Oh Be Cruel!

“People have learned how to strum a guitar, but they don’t have the soul. They don’t feel it from the heart. It hurts me. I’m killin’ myself to tell them how it is.”

-Lightnin’ Hopkins

Click the grey boxes above to watch the original Texas country blues man Lightnin’ Hopkins lay down a full session of down home dusty blues in the mid-1960s. While you wouldn’t be able to tell from a quick watch of the videos above, most of Lightnin’s lyrical work was improvised from life experience. His guitar work was another matter - his quick fingers made the toughest riffs look like a piece of cake and his style made his solo work sound like he had a full backing band. Lightnin’s life was as colourful as his music - he went from serving time in a country prison farm and playing back alley gin shops in the ’30s to touring Europe and being the subject of films in the ’60s and ’70s. However, to the end of his life in ‘81, Lightnin’ was still a ‘look you in the eye’ type of fella’ - he demanded his money up front and square. Beyond his music, why should we thank Lightnin’? The man influenced Jimmy Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, the Grateful Dead, Erykah Badu and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

“A fellow named Jody Rich, an ex-marine and taskmaster was originally the leader of the group. We recruited a young Hispanic fellow, stage name Benny King, on drums, plus Tony Valentino and myself. Our first gig was in Hawaii for three months. Jody, who was married at the time, was jealous of the younger band members scoring on all the babes. He became an absolute tyrant, setting a curfew, demanding spit-shined shoes, and freshly ironed clothes. Benny was the first to drop out. He went back home to his mother. Tony and I openly rebelled and Jody fired us…wait a minute…he didn’t have a band left. We re-formed and fired him.”
-Larry Tamblyn on the Standells’ early days

Click the box above to watch the Standells’ play “Dirty Water” and “There’s a Storm Comin’ ” on the Mike Douglas Show in 1966 - a rare performance of theirs without then-mandatory lip-synching. The Standells were a band of misfits from various backgrounds, but they managed to put together an early garage punk sound that would later be covered by hardcore legends Minor Threat (“Good Guys Don’t Wear White”). While “Dirty Water” brought the band a ton of success, members admit that they have always thought the song was a dud.