(Note: Vin, Marcia, Keith and I saw him play with the Nighthawks last year at FTC Stage One in Fairfield)
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| Hubert Sumlin with Bonnie Raitt |
(Billboard) Revered blues guitarist Hubert Sumlin, who spent 23-plus years
adding gritty leads to Howlin' Wolf's legendary voice and who
inspired generations of axemen from Jimi Hendrix to Kenny Wayne
Shepherd, died Sunday at a New Jersey hospital of heart failure. He
was 80. (Billboard) A member of the Blues Hall of Fame,
Sumlin's guitar work in Wolf's catalogue of big-voiced songs include
"Killing Floor," "Smokestack Lighting" and "Back Door Man," to name
just a few. Rolling Stone magazine
recently tapped Sumlin as the 43rd greatest guitarist of all time. He ranked right above Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits.
Sumlin
was a key part of Wolf's band from 1953 up until the singer's 1976
death. They began working for Sun Records in Memphis but later moved
to Chess Records as part of the Blues migration to Chicago. He has
been nominated multiple times for Grammy Awards but has never won. Born
in Greenwood, Miss., Sumlin had spent time in Chicago, Milwaukee
and in later years, New Jersey. Several years ago he had to have a
cancerous lung removed, but he continued to play live with an oxygen
tank by his side.
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