Lightnin' Hopkins: His Life and Blues

Apparently dubbed Lightnin’ at his 1946 first recording session, the moniker wasn’t, as oft-rumored, a tribute to his guitar stylings but made to go with session-mate Wilson Smith being called Thunder. From Booklist In only the second biographical book on seminal blues guitarist-singer Hopkins (see Sarah Ann West, Deep Down Hard Blues, 1995), Govenar traces Hopkins’ long, twisting route to worldwide fame. --Mike Tribby . Leaving home when still a child, Hopkins spent most of his life pursuing the sex-and-drinks-and-blues lifestyle that preceded the sex-and-drugs-and-rock-’n&rs

This brilliant new biography--the first book ever written about him--illuminates the many contradictions of the man and his myth.            Born in 1912 to a poor sharecropping family in the cotton country between Dallas and Houston, Hopkins left home when he was only eight years old with a guitar his brother had given him. By the time of his death in 1982, Sam “Lightnin’” Hopkins was likely the most recorded blues artist in history. A second career emerged--now Lightnin’ was pitched to white audiences, not black ones, and he became immensely successful, singing about his country roots and 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 lover, friends, producers, accompanists, managers, and fans.. But by th

I wanted more I was truly excited about reading this biography but I was left dissatisfied. I wanted to taste the gin, breathe the smoke, and feel as if I was sitting in the juke joint. This book did not provide that for me. Written more from a 'reporter' perspective, it gives the necessary details on Lightnin's recording career, but does not provide enough background on the world he lived in. His family members and those close to him seem little more than photographs. The book does give a sense of the private nature of the man, but with the dearth of detail about his per. "Po Lighnin' 'splained for true" according to J. Williams. Lightnin’s story Is well-told and worth the read. Some of us are old enough to have lived in those early times and for that dwindling crowd the story may sometimes dwell on the obvious but for younger generations perhaps that is necessary. The book fills in a lot of gaps, paints a three dimensional portrait of a great bluesman, and has a great discography. I first heard “Hello Central” on a jukebox as a boy and was immediately taken with it and became an instant fan. Highly recommended for those who want to dig deeper into the man and his t. Great Lightnin' Hopkins book Having enjoyed Lightning's music since first being exposed to it in the 1960's, it was rewarding to learn more detail of his life and music. The book confirms my knowledge gained over the years from LP cover notes, occasional articles etc. The overview of his status in the blues recording world and perception of his distinctive style was reassuring. His own songs are fairly autobiographical. They added to the stock of already extant blues present as "folk music". Contextualising his work is important to his audience after he has passed on. Thanks to Alan Gov