Texan Blues star Brown dies at 81

[LWolf]

While DU and the rest of America are struggling to deal with Katrina, Iraq, and today's anniversary, I'll take a moment to remember Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. I was priveleged to see him perform live a few times, and his work holds an honored place in my cd collection. DU doesn't have a "blues appreciation" group, but all music lovers can appreciate this talented musician and his work. He'd been battling lung cancer and heart disease, and died in Texas after evacuating his home in Slidell.

<snip>

Born in Louisiana, but raised in Texas, Brown took an eclectic approach to music drawing influence from jazz, country and Texas blues, as well as the Cajun music of his native Louisiana.

Nicknamed "Gatemouth" for his deep voice, he cited his father, a railway worker and fiddle player, as his greatest musical influence. "If I can make my guitar sound like his fiddle, then I know I've got it right."

As his career blossomed in the late '40s, he recorded a string of hits including Okie Dokie Stomp and Ain't That Dandy - but later became frustrated by the limits of the blues genre and moved into country and jazz.

"He is one of the most underrated guitarists, musicians and arrangers I've ever met, an absolute prodigy," said Colin Walters, who is working on Brown's biography. "He never wanted to be called a bluesman, but I used to tell him that though he may not like the blues, he does the blues better than anyone."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/4234938.stm

[Wickerman]

1. Thanks for posting this

I hadn't heard. RIP, Clarence.

[LWolf]

7. You are welcome. n/t

[reprehensor]

2. :(

Thankfully, lots of Gatemouth recordings out there.

Maybe now he will get the recognition he really deserved.

[Dudley_DUright]

3. Gatemouth was a giant in the blues world

Apparently he had to evacuate from NOLA where he was living and he lost all his belongings before he died.

Dear family, friends, and fans,

Gatemouth Brown and his family evacuated the New Orleans / Slidell area shortly before Hurricane Katrina made landfall and made it safely to his hometown of Orange, Texas. However, due to hurricane damage, Gatemouth lost his home and all of his belongings. :cry:

http://www.gatemouth.com/

BTW, you write, 'DU doesn't have a "blues appreciation" group'. Perhaps we should. I would be willing to participate.

[LWolf]

5. Perhaps we should, indeed.

I'll be there.

[Lochloosa]

6. I'm with you on this one...

and rest in peace Gatemouth....caught him in a bar in North Carolina...what a show

[peekaloo]

4. Aw, pooh!

:-(

RIP.

[G_j]

8. RIP Clarence

(from a guitarist) he was one of the very best!
thank you so much Clarence!

thanks for posting this, I didn't know. :-(

[GOPisEvil]

9. Nooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!! Dammit!!!

I saw Clarence in New Orleans at the House of Blues. I was right at the front of the stage. It was Clarence's 72nd birthday, and he was on fire that night.

Damn...RIP Clarence.

[Dudley_DUright]

10. Damn, I wish I would have seen him before he died

I recently got to see Buddy Guy at the HOB in Orlando, however. It was one of the best shows I have ever seen.

[LWolf]

13. I was priveleged to see him

perform twice in the last decade, at the Monterey Bay Blues Festival.

I attended the bluesfest many times, and saw many great artists. If you were to ask me to name my top 10, "Gatemouth" would be there every time.

I think I'll head out to the car to get his CD; I can't think of a better memorial than just to listen to him.

[timtom]

11. It was 1977.

I hadn't been in Austin very long. I went to a Friends of Traditional Music gathering at the Armadillo World Headquarters. As is often my habit, I was gazing around at the crowd. "Wow," I thought. "South Florida doesn't come close to any of this. What an interesting mix of people. Look there. There's a black dude in a cowboy hat. How often do you see that anywhere else?"

A couple of musicians specializing in Irish music got up to play. After a couple of lively reels and jigs, the black dude in the cowboy hat got up on stage with the two musicians, and brought with him a mandolin.

There were a few more lively Irish tunes, during which the black dude in the cowboy hat took a couple of breaks (solos) and never missed a lick.

He then humorously remarked, "Gee. This is a neat instrument. What do you call it?"

One of his musical partners said, "It's called a mandolin, Gatemouth."

Gatemouth replied, "That's mighty fine. I'm going to have to get me one of these."

I was a fan thenceforth.

[LWolf]

18. That sounds like the Gatemouth I remember. n/t

[davsand]

12. He was a heck of a picker and a true showman.

That news adds another layer to the ever growing sadness. Bad as it is to see our country suffering and the Gulf Coast in ruins, this
loss just adds to it.

Irma Thomas is still missing, and now Gatemouth is gone. We are diminished by their loss...



Laura

[Dudley_DUright]

14. Heck of a picker is right

I have been jammin' to some Gatemouth recordings on my strat in his honor. I noticed that the last cut on the last CD of my Alligator Records 25th Anniversary Collection is of Gatemouth doing the ironically titled "We're Outta Here". Wow, does he ever smoke on this song. Say hello to Luther, Muddy, Albert, Jimi, Stevie, and the rest of the greats for us, Gatemouth.

[davsand]

16. He really was a guitar player's "picker"--ya know?

I was sitting around with a few of my buddies one night and we were talking about who we thought was astounding on the guitar. What amazed me most was the fact that the people who play had some different views of who was "the best" than did the ones who had never picked up anything with strings.

Guys that maybe haven't seen huge commercial success but are just technically perfect--or even guys that are playing with such passion that you can barely draw breath--THOSE are the player's pickers--ya know?

We came up with several names-and Gatemouth was in there along with SRV and Hendrix. Sad to say, since that conversation, we have lost a lot of them--both from that list and from that room...

Gatemouth had it goin on and we will miss him. I honor YOU for playing along with him, too!


Laura

[Dudley_DUright]

17. Well, I can only do a vague approximation of his style,

but I have been a disciple of Stevie Ray and Jimi for a long time.

[hollowdweller]

15. Saw him on Mountain Stage a year at most ago.

He had a long oxygen tube that went backstage. At the very end of the show they did the finale where everybody joins in that has played on the show. They did a LAME version of Mojo Working. Clarence insists they allow him to do it again. He gets Sonny Landreth, Gatemouth's band, and then some members of The Dirty Dozen Brass band to set in and absolutely fucking rips into the song, everybody taking a solo or two. It killed. I will always remember him for that. A very generous person as far as letting everyone in his band get the spotlight too.