In a career that took him from the cotton fields of East Texas to the concert stage at Carnegie Hall and beyond, Lightnin' Hopkins became one of America's greatest bluesmen, renowned for songs whose topics effortlessly ranged from his African American roots to space exploration, the Vietnam War, and lesbianism, performed in a unique, eccentric, and spontaneous style of guitar playing that inspired a whole generation of rock guitarists. Hopkins's music directly and indirectly influenced an amazing range of artists, including Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Tom Waits, and Bob Dylan, as well as bands such as the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and ZZ Top, with whom Hopkins performed.

Mojo Hand follows Lightin' Hopkins's life and music from the acoustic country blues that he began performing in childhood, through the rise of 1950s rock 'n' roll, which nearly derailed his career, to his reinvention and international success as a pioneer of electric folk blues from the 1960s to the 1980s. The authors draw on 130 vivid oral histories, as well as extensive archival and secondary sources, to provide the fullest account available of the development of Hopkins's music; his idiosyncratic business practices, such as shunning professional bookers, managers, and publicists; and his durable and indelible influence on modern roots, blues, rock 'n' roll, singer-songwriter, and folk music. Mojo Hand celebrates the spirit and style, intelligence and wit, and confounding musical mystique of a bluesman who shaped modern American music like no one else.

About the Author

The late Timothy J. O'Brien held a Ph. D. in history from the University of Houston, where he studied African American history, social movements, and labor history. His music journalism appeared in Houston Press, Free Press Houston, and Left of the Dial.

David Ensminger is a writer, drummer, teacher, and digital archivist of punk and vernacular culture. He publishes a monthly column on PopMatters.com. His previous books are Left of the Dial: Conversations with Punk Icons and Visual Vitriol: The Street Art and Subcultures of the Punk and Hardcore Generations.

Reviews
Mojo Hand covers all the pivotal moments in his fascinating life through narrative punctuated with large, unwieldy chunks of oral history - both from first and secondary sources. Though thoroughly researched, as befits its genesis as the late Tim O'Brien's dissertation for the University of Houston, it turns Hopkins' story into an excellent reference tool rather than a thrilling page turner. -- Lois Wilson * Mojo *
The biography maintains a focus centered on Lightnin' and his music....He has crafted a fascinating, well-researched look at a true blues legend, and helps us understand the social environment that created such powerful music. -- Mark Thompson * Crossroads Blues Society of Northern Illinois *



Book Information
ISBN 9780292762145
Author Timothy J. O'Brien
Format Paperback
Page Count 294
Imprint University of Texas Press
Publisher University of Texas Press
Weight(grams) 454g