but in the post-World War Two period, when urban blues was popular with black audiences, he achieved fame with a succession of R&B hits. His music still retained a rural flavour, and he had the country bluesman's ability to be a self-sufficient solo performer, improvising on guitar and composing many new songs based on old blues structures. Because of this, it was difficult to pair him with younger, white rock groups, although he did record an album wiith members of the Texas psychedelic band The 13th Floor Elevators. But long before that, he had been acclaimed by the predominantly white public of the 1960s folk and blues revival, increasing his renown beyond the Houston area where he was already a local star. He continued to record prolifically (he made more albums than any other blues artist) and toured both in the USA and overseas, visiting Europe and Japan in the late 1970s. He was described as "Houston's poet-in-residence", was the subject of three documentary films and at least one biography and is commemorated by a statue in Crockett, Texas,

Peel and Lightnin' Hopkins

John Peel was a huge fan of the blues star even before he went to live in Dallas and continued to play him on shows down the decades. Lightnin' Hopkins was also indirectly responsible for JP making his first-ever radio appearance, on the Kat's Karavan (1961) show on the WRR station in Dallas, where Hopkins' Hello England was the first record played. The DJ later recounted the story in the documentary programme Radio Radio:

So I took these records in and said, “Would you be interested in playing these?” And they said, “Very much so.” And I went to sit in the studio while they were playing them and they realized – I also had a Lightnin’ Hopkins LP called The Rooster Crowed in England, which was issued on Dobell’s Records in a limited edition of like a couple of hundred, and Lightnin’ Hopkins was important enough that they were very excited about this sort of unavailable Lighnin’ Hopkins LP. So I went in and they were playing these records, and then Hoss Carroll said, “Let’s talk to the man who has loaned them to us” – so they put me on the radio.

Festive Fifty Entries

• None

Sessions

• None

John Peel's Record Box

• Mojo Hand / Glory Be (Flashback Records) 1960
  Peel found a copy of the single during his Little Richard Cover Search and played it on 26 February 1993: "This is one of the records that I came up with this week, and a gem it is too. It was a number one record in Dallas when I lived there. Ah! Brings back wonderful memories."

Shows Played

(The list below is certainly incomplete and compiled only from the database of this site and Lorcan's Tracklistings Archive. Please add additional details if known.)

1960s

• Kat's Karavan (1961): Hello England (LP - The Rooster Crowed In England) 77

1970s

• Radio Luxembourg Tracklistings 4: Ain't It Crazy

1980s

• 21 January 1980: Goin' To Dallas To See My Pony Run (album - Blues In My Bottle)
• 23 January 1980: Goin' To Dallas To See My Pony Run (LP - Blues In My Bottle) Prestige Bluesville
• 01 February 1982: Backwater Blues
• 05 February 1985: Fan It (LP – Fan It) Folkways
• 24 July 1985: Let Me Fly Your Kite (LP – King Of The Blues: Historic Recordings 1952-53) Blues Classics
• 04 August 1986: Jack Stropper Blues
• 15 December 1986: Merry Christmas (7") Decca
• 07 July 1987: Back Door Friend (LP - Move On Out) Charly R&B
• 22 July 1987: Vietnam Blues Pts 1 & 2 (LP - Move On Out) Charly R&B
• 23 November 1987: New Short-Haired Woman (LP - Last Of The Great Blues Singers) Time
• 20 December 1988 (BFBS): Vietnam Blues (LP - Move On Out) Charly R&B

1990s

• 09 December 1990: The War Is Over
• 04 January 1991 (BFBS): The War Is Over
• 13 January 1991: My Momma Told Me (album - Houston's King Of The Blues Historic Recordings 1952-1953) Blues Classics
• 24 January 1991 (Radio Mafia): My Mama Told Me
• 25 January 1991 (BFBS): Let Me Fly Your Kite (LP – King Of The Blues: Historic Recordings 1952-53) Blues Classics
• 27 January 1991: Happy New Year
• 07 December 1991

(JP: “And I see in this week’s Melody Maker that PJ Harvey has a bit of an appetite for the work of Lightnin’ Hopkins. In fact, she cited an LP of his which I don’t have, and I thought I’d got most of them, so this is from one that I’ve got and I bet she doesn’t.”)

• Long Way From Texas (LP – Last Of The Great Blues Singers) Time

• 20 December 1991 (BFBS): Long Way From Texas (LP – Last Of The Great Blues Singers) Time
• 19 January 1992: Bottle Up And Go (LP - Autobiography In Blues) Tradition
• 15 February 1992: Down Baby (CD - The Complete Atlantic Recordings)
• 20 February 1992 (BFBS): Down There Baby
• 26 February 1993: Mojo Hand (Single)
• 12 March 1993: Wang Dang Doddle (ahead of PJ Harvey session cover version)
• 14 March 1993 (BFBS): Mojo Hand (Single)
• 08 October 1993: New York Boogie (album - Sitting In With) Mainstream
• 16 January 1996 (Radio Mafia): Mojo Hand (Fire Label, 1960?)
• 22 September 1996: Come And Go Home With Me (LP - Lightnin' Hopkins) Folkways
• 20 May 1997: Katie Mae
• 05 June 1997 (BFBS): 'Airplane Blues (LP-Bluebird Blues)' (Fontana)
• 03 June 1998: Worried Blues (LP - Really The Blues) America
• 19 August 1998: Back To Arkansas (LP - The Rooster Crowed In England) 77
• 05 January 1999: Happy New Year (LP - Blue Yule) Rhino
• 28 January 1999: Lonesome Dog Blues (LP – Jake Head Boogie) Ace
• 09 February 1999: War News Blues (LP - Jake Head Boogie) Ace
• 10 February 1999: Another Fool In Town (CD-Jake Head Boogie) Ace/Modern
• 11 February 1999 (Radio Mafia): War News Blues (CD-Jake Head Boogie)' (Ace)
• 18 February 1999 (Radio Eins): Another Fool In Town (album - Jake Head Boogie) Ace/Modern CDCHD 697
• 02 June 1999: Backwater Blues (LP - The Very Best Of Sam 'Lightnin' Hopkins) Tradition

2000s

• 04 April 2000: Mr Charlie (LP - Lightnin' In New York) Candid
• 02 May 2000: Walking Blues (LP - Early Recordings) Arhoolie
• 04 May 2000: Mighty Crazy (LP - Lightnin' In New York) Candid
• 05 September 2000: Mighty Crezy (LP - Lightnin' In New York) Candid
• 21 December 2000: Merry Christmas (Bluesville)
• 02 January 2001: Happy New Year (??) Rhino Records
• 07 January 2001 (BFBS): 'Happy New Year'
• 30 May 2001: Walking Blues (2xCD - Fishing Clothes) Westside
• 17 June 2001 (BBC World Service): Walkin' Blues (CD - Fishing Clothes - The Jewel Recordings 1965-69) Westside
• 03 July 2001: Unsuccessful Blues (78 - Goldstar Records) – Pig's Big 78
• 11 July 2001: Rollin' Woman Blues (Goldstar Records) – Pig's Big 78
• 27 June 2001: Long Way From Home (CD - Fishing Clothes: The Jewel Recordings 1965-69) West Side Records
• 14 August 2001: Jailhouse Blues – Pig's Big 78
• 05 September 2001: Talking Some Sense (CD - Fishing Clothes: The Jewel Recordings 1965-69) West Side Records
• 20 December 2001: Merry Christmas (Bluesville)
• 01 January 2002: Happy New Year (LP - Blue Yule) Rhino
• 16 January 2002 (BBC World Service): Happy New Year (LP - Blue Yule) Rhino
• 25 July 2002: Rolling Woman Blues (Pig's Big 78)
• 19 September 2002: Heavy Snow (album - Lightnin' Strikes) Get Back
• 25 September 2002: Jackstropper Blues (LP - Lightnin' Strikes Again) Dart
• October 2002 (FSK): Jackstropper Blues (LP - Lightnin' Strikes Again) Dart
• 03 October 2002 (Radio Mafia): Jackstropper Blues (LP - Lightnin' Strikes Again) Dart
• 04 October 2002 (BBC World Service): Heavy Snow (album - Lightnin' Strikes) Get Back
• 10 October 2002 (Radio Eins): Blues For Queen Elizabeth (album - The Rooster Growed In England)
• 17 December 2002: Merry Christmas (LP - Blue Yule) Rhino
• 26 December 2002 (Radio Mafia): Merry Christmas
• 26 December 2002 (Radio Mafia): Happy New Year
• 27 December 2002 (BBC World Service): 'Merry Christmas'
• 01 January 2003: Happy New Year (LP - Blue Yule) Rhino
• 03 January 2003 (BBC World Service): Happy New Year (LP - Blue Yule) Rhino
• 15 April 2004: Mojo Hand (7") Flashback Records
• 11 May 2004: Long Way from Texas (LP- Last of the Great Blues Singers) Time
• June 2004 (FSK): (w/ Sonny Terry): Got to Move Your Baby (LP - Last Night Blues)
• 10 June 2004: (w/ Sonny Terry): Got to Move Your Baby (LP - Last Night Blues)
• 09 July 2004 (BBC World Service): (w/ Sonny Terry): Got to Move Your Baby (LP - Last Night Blues)
• 20 July 2004: Needed Time (LP- Space Lines: Sonic Sounds For Subterraneans) NA
• 16 September 2004: Katie Mae (Various CD - Century Of The Blues) Chrome Dreams

Other

• Radio Radio: The Rooster Crowed in England
• 31 October 2004 (Andy Kershaw): Movin' Out Boogie (AK: “Another great favourite of John's – in fact he claimed to have seen him play live in Dallas, Texas, when he was living there in the early '60s...”)

See Also

• Record Boxes: Joe Boyd

External Links

• Wikipedia entry
• John Peel Archive (Facebook): Lightnin' Hopkins - The Rooster Crowed in England
• [1] Other