Doug Sahm

Douglas Wayne Sahm (born November 6, 1941 in San Antonio , Texas , † November 18, 1999 in Taos , New Mexico ) was an American country, blues and rock musician. He is considered the most important figure of the so-called Tex-Mex style and was best known as the leader of the Sir Douglas Quintet and later the Texas Tornadoes .

biography

Beginnings

Doug Sahm began his career as a country music prodigy. At the age of 6 he appeared on local radio shows. In December 1952, 11-year-old Sahm was on stage with Hank Williams , just a few weeks before his death. At the age of 13 he made his first record as Little Doug Sahm ( A Real American Joe ) and has already played guitar , steel guitar , mandolin and violin . It is said that Sahm was offered a regular appearance in the Grand Ole Opry even then , but his mother insisted that he finish school first. From 1957 Sahm founded various bands with names such as The Markays, The Spirits, The Knights and The Pharaos, played in the clubs of San Antonio and recorded singles for several local labels , among others. a. Crazy Daisy (1959), Can't Believe You Wanna Leave (1959) and Sapphire (1961) for the Harlem label.

The Sir Douglas Quintet and the 1970s

At the suggestion of producer Huey Meaux , Sahm founded the Sir Douglas Quintet in 1964, which had its first hits with She's About A Mover and The Rains Came . After moving to the hippie metropolis of San Francisco , more hits followed on the Mercury Records label with Mendocino (1969), Dynamite Woman (1969), Nuevo Laredo (1970). Under the pseudonym Wayne Douglas, Sahm released the Nashville country single Be Real in 1970 .

In 1973, producer Jerry Wexler signed Sahm for Atlantic Records - without his quintet. That there with the guest musicians David "Fathead" Newman , Dr. John , Bob Dylan , David Bromberg and Flaco Jimenez recorded album Doug Sahm And Band is - although it only reached number 125 in the US charts - as a milestone of Tex-Mex . With Texas Tornado followed a second album for Atlantic under the band name Sir Douglas Band, after which Sahm released records with different stylistic emphases on various labels. The rocky Groover's Paradise (1974) with Stu Cook and Doug Clifford from Creedence Clearwater Revival , the country album Texas Rock For Country Rollers (1975), another collaboration with producer Huey P. Meaux and the blues record Hell Of A Spell (1980) , a tribute to his role model Guitar Slim .

The 1980s and 1990s

In the 1980s, Sahm reformed his Sir Douglas Quintet for releases with the Swedish label Sonet, continued to record solo material and founded the rockabilly group Texas Mavericks and the Formerly Brothers with Amos Garrett and Gene Taylor.

In 1989 Sahm founded the Tex-Mex supergroup Texas Tornados with Freddy Fender , Flaco Jimenez and Augie Meyers , with whom he released four studio albums, a live record and a best-of compilation until 1999. In between there was another reunion of the Sir Douglas Quintet in 1994. Also in 1994, Sahm's album The Last Real Texas Blues Band , another homage to the Texas blues of a T-Bone Walker , was nominated for a Grammy .

Doug Sahm died of a heart attack in his hotel room on November 18, 1999 while staying in Taos, New Mexico . The following year his last album, The Return Of Wayne Douglas , was released posthumously , stylistically a return to his country and western swing roots.

Doug Sahm's sons are also in the music business. Shawn Sahm, who played guitar in the Sir Douglas Quintet as early as the 80s, is stylistically following in the footsteps of his father with his band Tex-Mex Experience and released the solo CD ( Shawn Sahm , 2002). Shandon Sahm, the younger brother, was a member of the rock band Meat Puppets as a drummer and released the solo album ( Good Thoughts Are Better Than Laxatives , 2002).

Discography

Albums (selection)

• Doug Sahm & Band (Atlantic 1973)
• Texas Tornado (Atlantic 1973) as the Sir Douglas Band
• Groover's Paradise (Warner Bros 1974)
• Texas Rock For Country Rollers (MCA 1975) as Sir Doug & the Texas Tornados
• Hell Of A Spell (Takoma 1980)
• Juke Box Music (Antone's 1987)
• Who Are These Masked Men? (New Rose 1987) as Texas Mavericks
• Live (Bear Tracks 1988)
• The Return Of The Formerly Brothers ( Rykodisc 1989)
• The Doug Sahm / Amos Garrett / Gene Taylor Band Live In Japan (New Rose 1991)
• The Last Real Texas Blues Band (Antone's 1994)
• SDQ '98 (Watermelon 1998)
• The Return Of Wayne Douglas (Tornado / Evangeline 2000)
• Live From Austin TX (New West 2007) Live recording from 1975

Compilations (selection)

• The Best Of Doug Sahm and The Sir Douglas Quintet (Polygram / Mercury 1990)
• The Best of The Atlantic Sessions (Sequel 1994)
• San Antonio Rock: The Harlem Recordings 1957–1961 (Norton, 2000)

Recordings by other musicians (selection)

• 1973 - Wake Of The Flood by The Grateful Dead (Grateful Dead Records) Sahm plays Bajo Sexto (Mexican 12-string guitar)
• 1976 - The Troublemaker by Willie Nelson (Columbia Records) Sahm plays the fiddle, sings background vocals
• 1977 - Rick Danko by Rick Danko of The Band (Arista) Sahm plays lead guitar on 2 tracks, 2 photos of Sahm on the inside cover
• 1979 - Live From The Old Soap Creek Saloon by Freda & The Firedogs (Big Wheel Records) Sahm sings on 1 track
• 1982 - Redneck In A Rock 'n' Roll Bar by Red Jenkins (Shannon Records, Sweden) Duet with Doug Sahm
• 1998 - Los Super Seven by Los Super Seven (RCA, BMG) Sahm sings on 1 piece
• 2001 - Texas Rain by Townes Van Zandt (Tomato) Sahm plays 12-string guitar + duet vocals on 1 piece
• 2002 - Songs of Sahm by the Bottle Rockets , (Bloodshot Records)
• 2009 - Keep Your Soul: A Tribute to Doug Sahm -Various Artists ( Vanguard Records )

literature

• Don McLeese: Sir Douglas Sahm And The Garage As Big As Texas . In: Popular Music And Society , Volume 29, Issue 4, October 2006, pp. 441–450
• Jan Reid, Shawn Sahm: Texas Tornado - The Times & Music of Doug Sahm , University of Texas Press, 2010