''Early Recordings'' is an album by the blues musician

Lightnin' Hopkins Samuel John "Lightnin'" Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist from Centerville, Texas. In 2010, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked him No. 71 on its li ...

featuring tracks recorded at

Gold Star Studios Gold Star Studios was an independent recording studio located in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, California. In its entire history, Gold Star was one of the most successful commercial recording studios in the world. Founded by David S. Gold ...

in Houston, Texas between 1946 and 1950, eight of which were originally released as 10-inch 78rpm records on the Gold Star and Jax labels, along with eight others that were previously unissued.

Arhoolie Arhoolie Records is an American small independent record label that was 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 ...

reissued ''The Gold Star Sessions'' on two CDs through

Smithsonian Folkways Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was f ...

in 1990.Smithsonian Folkways: Lightnin' Hopkins catalog
accessed November 23, 2018

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

reviewer

Eugene Chadbourne Eugene Chadbourne (born January 4, 1954) is an American banjoist, guitarist and music critic. Life and career Chadbourne was born in Mount Vernon, New York, Mount Vernon, New York, but grew up in Boulder, Colorado. He started playing guitar wh ...

stated: "Much of the body of this blues artist's song catalog kind of runs together into a long odyssey, delivered in a rubato medium feel, sometimes locking into a steady beat but often hovering somewhere behind and ahead. As if performing an endless series of card tricks with only three cards, he comes up with variation after variation on the basic 12-bar form and a series of blues riffs that he has ready to fit any and all occasions. Listeners may not be able to tell one track from the next, but Hopkins' feel on guitar and charismatic, lilting voice has proven to be a winner with blues fans decade after decade. The ever adventuresome Hopkins cut some tracks on organ during this period ... Although the resulting 'Organ Boogie' certainly provides some variety, the songs with the guitar are of much more lasting music value, the organ numbers mostly of interest as an oddity".

Track listing

All compositions by Sam "Lightnin'" Hopkins # "Bluebird Blues" aka "Glory Be Blues" – 3:11 previously unreleased # "Walking Blues" – 2:47 # "Unkind Blues" – 3:00 # "Mad With You" – 2:32 # "Somebody's Got to Go" "Goodbye Blues" – 2:43 previously unreleased # " Automobile Blues" – 2:47 # "Seems Funny Baby" – 3:03 previously unreleased # "Coolin' Board Blues" a.k.a. "Thunder and Lightnin' Blues" – 2:43 previously unreleased # "Airplane Blues" – 2:42 # "Loretta Blues" – 2:45 previously unreleased # "Whiskey Blues" – 2:42 previously unreleased # "You Don't Know" – 2:43 # "Organ Boogie" – 2:59 previously unreleased # "What Can It Be" – 2:39 # "Ida Mae" – 2:40 # "Goin' Back and Talk to Mama" – 2:56 previously unreleased

Personnel

– guitar, vocals,

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

References

{{Authority control Lightnin' Hopkins albums 1965 albums Arhoolie Records albums