Lightnin' Hopkins - Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop

Justice Blues and later in his final 1950 session’s Bottoms
Blues.Lightnin’s Boogie is a guitar showcase, always a
highlight of his performances, while What’d I Say is
Lightnin’s version of Ray Charles’s huge 1959 hit. (Lightnin’
voiced his admiration of Charles in a 1962 Prestige label
album cut, Me and Ray Charles.) The 1970 performances
close with How Long Has It Been, the nearest thing offered
in these performances to a ‘holy blues.’ Lightnin’ had previously
performed it in the Les Blank film, The Blues According
to Lightnin’ Hopkins.
A well-heeled Lightnin’ appeared on Austin City Limits
in 1979, accompanied by Ron Wilson on bass and Bill
Gossett on drums. Along with reprises of Mojo Hand and
Black and Evil, Lightnin’ offered the blues perennial Rock
Me Baby (first recorded in 1950 by Lil Son Jackson as
Rockin’ and Rollin') and some original observations on
women and cars, Ain’t No Cadillac. The 67 year old
Lightnin’ aimed to prove he was an old dude with youngfashioned
ways; note the rakish fedora and his cranking
wah-wah pedal! Note, too, how he seemingly tries to throw
his bass player with his idiosyncratic timing during his solo
on Mojo Hand. (“Black and Evil” indeed!) The ever-resourceful
Lightnin’ revamps Ain’t It Crazy as an outro to
say goodbye to his audience on what was his last video
appearance.
From the Houston streets of 1960 to an Austin
soundstage nearly 20 years later, this video collects a range
of Lightnin’s work, a visual complement to the recordings
Chris Strachwitz calls “brief audio snapshots of one of the
great folk poets to emerge from the African-American experience
in Texas.” We can add to them these vital “video
snapshots” as well.
– Mark Humphrey
For help with background material,
thanks to Mary Katherine Aldin.
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