This substantial collection covering the early years of his recording career helps to explain and underline that view

Sam 'Lightnin'' Hopkins was one of the true blues greats, a singer, guitarist, songwriter and occasional pianist from Texas, who through a life as a long-time solo performer developed a highly distinctive style, playing rhythm, lead, bass and percussion, with a legendarily unstructured approach to the 12-bar format. Musicologist Mark McCormick said that Hopkins is 'the embodiment of the jazz-and-poetry spirit, representing its ancient form in the single creator whose words and music are one act'. Born in 1912, he did not get an opportunity to record until the post-war years, and then recorded prolifically for a variety of labels. Acrobat has addressed his output on 78s and 45s from 1946 to 1962 with two 3-CD sets of which this is the first. This 78-track collection comprises the A & B sides of just about all his releases during these years on the Aladdin, Modern, Gold Star and RPM labels. His RPM releases overlapped with his releases on the Sittin' In With label which begin in 1951 and start Vol. 2. It includes his hits in the US R&B charts with 'Shotgun Blues', 'T Model Blues' and 'Tim Moore's Farm'. It also includes records for Aladdin with pianist Wilson 'Thunder' Smith. His New York Times obituary in 1982 said he was 'one of the great country blues singers and perhaps the greatest single influence on rock guitar players', and this substantial collection covering the early years of his recording career helps to explain and underline that view.

Track Listing

• That Mean Old Twister
• Katie Mae
• Rocky Mountain Blues (I Can't Stay Here)
• I Feel So Bad
• Big Mama Jump
• Short Haired Woman
• Fast Mail Rambler
• Thinkin' And Worryin'
• Play With Your Poodle
• Down Home Baby
• Big Mama Jump
• Short Haired Woman
• Sugar Mama
• Picture On The Wall
• Woman, Woman
• Nightmare Blues
• Have To Let You Go
• Morning Blues
• Baby Child
• Changing Weather Blues
• Rollin' Blues
• Shotgun Blues
• Honey, Honey Blues
• Moonrise Blues
• Miss Me Blues
• Abilene

• Worried Life Blues - You're Not Going To Worry
• Daddy Will Be Home Some Day
• So Long
• My California
• Shining Moon
• Ida May
• Mercy
• What Can It Be
• Lonesome Home
• Appetite Blues
• Walkin'blues
• Lightnin' Blues
• No Mail Blues
• Ain't It A Shame
• Tim Moore's Farm
• You Don't Know
• Treat Me Kind
• Somebody Got To Go
• Baby Please Don’t Go
• Death Bells
• Mad With You
• Airplane Blues
• Unsuccessful Blues
• Rollin' Woman Blues
• Jail House Blues
• T Model Blues

• Lightnin' Boogie
• Unkind Blues
• Fast Life Woman
• European Blues
• Automobile
• Zolo Go
• Old Woman Blues
• Untrue Blues
• Henny Penny Blues
• Jazz Blues
• Jackstropper Blues
• Grievance Blues
• Bad Luck And Trouble
• Beggin' You To Stay
• Jake Head
• Lonesome Dog Blues
• Last Affair
• Don’t Keep My Baby Long
• One Kind Favor
• Needed Time
• Candy Kitchen
• Another Fool In Town
• Mistreater Blues
• Black Cat
• Santa Fe Blues
• Someday Baby

Additional Details

Label: Acrobat

Genre: Blues

Run Time: 210 mins

Region: 0

Release Date: 07/05/24

UPC: 824046915223