Hubert Sumlin
Hubert Sumlin |
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Hubert Sumlin (born November 16, 1931) is an American blues guitarist and singer, best known for his celebrated work, from 1955, as guitarist in Howlin' Wolf's band. His singular playing is characterized by "wrenched, shattering bursts of notes, sudden cliff-hanger silences and daring rhythmic suspensions".[1] Listed as number sixty-five in the Rolling Stone 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time, Sumlin continues to tour and play blues guitar. He is cited as a major influence by many artists, including Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Robbie Robertson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix.[citation needed]
Career
Born in Greenwood, Mississippi, Sumlin was raised in Hughes, Arkansas. When he was eight years old, he got his first guitar.[2] As a boy, Sumlin first met Howlin' Wolf (Chester Burnett) by sneaking into a performance. When Burnett relocated from Memphis to Chicago in 1953, his long-time guitarist Willie Johnson chose not to join him. Upon his arrival in Chicago, Wolf first hired Chicago guitarist Jody Williams, and in 1954 Wolf invited Sumlin to relocate to Chicago to play second guitar in his Chicago-based band. Williams left the band in 1955, leaving Sumlin as the primary guitarist in Wolf's band, a position he held almost continuously (except for a brief spell playing with Muddy Waters around 1956) for the remainder of Wolf's career. According to an interview[who?] cited in Moanin' at Midnight: The Life and Times of Howlin' Wolf by James Segrest and Mark Hoffman,[page needed] Howlin' Wolf sent Sumlin to a classical guitar instructor at the Chicago Musical College. Sumlin played on the album Howlin' Wolf, also called The Rockin' Chair Album, which was named the third greatest guitar album of all time by Mojo magazine in 2004.[3]
Upon Wolf's death in 1976, Sumlin continued on with several other members of the late Burnett's band under the name "The Wolf Pack" until about 1980. Sumlin has also recorded under his own name, beginning with a session recorded while touring Europe with Burnett in 1964. His latest effort is About Them Shoes, released in 2004 by Tone-Cool Records. He underwent lung removal surgery in 2004 but was still going strong as of 2008.
Sumlin was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1988.[4] Sumlin was also a judge for the 5th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.[5]
Equipment
Sumlin has favored a Louis Model HS M12 amplifier, and prefers his 1955 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop guitar.
Influences
Early influences that affected Hubert Sumlin's style of play at a young age have been cited by him as, primarily, Muddy Waters, Charley Patton, Robert Lockwood, Jr. and Robert Johnson.
Legacy
It is often stated[who?] that Sumlin's playing was a vital catalyst for the British blues boom providing a link from the acoustic blues of the Mississippi delta that was more accessible to electric guitarists such as Clapton, Page, Richards and Beck. Indeed, throughout the careers of these artists, many Howlin' Wolf songs have been covered and Sumlin's guitar lines imitated. Examples are Clapton's covers of "Goin' Down Slow", The Rolling Stones' version of "Little Red Rooster", The Yardbirds' version of "Smokestack Lightnin'", Cream's take on "Spoonful", and "The Lemon Song" by Led Zeppelin (which is a rework of "Killing Floor")
Discography
Albums
Year | Title | Label | Number | Notes |
1964 | American Folk Blues | Amiga | 850 043 | Germany |
1974 | Kings of Chicago Blues, Vol. 2 | Disques Vogue | LDM 30175 | France, recorded 1971 |
1976 | Groove | Black & Blue | 33.511 | France, recorded 1975 |
1980 | Gamblin' Woman | L + R | 42.008 | Germany, recorded 1980 |
1987 | Hubert Sumlin's Blues Party | Black Top | BT-1036 | US |
1989 | Heart & Soul | Blind Pig | BP-3389 | US |
1990 | Healing Feeling | Black Top | BT-1053 | US |
1991 | Blues Guitar Boss | JSP | 239 | UK, recorded 1990 in London |
1994 | Made in Argentina 1993 | Blues Special | 9501 | Argentina, recorded 1993 in Buenos Aires with Emilion Villanueva and the Kansas City Boys |
1994 | I'm the Back Door Man | Blues Special | 9506 | Argentina, recorded 1993 in Buenos Aires |
1996 | Blues Classics | Bellaphon | 82007 | Germany, recorded 1964 in East Berlin |
1998 | I Know You | APO | 2004 | US |
1998 | Wake Up Call | Blues Planet | 1116 | US |
1999 | Pinetop Perkins & Hubert Sumlin: Legends | Telarc | 83446 | US |
2004 | About Them Shoes | Tone-Cool/Artemis | 51609 | US, also Rykodisc RCD 17307 in the UK |
Video
Year | Title | Label | Number | Notes |
2005 | The Blues Guitar of Hubert Sumlin | Homespun Tapes | SUMGT21 | US, VHS & DVD |
See also
References
- ^ Jeff Kitts and Brad Tolinski, Guitar World Presents the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time, Hal Leonard Corporation, 2002, p. 37
- ^ Gross, Jason. "Hubert Sumlin". www.furious.com. Retrieved 2008-06-12.
- ^ Barnes, Anthony (21 July 2003). "Hendrix heads list of 100 guitar greats with 'Are You Experienced'". The Independent. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
- ^ Dorothy L. Hill. "Blues Music Awards 2008". Retrieved January 21, 2010.
- ^ Independent Music Awards - Past Judges
- ^ Pete Hoppula. "Hubert Sumlin". WangDangDula.com. Retrieved January 21, 2010.
External links
- Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from July 2009
- Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from March 2009
- 1931 births
- People from Greenwood, Mississippi
- African American musicians
- American blues guitarists
- American blues singers
- American male singers
- Blues musicians from Mississippi
- Black Top Records artists
- Living people
- Blues Hall of Fame inductees