Alan Govenar by Lightnin' Hopkins: His Life, Blues Read Free Book Online

“Shining Moon” and “Mercy.” Lightnin’ was soon selling enough records to establish a flat fee for the songs he recorded for Quinn, either seventy-five or one hundred dollars (the equivalent value of about seven to eight hundred dollars today), setting a precedent that continued into the late 1960s. The fee was based on expected jukebox and retail sales alone. Neither he nor Quinn had any understanding of the importance of copyrighting a song, which would damage both of them financially. But for the time being, it secured financial independence and local fame for Lightnin’.
    The record probably set another, less creditable, precedent in Lightnin’s career as well: his refusal to honor exclusive contracts may have started here. No paperwork remains to prove what kind of contract, if any, he had signed with Aladdin the previous November, but it would have been highly unusual if the Mesners had given him anything less than the industry standard, one-to-two-year exclusive contract. His Gold Star session, probably occurring around May 1947, would have been in blatant violation of such an agreement. Eddie Mesner, shocked to find a contracted artist of his with a regional hit on a different label, moved swiftly into action, demanding that Lightnin’ return to Los Angeles immediately to rerecord both sides of the Gold Star single for Aladdin. Which is why, on August 15, 1947, Lightnin’ found himself back in California, covering his own record as closely as possible for Aladdin. 38
    When the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), beginning on December 31, 1947, barred its member musicians from making recordings until a settlement concerning rights and payments could be hammered out with the recording industry, Lightnin’s ability to record was not impeded. It has often been assumed that sessions dating from 1948, like those Lightnin’ recorded that year, must have been bootleg sessions. But there was no union that Lightnin’ could have joined at that time, even if he’d wanted to. The Houston local was largely comprised of classical and orchestral musicians—white, well-connected professionals. But this actually worked to the advantage of the small independent labels like Gold Star, for they could pay blues and country musicians whatever they could afford—usually pocket change—rather than the AFM standard scale of $82.50 for leaders and $41.25 for sidemen. 39
    Ultimately, the ban on recording union musicians benefited Lightnin’ and over the course of several days in February 1948, he made more than a dozen sides for Aladdin, including an update of Sonny Boy Williamson’s 1937 hit “Sugar Mama.” He also recorded “Shotgun Blues,” which became one of his biggest hits when it was released two years later. “Howling Wolf Blues,” a version of J. T. “Funny Paper” Smith’s 1931 “Howling Wolf Blues Part 3”; “Moonrise Blues”; and “Abilene” were also recorded. And Hopkins came up with “Whiskey Headed Woman,” which was a spoof on “Short Haired Woman”:
    Didn’t want no
woman I have to buy liquor for all the time
Yes, every time you see her
She lit up like a Nehi sign
    Only one or two singles from Hopkins’s February 1948 session were actually released in 1948 and had little impact upon Quinn, who continued to record Lightnin’ because “Short Haired Woman” had sold so well on Gold Star. Lightnin’ was starting to make real money from his music. On May 7, 1948, he signed an “Option on Contract for Unique Services” with Quinn’s Gold Star label that referenced an earlier contract (now lost) that was due to end on May 21. This contract could have been with Aladdin, but it’s more likely that it had been with Quinn (who recorded “Short Haired Woman” in spring 1947). In either event, upon signing the new agreement with Quinn,