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Historic Musical Tour in Houston, Texas
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10/08/2021

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10/08/2021

Samuel John "Lightnin'" Hopkins was well known as an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist . Rolling Stone magazine ranked him No. 71 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.

Hopkins was born in Centerville, Texas and as a child was immersed in the sounds of the blues. He developed a deep appreciation for the music at the age of 8, when he met Blind Lemon Jefferson at a church picnic in Buffalo, Texas. Later, Hopkins went on to learn from his distant older cousin, the country blues singer Alger "Texas" Alexander. Hopkins also had a cousin, the Texas electric blues guitarist Frankie Lee Sims, with whom he later recorded music.

In the mid-1930s, Hopkins was sent to Houston County Prison Farm; the offense for which he was imprisoned is unknown. In the late 1930s, he moved to Houston with Alexander in an unsuccessful attempt to break into the music scene there. By the early 1940s, he was back in Centerville, working as a farm hand.

Hopkins took a second shot at Houston in 1946. While singing on Dowling Street in Houston's Third Ward, which would become his home base, he was discovered by Lola Anne Cullum of Aladdin Records, based in Los Angeles. Cullum convinced Hopkins to travel to LA, where he accompanied the pianist Wilson Smith. The duo recorded twelve tracks in their first sessions in 1946. An Aladdin executive decided the pair needed more dynamism in their names and dubbed Hopkins "Lightnin'" and Wilson "Thunder".

(Souce Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightnin%27_Hopkins

09/17/2021

Did YOU Know?

Texas is the birthplace of Western swing, which incorporates elements of country, blues, pop, big-band jazz and Latin rhythms, and of conjunto, which combines traditional Mexican music with polkas and other European forms.

Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands. It is dance music, often with an up-tempo beat, which attracted huge crowds to dance halls and clubs in Texas, Oklahoma and California during the 1930s and 1940s until a federal war-time nightclub tax in 1944 contributed to the genre's decline.
🎼🎹🥁🎷🎸🪕🎶

06/27/2021

Texas has been a center for musical innovation for a long time and is the birthplace of many notable musicians. Texans have pioneered developments in Tejano and Conjunto music, Rock 'n Roll, Western swing, jazz, punk rock, country, hip-hop, electronic music, gothic industrial music, religious music, mariachi, psychedelic rock, zydeco and the blues.

In partciluar, the City of Houston is the home of lo-fi music straddling blues, folk, and antiphonal traditions. Houston is the birthplace of Beyoncé, Hilary Duff, ZZ Top, Kelly Rowland, and the other original members of Destiny's Child. Houston is also the birthplace of Grammy Award Winning Gospel Artist Yolanda Adams; who in 2009 was named the #1 Gospel Artist of the last decade by Billboard Magazine. Jazz artists born in Houston include saxophonists Billy Harper and Walter Smith III, pianists Robert Glasper and Jason Moran, and drummer Eric Harland.

Houston has also had sizable folk-country and blues scenes dating back to the 1950s, 60s and 70s, which included many now famous performers such as Nanci Griffith, Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Lyle Lovett, Robert Earl Keen, Lightnin' Hopkins, Albert Collins, Big Mama Thornton, and Johnny Copeland who were signed with the hometown Peacock Records.

02/25/2021

Karankawa Native American peoples were part of Texas' great history, where they lived primarily on the stretch of Texas' eastern coast. Evidenced by a Texas Historical Marker on Galveston Island, Karankawa lived in what is described today as the Houston-Galveston area and were spread wide among the Gulf Coast.

Music played a pivotal role within their lives and cultures. Much of their music incorporates their history. Karankawa music was similar to other native American music, in that they used percussion and reed instruments. Some specific musical instruments include flutes, tom-tom drums, tambourines and other hand-shaking instruments. Hand shakers were made with beads and strings, and would create distinct sounds when shook. The other primary Karankawa musical instruments were handmade, such as a large gourd filled with stones which was shaken to produce sound, a fluted piece of wood which the Karankawa drew a stick over to produce sound, and a flute which was softly blown.

The Karankawa represented themselves and their history through their music. Many of the songs are about the struggles that came upon them. From European settlers to famines to wars, every song reaccounted their events with spiritual entities. As with many other Native American cultures, they had strong beliefs in many earthly gods, so it was typical to have a prayer within the music, for example a prayer to the gods to make their crops grow and be bountiful, and keep their families healthy.

As every day passes, the Karankawa's history becomes a more distant thought in Texas and Native American history. It is of great importance to spread the stories of the Karankawa by learning their music, and passing it along to the next generations. If we do not make an attempt, Karankawa's history and culture will disappear forever. When a small piece of history disappears, then so does the history of the American people and our nation.

Native American music, like the Karankawa's, has strong holds throughout existing Native American communities to this day. While taking influences from hip hop, rock, and other genres, many musicians still use the stories told from the generations before.

11/03/2020

Houston, in 1837, now one of the most diverse metropolitan cities in the United States, and today comprises over 100 ethnic groups.

On January 1, in 1837, the "Town of Houston" had 12 residents and a single log cabin.

Now, the City of Houston, rich in history and cultural, among other things, is equally diverse in its music. 🎼

Join us on our journey back in time as we explore the musical treasures of Houston's past, present and progress!

(Source: Image: Courtesy of Amon Carter Museum)

10/29/2020

April 21st, 1836: Texian forces lead by General Sam Houston (aka "Big Drunk") launched a surprise attack on the Mexican army east of present-day Houston, near the mouth of the San Jacinto River. The end result: General Houston won the Texas Battle of Independence

Shortly thereafter, the city of Houston was founded by land investor brothers Augustus and John Allen on August 30, 1836, at the confluence of Buffalo Bayou and White Oak Bayou (a point now known as Allen's Landing).

Music heard in the region centuries ago was 'Música Norteño" dates back to the late 1800’s. Norteño developed from the mixing of cultures when the Mexicans were exposed to the music and dancing of German and Czech immigrants who immigrated to the area. This experience brought the accordion and European folk dances such as polkas, waltzes and others into the Northern Mexican culture and into their music as well.

But credit goes to Emperor Maximilian I, who brought music from Europe to México. By 1864 he had accumulated marching bands and musicians to entertain him. When Maximilian's empire was defeated, many of his former army and fellow countrymen fled north and dispersed into what is now the southwestern United States, including the area of modern day Houston.

More to come so stay tuned! 🎼

(Sources: City of Houston; Wikipedia; Buffalo Bayou Partnership;Massin Media Productions)

10/08/2020

Tejana musician Lydia Mendoza was born in Houston to Mexican parents, who fled their country's Revolution for South Texas. By the time Lydia was 11, she was singing and playing guitar in the Mendoza family band.

https://houstonhistorymagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Lheureux-Mendoza.pdf

10/08/2020

First Lady of Tejano Music - Lydia Mendoza

They called her the "Lark of the Border." Mendoza was the first star of recorded Tejano and Norteno music. Thanks to her 12-string guitar and her clear, heartfelt voice, she became a sensation throughout Latin America in the 1940s and 1950s. She died in 2007 at the age of 91 after a career that spanned eight decades.

https://houstonhistorymagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Lheureux-Mendoza.pdf

(Source: NPR)
(Photo: Getty Images)

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