Hubert Sumlin
Hubert Sumlin | |
---|---|
![]() Sumlin performing at the 2003Long Beach Blues Festival | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Hubert Charles Sumlin |
Born | Greenwood, Mississippi,U.S. | November 16, 1931
Died | December 4, 2011 Wayne, New Jersey | (aged 80)
Genres | Chicago blues,electric blues[1] |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Guitar, vocals |
Years active | 1953–2011 |
Website | www |
Hubert Charles Sumlin(November 16, 1931 – December 4, 2011) was aChicago bluesguitarist and singer,[1]best known for his "wrenched, shattering bursts of notes, sudden cliff-hanger silences and daring rhythmic suspensions" as a member ofHowlin' Wolf's band.[2]He was ranked number 43 inRolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".[3]
Biography
[edit]Sumlin was born inGreenwood, Mississippi,and raised inHughes, Arkansas.[4]He got his first guitar when he was eight years old.[5]As a boy, he metHowlin' Wolfby sneaking into a performance.
Wolf relocated from Memphis to Chicago in 1953, but his longtime guitaristWillie Johnsonchose not to join him. In Chicago, Wolf hired the guitaristJody Williams,but in 1954 he invited Sumlin to move to Chicago to play second guitar in his band. Williams left the band in 1955, leaving Sumlin as the primary guitarist, a position he held almost continuously (except for a brief spell playing withMuddy Watersaround 1956) for the remainder of Wolf's career. According to Sumlin, Howlin' Wolf sent him to a classical guitar instructor at theChicago Conservatory of Musicto learnkeyboardsandscales.[6]Sumlin played on the albumHowlin' Wolf(called the "rocking chair album", with reference to its cover illustration), which was named the third greatest guitar album of all time byMojomagazine in 2004.[7][8]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9b/Hubert_Sumlin.jpg/220px-Hubert_Sumlin.jpg)
Upon Wolf's death in 1976, Sumlin continued playing with several other members of Wolf's band, as the Wolf Gang, until about 1980. He also recorded under his own name, beginning with a session from a tour of Europe with Wolf in 1964. His last solo album wasAbout Them Shoes,released in 2004 by Tone-Cool Records. He underwent lung removal surgery the same year, but he continued performing until just before his death. His final recording, just days before his death, was tracks for an album byStephen Dale Petit,Cracking The Code(333 Records).
![Hubert Sumlin playing guitar at the Ann Arbor Blues Festival, 1970, Ann Arbor, Michigan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Hubert_Sumlin_1970_AABF_JT.jpg/220px-Hubert_Sumlin_1970_AABF_JT.jpg)
Sumlin was inducted into theBlues FoundationHall of Fame in 2008.[9]He was nominated for fourGrammy Awards:in 1999 for the albumTribute to Howlin' Wolf,with Henry Gray, Calvin Jones, Sam Lay, and Colin Linden; in 2000 forLegends,withPinetop Perkins;in 2006, for his solo projectAbout Them Shoes(which features performances byKeith Richards,Eric Clapton,Levon Helm,David JohansenandJames Cotton) and in 2010 for his contribution toKenny Wayne Shepherd'sLive! in Chicago.He won multipleBlues Music Awards.He was a judge for the fifth annual Independent Music Awards, given to support the careers of independent artists.[10]
Sumlin lived inTotowa, New Jerseyfor 10 years before his death.[11]He died ofheart failureon December 4, 2011, at the age of 80, in a hospital inWayne, New Jersey.[12]Mick JaggerandKeith Richardspaid Sumlin's funeral expenses.[13]
Partial discography
[edit]Year | Title | Label | Number | Notes |
1964 | American Folk Blues | Amiga | 850 043 | Germany |
1969 | Hubert's "American" Blues! | Scout | Sc-4 | |
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 Emilio Villanueva and the Kansas City Boys |
1994 | I'm the Back Door Man | Blues Special | 9506 | Argentina, recorded 1993 in Buenos Aires |
1994 | My Guitar and Me | Evidence Music | ECD-26045 | Paris, recorded on Dec 22, 1975 at Barclay Studio |
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 |
2003 | Do the Don't | Intuition | 34252 | Germany;Elliott Sharp's Terraplane, with Hubert Sumlin |
2005 | About Them Shoes | Tone-Cool/Artemis Records | 51609 | US, alsoRykodiscRCD 17307 in the UK |
2010 | Midnight Memphis Sun | NorthernBlues Music | NMB0058 | JW-Jonesrelease with special guests Hubert Sumlin andCharlie Musselwhite |
2012 | Sky Road Songs | Yellowbird | 7724-2 | Germany;Elliott Sharp's Terraplane, with special guest Hubert Sumlin (recorded in 2011) |
Year | Title | Label | Number | Notes |
2005 | The Blues Guitar of Hubert Sumlin | Homespun Tapes | SUMGT21 | US, VHS & DVD |
References
[edit]- ^abDu Noyer, Paul (2003).The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music.Fulham, London: Flame Tree Publishing. p. 181.ISBN1-904041-96-5.
- ^Kitts, Jeff; Tolinski, Brad (2002).Guitar World Presents the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.Hal Leonard. p. 37.
- ^"43: Hubert Sumlin".The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.Rolling Stone. 18 December 2015.RetrievedDecember 18,2015.
- ^Komara, Edward, ed. (2005).Sumlin, Hubert.Psychology Press. p. 938.ISBN9780415926997.
{{cite book}}
:|work=
ignored (help) - ^Gross, Jason."Hubert Sumlin".Furious.com.Retrieved2008-06-12.
- ^Segrest, James; Mark Hoffman (2004).Moanin' at Midnight: The Life and Times of Howlin' Wolf.New York: Thunder's Mouth Press. pp. 111–112.ISBN1-56025-683-4.
- ^Barnes, Anthony (21 July 2003)."Hendrix heads list of 100 guitar greats with 'Are You Experienced'".The Independent.London.Retrieved20 February2010.[dead link]
- ^"Hubert Sumlin".The Daily Telegraph.London. December 6, 2011.
- ^Hill, Dorothy L."Blues Music Awards 2008".Archived fromthe originalon December 24, 2017.RetrievedJanuary 21,2010.
- ^"Independent Music Awards".Independent Music Awards. Archived fromthe originalon 2011-07-13.Retrieved2015-10-07.
- ^Shapiro, T. Rees.Washington PostNews Service."Totowa's Hubert Sumlin, influential blues guitarist, dies at 80",The Record (Bergen County),December 7, 2011. Accessed January 28, 2015. "Born in Greenwood, Miss., Mr. Sumlin lived in Milwaukee for most of his life before moving to Totowa 10 years ago."
- ^White, Jim."Blues guitar great Hubert Sumlin dies".Communityvoices.sites.post-gazette.com. Archived fromthe originalon December 6, 2011.RetrievedDecember 4,2011.
- ^"Rolling Stones' Jagger, Richards Pay for Hubert Sumlin's Funeral".Billboard.RetrievedOctober 7,2015.
- ^Hoppula, Pete."Hubert Sumlin: Albums".WangDangDula.com.Archived fromthe originalon May 4, 2015.RetrievedJanuary 21,2010.
External links
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- 1931 births
- 2011 deaths
- People from Greenwood, Mississippi
- People from Totowa, New Jersey
- American blues guitarists
- American male guitarists
- American blues singers
- Blues musicians from Mississippi
- Chicago blues musicians
- Black Top Records artists
- Guitarists from Illinois
- Guitarists from Mississippi
- 20th-century American guitarists
- 20th-century American male musicians
- Blind Pig Records artists
- Telarc Records artists
- Chess Records artists
- Black & Blue Records artists
- African-American guitarists
- 20th-century African-American male singers
- 20th-century American male singers
- 20th-century American singers
- 21st-century African-American male singers
- 21st-century American male singers