Free Alan Govenar by Lightnin' Hopkins: His Life, Blues

Shad, who worked for both companies in addition to running the Sittin’ In With and Jax labels. Lightnin’ played acoustic guitar and was accompanied by Donald Cooks on bass for not only the Sittin’ In With and Mercury sessions in 1951, but for the Decca session in 1953. Several of the songs Lightnin’ recorded during this period were original compositions, and the topical “Sad News from Korea” was especially poignant.
    Well, poor mother run and cryin’
Wonderin’ where could my poor son be (x2)
Whoa, I just want you to have some of my prayer
“Please, sir, God, Send my poor child back to me”
    For the Decca session on July 29, 1953, Lightnin’ was once again accompanied by Donald Cooks on bass, but Connie Kroll was added on drums. The trio sounded tight, suggesting they had been playing together for a while and were not simply thrown together in the studio. Lightnin’s song choices were also carefully selected. “The War Is Over” was a topical song at the end of the Korean War. “Policy Game” was the only song Lightnin’ ever recorded about policy, or “the numbers,” which was essentially an illegal lottery in which individuals bought a betting slip in a cafe or other small business and picked the amount they wanted to gamble and the combination of numbers that they thought would come up when the policy wheel was turned. 69 In Lightnin’s song, he reflected on the futility of policy, but also on how the game was a metaphor.
    Everybody winning policy, oh Lord, but poor me (x2)
I played 72, but I done decided to play 23
Tell me, sweet baby, somebody gone win for you
    In the end, Lightnin’ was determined to win, but didn’t know when to pull back and quit.
    Played number 10 but God knows I couldn’t win (x2)
I’m gonna keep on bettin’ till my bluff comes back again
    â€œI’m Wild About You Baby,” “Merry Christmas,” “Happy New Year,” and “Highway Blues” are all strong, up-tempo numbers that Lightnin’ sang and played with a much brighter tone and an enthusiasm rarely heard on his later recordings. “Merry Christmas” and “Happy New Year” were in the great tradition of holiday blues numbers and were likely suggested by the producer because such songs were “evergreens” that could be sold each holiday season.
    In “Highway Blues,” Lightnin’ is exuberant about hitting the road:
    I’m going to take my girl, have some fun
If my money don’t spend, I can shoot my gun
I’m going, yes, I’m going, yes, I’m going on that highway
    About “Highway Blues,”
Billboard
wrote, “Another good blues reading from the chanter—and in his usually effective style,” and also praised “Cemetery Blues,” which backed it on Decca 48312: “Hopkins’ tale of Grandpa’s death is told via his guitar, singing, and talking passages for a mighty effective side with lots of folk quality. The gimmick of a crying voice thruout [sic] adds appeal.” 70 There’s no indication of how well the Mercury sides sold; none ever charted.
    The next sides Lightnin’ recorded were for TNT, a new San Antonio label as small as Decca was large. They were produced by H. M. Crowe in Houston around November 1953, and for these, an amazingly distorted amplifier added to the brooding intensity of the four songs he recorded that were reminiscent of his earlier work: “Late in the Evening,” “Lightnin’ Jump,” “Leaving Blues,” and “Moanin’ Blues.”
    It’s likely that the Mercury, Decca, and TNT sessions occurred at Bill Holford’s ACA studio, but there is nothing in the Holford’s logbooks that would provide definitive evidence. The logbooks only document the master discs that ACA made. They do not document sessions, unless ACA mastered them. This is also true for the