Doug Sahm
Encyclopedia
Douglas Wayne Sahm was an American
musician
from Texas
. Born in San Antonio, Texas
, he was a child prodigy in country music
, but became a significant figure in blues rock and other genres. Today Sahm is considered one of the most important figures in what is identified as Tejano music
. He was the founder and leader of the 1960s rock and roll band the Sir Douglas Quintet
, and later with Augie Meyers
, Freddy Fender
and Flaco Jimenez
in The Texas Tornados
, and also in Los Super Seven
supergroup
.
Sahm was proficient on dozens of musical instruments and was a lifelong baseball
fan.
Real American Joe" at age eleven. On December 19, 1952, he played on stage with Hank Williams Sr. at the Skyline Club in Austin, Texas. It was Hank Williams's very last performance. Williams died 13 days later (New Year's Day 1953) on the road to his next show in Canton, Ohio.
He is said to have been offered a permanent spot on the Grand Ole Opry
, but his mother wanted him to finish junior high.
One of Sahm's earliest recordings was rejected by Mercury Records in 1953. Also in the mid-1950s, he started sneaking into San Antonio R&B clubs such as the Tiffany Lounge and the Ebony Lounge, and he was soon performing at the same venues.
Sahm formed his first band, the Knights, in 1957. Later in the decade, Sahm joined up with Spot Barnett's band playing mostly black San Antonio blues clubs. In 1960, Sahm travelled across the country promoting a record.
He met Freddy Fender
around 1958 and Roy Head
of Roy Head and The Traits from San Marcos, TX in 1959 when they shared the stage at a sock hop
in San Antonio's Municipal Auditorium.
with childhood friend Augie Meyers
. They chose the group's name in an effort to make the band seem British to benefit from the British invasion
. This image had its problems, particularly Sahm's Texas accent and that two fifths of the band were Hispanic. Some early publicity photos were shot in silhouette to hide this fact.
The band had a top 20 US hit with the 12-bar blues "She's About a Mover" and a lesser hit with "The Rains Came," the former also reaching the Top Twenty in the UK Singles Chart
.
The band broke up after a bust for marijuana
possession in Corpus Christi, Texas
. Sahm moved to San Francisco and formed the Honkey Blues Band, then later re-formed the Sir Douglas Quintet with a new lineup. Eventually Augie Meyers
rejoined the quintet and they released the successful single and album "Mendocino". The record contained the song "At the Crossroads" with the Sahm line "You just can't live in Texas if you don't have a lot of soul".
Bob Dylan stated, "Look, for me right now there are three groups: Butterfield, The Byrds and the Sir Douglas Quintet."
of Atlantic Records
bought Sahm's contract and produced his solo debut Doug Sahm and Band, an album featuring Bob Dylan
, Dr. John
, David Bromberg
and Flaco Jiménez
.
"Then in October 1972, Dylan was in the studio with Doug Sahm..........Dylan having been friendly with Sahm since the mid-sixties and having expressed enthusiasm for the Sir Douglas Quintet on more than one occasion"
Sahm continued recording both as a solo artist and with the Sir Douglas Quintet. During this period, Sahm also had a couple of minor motion picture roles. In 1972, he and the Quintet appeared with Kris Kristofferson
in Cisco Pike
and in 1979 he was featured in More American Graffiti
.
Sahm was also a sought-after session musician, appearing on releases of other artists, including The Grateful Dead. He sang backing vocals on Willie Nelson
's 1977 gospel album, The Troublemaker.
European tours that revitalized their careers. The single "Meet Me In Stockholm" from their
Midnight Sun LP went platinum and was one of the biggest selling records ever in Scandinavia.
After an accident in 1985, Doug moved to Canada and then returned to Texas in 1988.
supergroup the Texas Tornados
with Freddy Fender
, Augie Meyers
and Flaco Jimenez
. The group recorded four albums and won a Grammy.
Sahm also appears on the 1993 Uncle Tupelo
album Anodyne on the song "Give Back the Key to my Heart". Sahm recorded a Grammy-winning solo album, The Last Real Texas Blues Band and recorded with yet another new formation of the Sir Douglas Quintet for SDQ '98.
Sahm died of a heart attack
in his sleep in a motel room in Taos, New Mexico
on November 18, 1999.
A posthumous album, The Return of Wayne Douglas, was released in 2000. Sahm's son, Shawn Sahm, continues in his father's footsteps as the leader of his band, Shawn Sahm & The Tex Mex Experience. Father and son appeared together on the cover of Rolling Stone
in 1968.
The surviving members of the Texas Tornados (Augie Meyers and Flaco Jimenez) reunited with Shawn Sahm on the 2010 release, Esta Bueno. Doug Sahm's other son, Shandon, played drums for The Meat Puppets from 1999 to 2002, and is their current drummer as of 2010.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
from Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. Born in San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
, he was a child prodigy in country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, but became a significant figure in blues rock and other genres. Today Sahm is considered one of the most important figures in what is identified as Tejano music
Tejano music
Tejano music or Tex-Mex music is the name given to various forms of folk and popular music originating among the Mexican-American populations of Central and Southern Texas...
. He was the founder and leader of the 1960s rock and roll band the Sir Douglas Quintet
Sir Douglas Quintet
Sir Douglas Quintet was a rock band active in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Despite their British sounding name, they came out of San Antonio, Texas. Their career was established when they began working with Texas record-producer Huey P. Meaux, after which the band relocated to the West Coast...
, and later with Augie Meyers
Augie Meyers
August "Augie" Meyers is an American musician. He is best known as keyboard-player with the Sir Douglas Quintet and the Texas Tornados.-History:...
, Freddy Fender
Freddy Fender
Freddy Fender , born Baldemar Garza Huerta in San Benito, Texas, United States, was a Mexican-American Tejano, country and rock and roll musician, known for his work as a solo artist and in the groups Los Super Seven and the Texas Tornados...
and Flaco Jimenez
Flaco Jiménez
Leonardo "Flaco" Jiménez is a Tejano music accordionist from San Antonio, Texas. Jiménez's father, Santiago Jiménez Sr. was a pioneer of conjunto music. He began performing with his father at age seven and recording at age fifteen, as a member of Los Caporales...
in The Texas Tornados
Texas Tornados
Texas Tornados is a Tejano band. Its music is a fusion of rock, country and various Mexican styles.-History:The initial combination of musicians of the Texas Tornados happened almost by chance at a concert performance of a mutual acquaintance...
, and also in Los Super Seven
Los Super Seven
Los Super Seven is a predominantly Latin American supergroup which debuted in 1998. The group won a Grammy Award for Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album in 1999 for its self-titled album. The group's musical style has changed with each incarnation, blending sounds from Tejano, mariachi, Cuban,...
supergroup
Supergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
.
Sahm was proficient on dozens of musical instruments and was a lifelong baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
fan.
Country prodigy: 1940s and 1950s
Sahm began his musical career singing and playing steel guitar, mandolin and violin as "Little" Doug Sahm. He made his radio debut at the age five and released his first record "AReal American Joe" at age eleven. On December 19, 1952, he played on stage with Hank Williams Sr. at the Skyline Club in Austin, Texas. It was Hank Williams's very last performance. Williams died 13 days later (New Year's Day 1953) on the road to his next show in Canton, Ohio.
He is said to have been offered a permanent spot on the Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
, but his mother wanted him to finish junior high.
One of Sahm's earliest recordings was rejected by Mercury Records in 1953. Also in the mid-1950s, he started sneaking into San Antonio R&B clubs such as the Tiffany Lounge and the Ebony Lounge, and he was soon performing at the same venues.
Sahm formed his first band, the Knights, in 1957. Later in the decade, Sahm joined up with Spot Barnett's band playing mostly black San Antonio blues clubs. In 1960, Sahm travelled across the country promoting a record.
He met Freddy Fender
Freddy Fender
Freddy Fender , born Baldemar Garza Huerta in San Benito, Texas, United States, was a Mexican-American Tejano, country and rock and roll musician, known for his work as a solo artist and in the groups Los Super Seven and the Texas Tornados...
around 1958 and Roy Head
Roy Head
Roy Head is an American singer, best known for his hit "Treat Her Right."-Career:Head achieved fame as a member of a musical group out from San Marcos, Texas known as The Traits. The group's sponsor landed their first recording contract in 1958 with TNT Music in San Antonio, Texas while they were...
of Roy Head and The Traits from San Marcos, TX in 1959 when they shared the stage at a sock hop
Sock Hop
The sock hop was an informal sponsored dance at American high schools, typically held in the high school's own gym or cafeteria. The term sock hop came about because dancers were required to remove their shoes to protect the varnished floor of the gymnasium. These hops were a cultural feature of...
in San Antonio's Municipal Auditorium.
Sir Douglas Quintet: 1960s
In 1965, prompted by record producer Huey Meaux, Sahm formed the Sir Douglas QuintetSir Douglas Quintet
Sir Douglas Quintet was a rock band active in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Despite their British sounding name, they came out of San Antonio, Texas. Their career was established when they began working with Texas record-producer Huey P. Meaux, after which the band relocated to the West Coast...
with childhood friend Augie Meyers
Augie Meyers
August "Augie" Meyers is an American musician. He is best known as keyboard-player with the Sir Douglas Quintet and the Texas Tornados.-History:...
. They chose the group's name in an effort to make the band seem British to benefit from the British invasion
British Invasion
The British Invasion is a term used to describe the large number of rock and roll, beat, rock, and pop performers from the United Kingdom who became popular in the United States during the time period from 1964 through 1966.- Background :...
. This image had its problems, particularly Sahm's Texas accent and that two fifths of the band were Hispanic. Some early publicity photos were shot in silhouette to hide this fact.
The band had a top 20 US hit with the 12-bar blues "She's About a Mover" and a lesser hit with "The Rains Came," the former also reaching the Top Twenty in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
The band broke up after a bust for marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
possession in Corpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The MSA population in 2008 was 416,376. The population was 305,215 at the 2010 census making it the...
. Sahm moved to San Francisco and formed the Honkey Blues Band, then later re-formed the Sir Douglas Quintet with a new lineup. Eventually Augie Meyers
Augie Meyers
August "Augie" Meyers is an American musician. He is best known as keyboard-player with the Sir Douglas Quintet and the Texas Tornados.-History:...
rejoined the quintet and they released the successful single and album "Mendocino". The record contained the song "At the Crossroads" with the Sahm line "You just can't live in Texas if you don't have a lot of soul".
Bob Dylan stated, "Look, for me right now there are three groups: Butterfield, The Byrds and the Sir Douglas Quintet."
Atlantic years: 1970s
In 1973, Jerry WexlerJerry Wexler
Gerald "Jerry" Wexler was a music journalist turned music producer, and was regarded as one of the major record industry players behind music from the 1950s through the 1980s...
of Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
bought Sahm's contract and produced his solo debut Doug Sahm and Band, an album featuring Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, Dr. John
Dr. John
Malcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr. , better known by the stage name Dr. John , is an American singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist, whose music combines blues, pop, jazz as well as Zydeco, boogie woogie and rock and roll.Active as a session musician since the late 1950s, he came to wider...
, David Bromberg
David Bromberg
David Bromberg is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Bromberg has an eclectic style, playing bluegrass, blues, folk, jazz, country and western, and rock and roll equally well. He is known for his quirky, humorous lyrics, and the ability to play rhythm and lead guitar at the...
and Flaco Jiménez
Flaco Jiménez
Leonardo "Flaco" Jiménez is a Tejano music accordionist from San Antonio, Texas. Jiménez's father, Santiago Jiménez Sr. was a pioneer of conjunto music. He began performing with his father at age seven and recording at age fifteen, as a member of Los Caporales...
.
"Then in October 1972, Dylan was in the studio with Doug Sahm..........Dylan having been friendly with Sahm since the mid-sixties and having expressed enthusiasm for the Sir Douglas Quintet on more than one occasion"
Sahm continued recording both as a solo artist and with the Sir Douglas Quintet. During this period, Sahm also had a couple of minor motion picture roles. In 1972, he and the Quintet appeared with Kris Kristofferson
Kris Kristofferson
Kristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson is an American musician, actor, and writer. He is known for hits such as "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"...
in Cisco Pike
Cisco Pike
Cisco Pike is a 1972 drama written and directed by Bill L. Norton. It stars Kris Kristofferson as a musician fallen on hard luck who turned to dealing marijuana as a means of income. The film also stars Karen Black, Harry Dean Stanton, Antonio Fargas, Gene Hackman, Viva, and Texas musician Doug Sahm...
and in 1979 he was featured in More American Graffiti
More American Graffiti
More American Graffiti is the 1979 sequel film to George Lucas's hit film American Graffiti. Whereas the first film followed a group of friends during the summer evening before they set off for college, this film shows us where the characters from the first film end up a few years later.Most of the...
.
Sahm was also a sought-after session musician, appearing on releases of other artists, including The Grateful Dead. He sang backing vocals on Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
's 1977 gospel album, The Troublemaker.
About a Mover: 1980s
In 1983, Sahm and Meyers signed with the Swedish Sonet label, and made several extensiveEuropean tours that revitalized their careers. The single "Meet Me In Stockholm" from their
Midnight Sun LP went platinum and was one of the biggest selling records ever in Scandinavia.
After an accident in 1985, Doug moved to Canada and then returned to Texas in 1988.
A Texas Tornado: 1990s
In 1990 Sahm formed Tex-MexTejano music
Tejano music or Tex-Mex music is the name given to various forms of folk and popular music originating among the Mexican-American populations of Central and Southern Texas...
supergroup the Texas Tornados
Texas Tornados
Texas Tornados is a Tejano band. Its music is a fusion of rock, country and various Mexican styles.-History:The initial combination of musicians of the Texas Tornados happened almost by chance at a concert performance of a mutual acquaintance...
with Freddy Fender
Freddy Fender
Freddy Fender , born Baldemar Garza Huerta in San Benito, Texas, United States, was a Mexican-American Tejano, country and rock and roll musician, known for his work as a solo artist and in the groups Los Super Seven and the Texas Tornados...
, Augie Meyers
Augie Meyers
August "Augie" Meyers is an American musician. He is best known as keyboard-player with the Sir Douglas Quintet and the Texas Tornados.-History:...
and Flaco Jimenez
Flaco Jiménez
Leonardo "Flaco" Jiménez is a Tejano music accordionist from San Antonio, Texas. Jiménez's father, Santiago Jiménez Sr. was a pioneer of conjunto music. He began performing with his father at age seven and recording at age fifteen, as a member of Los Caporales...
. The group recorded four albums and won a Grammy.
Sahm also appears on the 1993 Uncle Tupelo
Uncle Tupelo
Uncle Tupelo was an alternative country music group from Belleville, Illinois, active between 1987 and 1994. Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heidorn formed the band after the lead singer of their previous band, The Primitives, left to attend college. The trio recorded three albums for Rockville...
album Anodyne on the song "Give Back the Key to my Heart". Sahm recorded a Grammy-winning solo album, The Last Real Texas Blues Band and recorded with yet another new formation of the Sir Douglas Quintet for SDQ '98.
Sahm died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in his sleep in a motel room in Taos, New Mexico
Taos, New Mexico
Taos is a town in Taos County in the north-central region of New Mexico, incorporated in 1934. As of the 2000 census, its population was 4,700. Other nearby communities include Ranchos de Taos, Cañon, Taos Canyon, Ranchitos, and El Prado. The town is close to Taos Pueblo, the Native American...
on November 18, 1999.
A posthumous album, The Return of Wayne Douglas, was released in 2000. Sahm's son, Shawn Sahm, continues in his father's footsteps as the leader of his band, Shawn Sahm & The Tex Mex Experience. Father and son appeared together on the cover of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
in 1968.
The surviving members of the Texas Tornados (Augie Meyers and Flaco Jimenez) reunited with Shawn Sahm on the 2010 release, Esta Bueno. Doug Sahm's other son, Shandon, played drums for The Meat Puppets from 1999 to 2002, and is their current drummer as of 2010.
Solo albums
- 1970 – Together After Five (Evangeline)
- 1973 – Doug Sahm and Band (Atlantic)
- 1973 – Texas Tornado (Atlantic)
- 1974 – Groover's Paradise (Collectors' Choice)
- 1976 – Texas Rock for Country Rollers (Edsel)
- 1980 – Hell of a Spell (Takoma)
- 1987 – The Return of the Formerly Brothers (Rykodisc) with Amos GarrettAmos GarrettAmos Garrett is a Juno Award-winning American-Canadian musician, performer, and author. He holds dual citizenship and was raised in Toronto and Montreal...
and Gene TaylorGene Taylor (musician)Gene Taylor is an American blues rock and boogie-woogie pianist.-Biography:Taylor began his musical training as a drummer at age eight but two years later he had picked up both the guitar and his initial piano skills from boogie-woogie pianist-neighbours... - 1988 – Back to the 'Dillo (Edsel)
- 1988 – Live (Bear Tracks)
- 1989 – Juke Box Music (Antone's)
- 1994 – The Last Real Texas Blues Band (Discovery)
- 1998 – SDQ '98 (Watermelon)
- 2000 – The Return of Wayne Douglas (Tornado)
Solo compilations
- 2004 – He's About a Groover: An Essential Collection (Fuel 2000)
- 2004 – Complete Atlantic Recordings (Rhino)
- 2003 – The Genuine Texas Groover (Rhino Handmade)
- 2001 – Son of San Antonio: The Roots of Sir Douglas (Music Club)
- 2000 – San Antonio Rock: The Harlem Recordings 1957-1961 (Norton)
- 2000 – In the Beginning (Aim)
- 1995 – His Early Years (Collectables)
- 1995 – Get on Up (Collectables)
- 1992 – The Best of Doug Sahm's Atlantic Sessions (Rhino)
- 1986 – Texas (Road Runner)
- 1981 – Sir Douglas: His First Recordings (Charly)
- 1979 – Sir Doug: Way Back When He Was Just Doug Sahm (Harlem Hitparade)
Recordings by other artists
- 2002 – Songs of Sahm by the Bottle RocketsThe Bottle RocketsThe Bottle Rockets are an American rock band formed in 1992, currently based in St. Louis, Missouri. The founding members are Brian Henneman , Mark Ortmann , Tom Parr and Tom Ray . Current members are Henneman, Ortmann, John Horton and Keith Voegele...
, (Bloodshot Records) - 2009 – Keep Your Soul: A Tribute to Doug SahmKeep Your Soul: A Tribute to Doug SahmKeep Your Soul: A Tribute to Doug Sahm is a 2009 tribute album to the late Doug Sahm, released on Vanguard Records.-History and Critical Reaction:Sahm died of a heart attack, in Taos, New Mexico, on November 18, 1999, days after his 58th birthday...
-Various Artists (Vanguard RecordsVanguard RecordsVanguard Records is a record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York. It started as a classical label, but is perhaps best known for its catalogue of recordings by a number of pivotal folk and blues artists from the 1960s; the Bach Guild was a subsidiary...
)