''Lightnin' Sam Hopkins'' is an album by blues musician Lightnin' Hopkins recorded in California in late 1961 and Texas in early 1962 and released on the

Arhoolie Arhoolie Records is an American small independent record label run by Chris Strachwitz and is based in El Cerrito, California, United States (it is actually located in Richmond Annex but has an El Cerrito postal address.) The label was founded b ...

label.Smithsonian Folkway Recordings: album details
accessed November 6, 2018

Reception

AllMusic reviewer Eugene Chadbourne stated: "This recording is one of the best attempts to combine the eccentric blues structures of Houston's Lightnin' Hopkins with some kind of band backup. ... The duets with drummer Spider Kilpatrick seemed a revelation at the time, as finally here was a musician who could follow Hopkins wherever he went, plus one providing a snappier beat that the guitarist could hang phrases of a bit more aggressive nature than usual on. ... these were instances where Hopkins took advantage of the group sound to play in a little bit different manner, and although these blues have a more set and normal blues structure, at least by Hopkins' standard, they work quite well and are recorded with quite a lot of impact".

Track listing

All compositions by Sam "Lightnin'" Hopkins # "Meet You at the Chicken Shack" – 5:40 # "Once Was a Gambler" – 4:55 # "Speedin' Boogie" – 3:08 # "Ice Storm Blues" – 7:19 # "California Showers" – 7:49 # "Burnin' in L.A." – 4:31 # "Do the Boogie" – 1:50 # "Bald Headed Woman" – 3:50 # "Goin' Out" – 3:07 *Recorded at Sierra Sound Laboratories in Berkeley, California on November 26, 1961 (tracks 2, 3 & 6–9), at Chris Strachwitz' Apartment, Berkeley on December 2, 1961 (track 5), and at ACA Studios in Houston, Texas on January 23, 1962 (tracks 1 & 4)

Personnel

Performance

* Lightnin' Hopkins – guitar, vocals, piano *Gino Landry (tracks 2, 3 & 6–9) –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

*Spider Kilpatrick (tracks 1 & 4), Victor Leonard (tracks 2, 3 & 6–9) – drums

Production

* Chris Strachwitz – producer

References

{{Authority control Lightnin' Hopkins albums 1963 albums Arhoolie Records albums