Lightnin' Hopkins: Two Songs

[MrAndrew74sg]

two queers watched this video......

[tubesteakbooky]

@MrAndrew74sg were you the first one?

[MrAndrew74sg]

@tubesteakbooky Eat a dick faggot.

[ckeme77]

Amazing!

[Hlotar]

badass...

[thunderstruckredneck]

I believe he screwed a fender single-coil on it, then taped it back together when he wore it out. damn!

[Kristis666]

He is playing with Gibson?

[thunderstruckredneck]

@Kristis666 yea



[SCOOTER96able]

i like how u dont see people trolling or arguing in the comments box on any of this guys songs just proves is music is fuckin awesome

[jeffj257]

nice 1950's gibson. hope someone from his family still has it

[alaiasurfers]

i cut my fingers off after watching this !! no way i can i play this way !!

[eternalperchedbird]

someone please load 'Shaggy Dog'-Hopkins (would be greatly appreciative)

[Bongoplonk]

Born March 15, 1912. Respect.

[wisesatyr72]

damn look at that Freaking thumb, its humongous

[bgretk]

makes me wanna drink some guiness, tequilla, spark an owl rillo, smoke a bit a bud, while playin poker in a fancy hat

[Skyzboob]

The speed of video is right? I found tuning at 432hz 1/2 tone up (FA#D#G#CF) for the first song and standard EADGBe for the second also from 432... Strange

[gurrimichi]

i wonder what tuning is he using...is that standard E???

[TheBrowndawg]

@gurrimichi itd be e but he nevever tuned with a tuner, itd be a few cents out

[toby099]

@gurrimichi

probably one step down or a half step down from standard

[catfishblues123]

@gurrimichi Yes standard

[gnut1977]

the blues as it should be.

[SpiritCanaryisland]

The best

[100crawma]

perfection

[chris10269]

GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!!!!!!

[thefenderbluesking]

Thanks for the video its great to see Lightning having some fun.

[dragosmathboy]

this song makes me cry of happiness at every chord !

[goodtreesgoodfruit]

@blueskais I highly doubt that Buddy Guy really said that.

[lazik48]

Un des PHARAONS du blues...Lazik48

[kvnnyc09]

does anyone know what tuning he is using?

[PeccJeden]

@kvnnyc09  He's tuned half step up i think.

[gtflyer]

@PeccJeden

That would be a 1/2 step Down

[LTmattYT]

@gtflyer nah its a 1/2 step up, im here with my key of A blues harp and it sounds one 1/2 step flat of what lightnins playin.

[gtflyer]

@LTmattYT

I stand corrected..he normally played a 1/2 step down..

[PeccJeden]

@gtflyer No, I'm just checked it, He's tuned half step UP. Put a capo no 1st fret and check it.

[llennusz]

Jesus. Never heard of the good man before I saw this vid. One of my fav blues-men instantly :).

[binoyrakesh]

@llennusz U serious? Never heard of him before? He is one of the half-a-dozen Blues Gods.

[bleuskais]

In the words of Buddy Guy, "Fuck Stevie Ray Vaughan".

[velocetric]

Lightin is second only to Robert Johnson. Badass motherfucker.

[lalaa9000]

@velocetric you aint never lied!

[boxcarbabe]

Amazin. Light it up.

[richardcorysghost]

Hey, you Folks at the GTR Workshop, thank you very much for posting this video of one of the great masters, Mr Sam Lightin Hopkins!

What a thrill it is to actually see the man in full flight.

Never realised he only used one finger and one thumb!

Thanks again

Colin

[pikeking1]

just love lightnin's playing and singing

[canajian]

Sit back close your eyes & absorb this stuff... Its good juju...

Lightnin Hopkins was the man...

*****

[MsOldGregg]

"Standin' on the corner with my hat in my hand.

Lookin' for a woman who ain't got no man"

[Texusify]

True bluesman right there! 'Jes love it!

[whatevahman]

Do you know any of his albums?

[TonyCook2012]

blues in my bottle

[jimihendrix1967]

There was a video of lightnin' about a year ago. He was playin "take me back" on this tv show. There are just two songs in here but he was playin "take me back" after these two. There is a black-white video he's playin take me back but i dont mean that one. It was not black and white, instead brown ,white and black...That version took me away. I can't find it on youtube anymore....

[acidcasual07]

iv been trying to find that video everywhere but the kid took it off. gutted. do you mean the 1:30 long clip?

[jimihendrix1967]

yeah i mean that one , it was short but full of feeling. The county blues of Lightnin' Hopkins was obvious on that video.

[coldwar1952]

@acidcasual07 Hey - If you guys mean the B&W clip of the uptempo amplified number in the bar, on his Silvertone with added pickup, I added it to my uploads this morning. Glad I saved it when I could, I dont know what happened to the original post of it - CW

[dalet63]

Ain't nothing better than a cup of coffee and sum lighting in the morning.

[billyshitcheese]

beautiful!

[ganjabreeder8]

one of the greatest bluesers of all time.

in one line with blind lemon and robert johnson

[JDMUHR]

lightnin' hopkins rocks. R.I.P.

[jaysean1989]

he is god... one of the best guıtarıst

[ihop54]

Man!!!

[Flaviovic]

back in those days Lightnin was on shows like Mike douglas and merv Griffin

[chromemutt]

Hmm , the worst thing is I feel like I stumbling round in the dark with my guitar after watching this guy, hats off to you Mr Hopkins

[jimihendrix1967]

watch him carefully since 04:00

Look at his left leg and thumb finger. They're connected to each other. I've discovered that left leg and thumb finger has a cooperation between each other. If you want to play like this you should concentrate on your left leg which does the rhythm part.

[Toris93]

no idea why you have two thumbs down that is a great tip! and its so true

[jimihendrix1967]

Hey, i didnt understand why did they give me 2 poor comment marks too :)

Lightnin' also plays close to the fretboard with his rhythm hand (right). He has many secrets. But i've discovered all of them. I can control my right leg without a problem but it's hard to control your left leg when doing that thumb style. But if you can coordinate your left leg with your right thumb you play without a mistake and without missing the rhtyhm.

[Toris93]

yeh, thumb walking bass is something that takes years to perfect! i also noticed the close to fretboard thing a while ago, nearly everyone from texas do it: SRV; Freddie, T-bone...i love that style, picking close to the fretboard gives a very dynamic bassy sound. i love it!

[Toris93]

btw, i sendt you a friend request, you seem to like blues and american 40s cars! just like me=)

[Pastpickerpresent]

Gibson J 50

[easterna1100]

Lightnin' may not have been the most technical player but I don't think there was anyone more musical or who could get more music out of his guitar. This guy could make you believe in the blues.

[butterp7]

Who gives a shit about being technical when you can get that kind of sound and emotion.

[easterna1100]

Well said... exactly my point.

[shadowdaemon96]

@butterp7 fuck yeah, blues aint about technicality.

[carlopstar]

@butterp7 I agree... but just because his technique is not classic i t doesn't mean it's not a beautiful and well developed technique...

[Nikkbird]

word brother...

[shawnyboie]

@butterp7

i like your point

your right

[kirkbzzz123]

I can watch this all day!!

[MattMontedoro]

does anybody know what kind of guitar he is playing?

[RocknRoll167]

Gibson

[88ragtime]

Nobody could play a mean blues in E like ol' Lightnin. This is heavy, man, heavier like real bad times.

[sultanofshit]

great clip and the great music but it can't be 1960. beulah was in 67(when you go through a hurricane at age of 4, it's something you never forget) never heard this song before awesome music

[pyramidion]

Unbelievable...

He wrings more emotion out of a beat up old guitar than most "guitar heroes" manage in their entire careers.

[jonnyrocketballs69]

amen.

[specialk3123]

thats cuz he had been through more shit in his life than the "guitar heroes" could imagine

[Octopusbeak]

Looks like a relatively new gibson but the point holds true...

[elmiguelan]

que malandro este pana!!

[StrappedGypsy]

what i wouldnt give to be able to sing like this man.

[jm4u2b4]

Lighnin' change when Lightnin' wanna' change...  OG pimp Lightnin' RIP

[RIPSVR]

The Gibson he's playin' is an absolute classic but I think he could make a soap box and fishing line sound good. Lightnin' got soul.

[ntucker88]

him & jlh are the coolest looking guitar players. smooth as silk

[LoneTinaja]

In '69 Hurricane Beulah struck Texas & spawned

about 100 tornadoes, which was many more than

any other hurricane had ever been known to

spawn. Leave it to Lightnin' to make a great

song about it.

[demented20]

I've been playing music for a while now, but I'll tell you the truth, when I listen to some guys. I just feel hopeless, like I don't know a thing at all. T-bone Walker is one, Fred McDowell is another, and Lightnin Hopkins. Sometimes when I hear him play I just want to put my guitar back in the case.

[rievans57]

Ever notice how the truly great blues songs and the great blues artist all seem to have the same recipe. The truth laced with irony.

[acidcasual07]

youtube is the ressurection for so many loved people. memories never fade here.

[LoneTinaja]

Lightnin' is playing his Gibson J45. I bought one in '67 & still play it everyday. My beloved parents & Lightnin' are buried in the same cemetery in Houston,Texas.

[toomuchrose]

Its a Gibson J50 actually. It's the same guitar as the J45 except for the finish which is natural and the bigger pickguard. Same spruce top and mahogany body as the J45.

[imairlax]

it's a gibson j-160e guys! it's in the rock and roll hall of fame, i actually bowed to it when i saw it in person.

[toomuchrose]

It is not a J160e, it's a J50.

The J160e is what John Lennon played in the Beatles, it has a single coil pickup at the neck and tone and volume controls on the body. Lighnin' is playing a J50 acoustic.

[acidcasual07]

even if u made a mistake.  bowing let's you off lol. nice 1

[imairlax]

also, jimihendrix1967, if you cant find it on soulseek, there's a program called AudioHijack that lets you record any audio coming from your speakers, that's how i got this one to the ipod.

[jimihendrix1967]

the second song : baby, scratch my back is the best blues song i've ever heard. Really i say the truth. Believe in me. This one is different i know most of the 1920s - 60s blues stuff but this one is very interesting

[imairlax]

oh youll get no disagreement from me. i love that song, took me about a year to figure out how to play it right though :-P it's just E, A, B7 but the drive with his thumb and the pull offs make it incredible.

you should check out Guitar Workshop's videos about slow blues in E and A if you haven't already, they'll help you immensely in learning his style. nothing helps as much as just constantly listening to the music, though!

[jimihendrix1967]

What kind of guitar is that? Looks like Gibson.

[jmarcoj1]

bingo

[doctorpep1]

I just bought this dvd, and I thought that "Baby Scratch My Back" was not so great. It's a pretty monotonous song and it doesn't really have any lyrics to it. Lightnin' has a lot better songs. However, the dvd is still really great. I also purchased the Hopkins/Sykes dvd, which you guys can watch on YouTube.

[imairlax]

i just like it because it's so out of step with his other stuff. same key, sure, but mance lipscomb said in his autobiography "lightnin only plays two songs!" alot of my favorites are the ones where he breaks out of his perfectly honed slow E mold, check out "wonder why" and "walkin' blues" for two more like that.

isn't the version of "lightnin's boogie" on that dvd jaw-dropping, too?

[doctorpep1]

Is "Lightnin's Boogie" on the dvd with Mance or the one with Sykes? Also, where can I buy Mance's autobiography? A lot of Lightnin's stuff from around 1946 is brilliant. A lot of the 1960s stuff with a backing band is junk, in my opinion. Thanks for the info!

[jeeperforlife]

YES thank you! The old bluesmen were meant to be heard like this (no band)! I love Lightnin by himself but with a band...not so much...

[allenesp]

C'mon, that session when he recorded Shaggy Dad, Shake it Baby and I'll be Gone is stunning, easily stands with the best of his solo work.

[jimihendrix1967]

what's the name of the seconds song? i dont know :(

[imairlax]

it's "Baby, Scratch My Back". this is the only time/place i've ever seen him play it though, never came across it on any of his albums.

[jimihendrix1967]

may be you're right but i will search in soul seek. I'm studying lightnin' hopkins style and i can play it. He is genius

[jimihendrix1967]

what's the name of the seconds song? i dont know :(

[Kdees]

Ostaz hopkins :D

making me sing the blues

[frailer2007]

Actually this is in standard a semitone (what I call a half-step) sharp. So it's in F.

Just capo up one fret and you're good to go.

[santasxgirlfriend]

lightnin' was somethin else!

[kokoro86]

Love that pinch-picking he's doing..

[ptalbany]

I thought I read he tunes his guitar down ½ step that's how he get them low notes to roar well that what I read if its true or not I cant say but either way the Man can play

[deliciousvinyl]

pure SOUL, that just HAPPENS to be Blues !

[danimation777]

man-o-man the size of his hands! lol

[ZZZQQQXXX]

Lightnin's the best!!

Does anyone know if he uses a banjo pick on his first finger? It's hard to tell from his videos.

[kokoro86]

Definitely a thumbpick that he's got in this vid.

[imairlax]

he used a thumbpick but no picks on his fingers

[spring41686]

Amen, but on the real he uses a dropped flat tuning (eb) if that helps anyone out. Just pick your notes carefully.

[ByGoneBlues]

seems like some dropped tuning he's in....when he hits the B7 turnaround he's fretting the low E....weird! these old blues masters used different tunings I think that's why it's so hard to hit their sound

[guitardan102938]

I think he's in standard tuning maybe a semitone lower. What might be confusing you is that he is fretting two strings with his second finger. He plays the E chord by fretting 4th and 5th strings at second fret both with his 2nd finger. Then the B7 chord fretting 5th and 6th strings with the same finger. Big Bill Broonzy did the same thing.

[ByGoneBlues]

I don't think so, if you watch when he hits what would normally be a B7 turnaround, he's actually doing the chord shape on the top three strings.

[Kdees]

Look at those fingers, God made'em to play .. hehe.. HOPKINS :D!!!

[almanacofsleep]

Hes one of the cooliest guitar players I've seen, much cooler than that indie shit nowadays.

[Danbo1957]

Nasty. Nasty good.

[ZZZQQQXXX]

Awesome, thank you for sharing!

[atmtree]

yea definitly

[peglegsam]

absolutely marvelous :)