Smokey Hogg
Smokey Hogg | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Andrew Hogg |
| Born | January 27, 1914 Westconnie, Texas, United States |
| Died | May 1, 1960 (aged 46) McKinney, Texas, United States |
| Genres | Texas blues, country blues |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar |
| Years active | 1930s–1950s |
| Labels | Decca, Modern, Specialty, Federal, Imperial, Recorded In Hollywood, Meteor |
Andrew "Smokey" Hogg (January 27, 1914 – May 1, 1960)[1] was an American post-war Texas blues and country blues musician.
Life and career
Hogg was born near Westconnie, Texas, and grew up on a farm.[2] He was taught to play the guitar by his father, Frank Hogg.[2] While still in his teens he teamed up with the slide guitarist and vocalist B. K. Turner, also known as Black Ace,[2] and the pair travelled together, playing a circuit of turpentine and logging camps, country dance halls and juke joints around Kilgore, Tyler, Greenville and Palestine, in East Texas.
In 1937,
Hogg was drafted in the mid-1940s. After a brief spell with the U.S. military, he continued working in the Dallas area, where he was becoming well known. In 1947 he came to the attention of Herbert T. Rippa Sr., the head of the Dallas-based record label Bluebonnet Records, who recorded several sides with him and leased the masters to Modern Records.
The first release on Modern was the
His two-part "Penitentiary Blues" (1952) was a remake of the prison song "Ain't No More Cane on the Brazos".[5]
Hogg's style was influenced by Broonzy, Peetie Wheatstraw and Black Ace.[1] His playing tended to be rhythmically inconsistent; author and critic Peter Guralnick observed that “there is never any beat as such to Smokey Hogg’s music, though a pulse can sometimes be detected”.[6]
His music was popular with record buyers in the South during the late 1940s and early 1950s, and he continued to work and record until the end of the 1950s.[2]
He died in McKinney, Texas in 1960 of a haemorrhaging ulcer, at the age of 46.[7]
Relatives and others
Hogg was reputed to be a cousin of Lightnin' Hopkins and to be distantly related to Alger "Texas" Alexander, but both claims are ambiguous.[8]
Hogg's cousin John Hogg was also a blues musician; he recorded for Mercury Records in 1951.
He is not to be confused with Willie "Smokey" Hogg, a musician based in New York City in the 1960s.[1]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Dahl, Bill. "Andrew 'Smokey' Hogg: Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
- ^ ISBN 1-85227-937-0.
- ^ "Most-Played Rhythm & Blues Records" (PDF). Billboard. January 14, 1950. p. 33.
- ^ "Best-Selling Retail Rhythm & Blues Records" (PDF). Billboard. January 7, 1950. p. 27.
- ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
- ISBN 0713712511.
- ISBN 0306801558.
- ^ "Smokey Hogg". Thebluestrail.com. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
External links
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