News & Updates — guitar

Here's a birthday shout-out to Sam "Lightnin" Hopkins, the influential blues great from Texas. He played both electric and acoustic guitars, but his first instrument was a home-made cigar-box "guitar" with chicken wire for strings. He was boogieing from the '20s (although didn't record until '46) until the '80s, mostly in Texas until 1960 when he played at Carnegie Hall for an integrated audience for the first time. (Pete Seeger and Joan Baez were also on the bill). In the period between he worked with his cousin Texas Alexander and even played with Blind Lemon Jefferson on at least one...

Here's a birthday shout-out to the groovy guitarist Gábor Szabó, who infused jazz with the folk music of his native Hungary, Indian & Middle Eastern musics, gypsy styles and pop. He used feedback as part of his music, and he worked well with vocalists. He cut a bunch of excellent '60s albums on Impulse!, as well as the Skye label (which he ran with Cal Tjader and Gary McFarland). He worked with Chico Hamilton, Charles Lloyd, Lena Horne, Bobby Womack, Coke Escovedo, Paul Desmond, Gary McFarland, Chick Corea and others. Santana recorded his "Gypsy Queen" (the instrumental part of "Black...

J.B. Lenoir was an explicitly topical blues singer with a higher voice operating out of Chicago in the '50s and '60s. He cut the politicized "Korea Blues" in 1951. His controversial 1954 song "Eisenhower Blues" (lyrics: "My money's gone, my fun is gone, the way things look, how can I be here long?") was pulled from the shelves. His mid-'60s output was as political as ever. "Vietnam Blues" questioned the USA's involvement in Southeast Asia as blacks were being killed with regularity in Mississippi ("Mister President you always cry about peace, but you must clean up your house before you...

Johnny Jenkins was an underrated guitarist and singer out of Macon, Georgia. Left-handed, he built a home-made "guitar" from a matchbox and rubber bands and he played it upside down (not unlike Jimi Hendrix, who was certainly inspired by Jenkins). He finally got a real guitar and hit the Southern circuit as a flamboyant showman. His early '60s band, The Pinetoppers, gave Otis Redding an early job (singer and driver). Otis used extra Jenkins studio time to cut "These Arms Of Mine" (with Jenkins on guitar) in '62 and the rest is history for Otis. Jenkins was asked to join...

The career of the great Bobby Womack spanned many generations, styles and roles...from the doo-wop with his brothers in The Valentinos to session work with everybody from the Rolling Stones to Sam Cooke. He was a major influence on Jimi Hendrix. He was a left-handed guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, producer, soundtrack composer (Across 110th St is a classic!), label head...you have certainly heard the work of Bobby beyond the few songs of his on oldies radio. Just a SMALL sampling of artists he collaborated with include Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, Sly & the Family Stone, Gabor Szabo,...