Lightnin' Hopkins

Lightnin' Hopkins

Samuel John "Lightnin'" Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist from Centerville, Texas. In 2010, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him No. 71 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.

Birth and Death Data: Born Centerville (city in and county seat of Leon County, Texas, United States), Died January 30, 1982 (Houston (seat of Harris County, and largest city in State of Texas, United States) )

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1951 - 1957

Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist, guitar, composer, performer

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 1-25 of 30 records)

Company	Matrix No.	Size	First Recording Date	Title	Primary Performer	Role
Herald	H-1076	10-in.	approximately 1954	Lightnin's boogie	Lightnin' Hopkins	vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar
Herald	H-1080	10-in.	approximately 1954	Lightnin's special	Lightnin' Hopkins	vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer
Herald	H-1082	10-in.	approximately 1954	Don't think 'cause you're pretty	Lightnin' Hopkins	vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar
Herald	H-1083	10-in.	approximately 1954	Life I used to live	Lightnin' Hopkins	composer, instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist
Herald	H-1100	10-in.	approximately 1954	Early mornin' boogie	Lightnin' Hopkins	vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer
Herald	H-1101	10-in.	approximately 1954	Sick feelin' blues	Lightnin' Hopkins	composer, vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar
Herald	H-1102	10-in.	approximately 1954	Movin' on out boogie	Lightnin' Hopkins	instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist, composer
Herald	H-1109	10-in.	approximately 1954	Nothin but the blues	Lightnin' Hopkins	vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar, composer
Herald	H-1341	10-in.	approximately 1957	Boogie woogie dance	Lightnin' Hopkins	composer, vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar
Herald	H-1342	10-in.	approximately 1957	Blues is a mighty bad feeling	Lightnin' Hopkins	composer, vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar
Herald	H-1423	10-in.	approximately 1957	Lightnin's stomp	Lightnin' Hopkins	composer, instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist
Herald	H-1424	10-in.	approximately 1957	Hear me talkin'	Lightnin' Hopkins	composer, instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist
Mercury	4243	10-in.	1951	You do too	Lightnin' Hopkins	vocalist, composer, instrumentalist, guitar
Mercury	4244	10-in.	1951	Everybody's down on me	Lightnin' Hopkins	vocalist, composer, instrumentalist, guitar
Mercury	9104	10-in.	7/13/1951	Sad news from Korea	Lightnin' Hopkins	vocalist
Mercury	9105	10-in.	7/31/1951	Let me fly your kite	Lightnin' Hopkins	vocalist, performer
Mercury	9223	10-in.	9/7/1951	Gone with the wind	Lightnin' Hopkins Orchestra	vocalist, performer
Mercury	9224	10-in.	9/7/1951	She's almost dead	Lightnin' Hopkins	vocalist
Mercury	9406	10-in.	1945-1968	Ain't it a shame	Lightnin' Hopkins	vocalist
Mercury	9407	10-in.	1945-1968	Crazy 'bout my baby	Lightnin' Hopkins	vocalist
Mercury	9688	10-in.	1945-1968	My mama told me	Lightnin' Hopkins	vocalist
Mercury	9689	10-in.	1945-1968	What's the matter now	Lightnin' Hopkins	vocalist
Decca	84970		7/29/1953	Highway blues	Lightnin' Hopkins	vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar
Decca	84971		7/29/1953	I'm wild about you baby	Lightnin' Hopkins	vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar
Decca	84972		7/29/1953	Bad things on my mind	Lightnin' Hopkins	vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar

(Results 1-25 of 30 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Hopkins, Lightnin'," accessed January 21, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104057.

Hopkins, Lightnin'. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 21, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104057.

"Hopkins, Lightnin'." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 21 January 2026.

Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/105903 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/105903

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