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Lightnin' Hopkins: Glory Be

By Ian Patterson
March 17, 2024
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Texas blues singer/guitarist Sam "Lightnin'' Hopkins could lay claim to the authentic blues, having worked in the cotton fields for years. He turned electric in the 1950s, and toggled between acoustic and electric guitar with the blues boom and folk revival of the 1960s, influencing everyone from Jimi Hendrix to Stevie Ray Vaughan. But it is with the acoustic blues, soulful and heartfelt, that he forged his way in the 1940s, recording classic blues singles for a large number of labels. "Glory Be" is a great example of both his instantly recognizable voice and fingerstyle playing. As Ray Charles put it: "It don't get no bluer than Lightnin' Hopkins."

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