A Few Memories of Hubert Sumlin

By Greg Johnson

As I am sure is true with so many people who love the blues and had the opportunity to have the privilege of meeting or knowing Hubert Sumlin, my heart is so heavy with his passing. One of the most influential guitarists of his time, he touched the soul of modern music with his playing. Credited by a who’s who of blues and rock performers as the inspiration behind their own styles, from Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix, Keith Richards and just about every person who ever picked up a guitar. His years working alongside Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters and a brilliant career as a solo musician, ensure his legacy will outlive us all.

I had the good fortune to know Hubert Sumlin over the years. I cannot recall the first time I ever saw him play, there were so many performances over time, but he charmed me every time not just with his talent, but because he was such a kind and giving individual.

In 2001 I hired Hubert to perform for the Cascade Blues Association’s second annual Willamette Delta Showcase. Hubert came into Portland the night before and agreed to go to a show with us to listen to local music. I called up Lloyd Jones that day and asked if he would mind a friend coming out to see his show at the River Roadhouse that night. I did not tell Lloyd who we would be bringing, but he said to bring our “friend” out. Lloyd was in the middle of his set as Hubert walked through the door. When he saw Hubert, his jaw nearly dropped to the floor. He immediately stopped playing and the crowd in the room who obviously most did not know who Hubert was, began to wonder why Lloyd had stopped mid-song. Lloyd stepped to the mic and stated, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is the man. This is why I play guitar. This is the reason why I play the blues.” All through that night all Hubert had to do was sit there. He didn’t have to play a single note or step on the stage. People in the bar kept asking to shake his hand and bought him drinks the entire night showing him the reverence he so rightly deserved.

The next night at the Willamette Delta Showcase, Hubert headlined a bill that included Paul Oscher, The Sean Chambers Band and an elder local performer named O.C. Thomas who was performing on stage for the first time in his life. Thomas had mostly played in his driveway for neighbors and had a song on the local compilation album A Taste Of The Blue Rose. As he was about to go onstage with his inexpensive Sears guitar and small amp, nerves began to take hold and he was unsure of himself. Hubert walked up to Thomas, placed his hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eye. He told him, “Just go up there, be yourself, you have what it takes. Everything will work out fine.” That was enough to convince Mr. Thomas to play what was to be his only stage performance of his life, as he passed a couple months afterward, always remembering it as the greatest night of his life. That was the kind of man that Hubert Sumlin was. Giving and always wishing to pass on the blues to the next generation.

I brought up that night to Hubert a few years later as he was touring the country as part of Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s Ten Days Out Tour alongside other blues artists like Pinetop Perkins, Bryan Lee and Buddy Flett. I moderated an interview session with the artists before the show and asked Hubert if he remembered that night and what he had told O.C. Thomas? He said that he did, and that incidents like that meant the most to him. Being able to share his knowledge with others and building the strength within people to pursue what they loved was important in keeping blues music alive and that there was nothing more important than that. The tradition had to carry on.

There were sad times as well as the good. I remember how my heart sank when he told me he had cancer and surgery was scheduled to have a lung removed. How tired he appeared at the Waterfront Blues Festival soon afterward. But the stories he could tell could tickle you senseless, such as when he hid from Big Mama Thornton whom he thought was out to kill him at the time for sure. I also recall the laughs we shared at the Blues Hall of Fame dinner in Tunica, Mississippi, sitting in those oversized rocking chairs along the river’s bank with Fiona Boyes. He went on and on about Fiona and how much he loved her. He told me how she had stayed at his home in Milwaukie and they had tapes of the two of them sitting around woodshedding with each other. Oh how I would love to hear those recordings.

Hubert Sumlin died of heart failure on Sunday, December 4^th at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Wayne, NJ at the age of 80. A consummate showman, he had continued playing on stage right to the end of his life. Sometimes it was hard for him to do so with an oxygen tank in tow, but he always wanted to give his all for the people who loved him and the blues.

It is his smile and his warmth that I will cherish forever. How he constantly kept hugging me backstage at the Aladdin Theater for the Willamette Delta Showcase and how happy he was to be in Portland that night. I asked him if he would play “Hidden Charms” during the show, always a personal favorite of mine. He didn’t just play it, but played it twice during the set because he knew I liked it so much. Again, that was Hubert Sumlin. It was not about himself, but his giving nature. He was one of a kind. Humble beyond compare. And this world is a much sadder place without him.

Bookmark with: