| April 13th, 2005 10:05 PM |
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Mostly stuff we already know, but a few interesting bits of news...
http://www.creemmagazine.com/BeatGoesOn/HubertSumlin/WalkingInThemShoes.html
Hubert Sumlin
Walking In Them Shoes
Guitarist Hubert Sumlin is one of those fundamental artists who don't get near the recognition or remuneration they deserve. His work on Howlin' Wolf's great Chess sides was so far-reaching in its influence that some of the world's richest and most popular rock 'n' roll guitarists should be paying him royalties for their entire style. (I'm looking at you, Mr. Page).
Fortunately, despite the recent loss of a lung to cancer and subsequent heart attack, Sumlin is still hitting stages around the world.
"I feel great. I feel great. Thank God, I feel great, man," he said. "After I had one lung removed, I had a heart attack, not too long ago. And it kept me from going to Spain. But the next week, the doctor said 'Hey man, you're better. You can fly.' So I said 'Oh my' and I went to Switzerland.
"Right now I'm playing more and more because I'm getting stronger and stronger," Sumlin said, adding that a month earlier he wouldn't have been able to walk across the room without stopping for a rest. Watching him onstage, though, it would be hard to tell that he's had poor health. He stands the whole time, moves around the stage, sings, and generally rocks out.
On this particular February night, Sumlin was playing Park West in Chicago with New York Doll David Johansen. Johansen and Sumlin frequently perform together and are featured in the new documentary Lightning in a Bottle. The pair is currently working on an album of original material that they have written together.
"Actually, Hubert's playing better than ever. I have trouble keeping up with him, but I do my best," said Johansen.
The 73-year-old Sumlin was born in Greenwood, Miss. His mother used her entire $5 weekly paycheck and bought him his first guitar when he was 7. She worked at a school, and she had to walk eight miles each way to and from work, Sumlin said. She gave him the guitar on the way home from work one day. About two miles from home, it began to rain. Sumlin said he ran those two miles as fast as he could.
"I got the neck part of that guitar now at home," Sumlin said. Realizing the worth of such an artifact, he quickly added: "It's in the bank."
Sumlin joined Howlin' Wolf's band in 1954, and together they made a series of records that defined urban electric blues—titles like "Killing Floor," "Wang Dang Doodle" "Going Down Slow" "Built For Comfort" and "300 Pounds of Joy."
While he's best known for his work with Wolf, Sumlin also worked with Muddy Waters briefly. Sumlin's new Artemis record, About Them Shoes, is a tribute to Waters that features Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Levon Helm, James Cotton and Johansen among others. The record features seven Waters songs, four that Willie Dixon wrote for Waters, and one Sumlin composition.
Explaining the title, Sumlin said: "When you see a person like Muddy Waters, Jimmie Rodgers, Little Walter, they don't walk in these shoes. They all come with these things that are so beautiful you say 'I wouldn't care if I was in that guy's shoes right there...' This is what it's all about. It's a thing that's really saying something. You ain't lying about it."
It's curious that Sumlin put out a record of Waters' songs, given that he's far more known for his work with Wolf, but he said that was at the behest of Keith Richards.
"Keith and the Rolling Stones, they played with Muddy and they loved Muddy, very much," Sumlin said, adding "The next time, I'm going to put some Wolf in there, too!"
In fact, Sumlin said he's already got a follow-up to About Them Shoes recorded that has many of the same guests working through Wolf songs. "Now I got Keith straightened out," he said with a chuckle.
Wolf was a big influence on Sumlin's style, partially because he fired the guitarist for using picks and playing too much. "He fired me…He said put the picks down, man. He said 'Don't come back here with all that stuff … just running all over. Where I got to go, you've already been there and back and you're going again,'" Sumlin recounted. So Sumlin hit the woodshed and worked on his playing, and when he returned to Wolf, the singer was pleased.
"He said you know what, now I got the voice and you've got the sound. I said 'OK, let's go,'" Sumlin said. He remembers Wolf fondly.
"He was like a daddy to me before he passed," he said. "He showed me some things, some old stuff about musicians like Charlie Patton and Robert Johnson."
In fact, Sumlin said, that's why he doesn't get upset when other guitarists have success copping his style — in some ways, he learned from those who came before him, too. Of course, there's nobody who does quite what Sumlin does.
"You know what, I believe my guitar, I don't play like nobody, man. You better believe it. The sound, I've got my own," he said, without a hint of arrogance. And it's easy to see that he's telling the truth, because more guitarists than you can count wouldn't mind walking in them shoes.
—Brian J. Bowe
March 2005
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