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Hubert Sumlin
Quiet
and extremely unassuming off the bandstand, Hubert Sumlin played a
style of guitar incendiary enough to stand tall beside the immortal
Howlin' Wolf. The Wolf was Sumlin's imposing mentor for more than two
decades, and it proved a mutually beneficial relationship; Sumlin's
twisting, darting, unpredictable lead guitar constantly energized the
Wolf's 1960s Chess sides, even when the songs themselves (check out "Do
the Do" or "Mama's Baby" for conclusive proof) were less than stellar.
Sumlin started out twanging the proverbial broom wire nailed to the
wall before he got his mitts on a real guitar. He grew up near West
Memphis, AR, briefly hooking up with another young lion with a rosy
future, harpist James Cotton, before receiving a summons from the
mighty Wolf to join him in Chicago in 1954.
Sumlin learned his craft nightly on the bandstand behind Wolf, his
confidence growing as he graduated from rhythm guitar duties to lead.
By the dawn of the '60s, Sumlin's slashing axe was a prominent
component on the great majority of Wolf's waxings, including "Wang Dang
Doodle," "Shake for Me," "Hidden Charms" (boasting perhaps Sumlin's
greatest recorded solo), "Three Hundred Pounds of Joy," and "Killing
Floor."
Although they had a somewhat tempestuous relationship, Sumlin remained
loyal to Wolf until the big man's 1976 death. But there were a handful
of solo sessions for Sumlin before that, beginning with a most unusual
1964 date in East Berlin that was produced by Horst Lippmann during a
European tour under the auspices of the American Folk Blues Festival
(the behind-the-Iron Curtain session also featured pianist Sunnyland
Slim and bassist Willie Dixon).
Only in the last few years has Sumlin allowed his vocal talents to
shine. He's recorded solo sets for Black Top and Blind Pig that show
him to be an understated but effective singer -- and his guitar
continues to communicate most forcefully.
-Written
by Bill Dahl
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