Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown was a bluesman, and a well-loved one, too. He won a Grammy for best traditional blues album in 1983, and in 1999 he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. But Gatemouth was much more than a single-genre musician. He embraced a wide variety of musical styles, recording country, jazz, rock ‘n’ roll and anything else that struck his fancy. He was a multi-instrumentalist as well, striking out beyond the guitar to become a masterful fiddle player, as well as playing harmonica, drums, viola and more. In a nutshell … well, it’s hard to describe Gatemouth in a nutshell. He was a musician’s musician, one who loved a little bit of everything and wanted to play it all. He made it all sound good, too.
Gatemouth would have turned 90 April 18, and we’re celebrating his life with a couple of his best songs.
“Okie Dokie Stomp” was one long guitar solo, showcasing his virtuosic playing.
“Just Before Dawn” took the blues in a different direction, with a mellower groove and Gatemouth on the fiddle.
Written by Linnea Crowther. Find her on Google+.