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Hopkins; Lightnin',
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âShining Moonâ and âMercy.â Lightninâ 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 Lightninâ.
The record probably set another, less creditable, precedent in Lightninâs 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 Lightninâ return to Los Angeles immediately to rerecord both sides of the Gold Star single for Aladdin. Which is why, on August 15, 1947, Lightninâ 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, Lightninâs ability to record was not impeded. It has often been assumed that sessions dating from 1948, like those Lightninâ recorded that year, must have been bootleg sessions. But there was no union that Lightninâ could have joined at that time, even if heâd wanted to. The Houston local was largely comprised of classical and orchestral musiciansâwhite, 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 affordâusually pocket changeârather than the AFM standard scale of $82.50 for leaders and $41.25 for sidemen. 39
Ultimately, the ban on recording union musicians benefited Lightninâ 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 Williamsonâs 1937 hit âSugar Mama.â He also recorded âShotgun Blues,â which became one of his biggest hits when it was released two years later. âHowling Wolf Blues,â a version of J. T. âFunny Paperâ Smithâs 1931 âHowling Wolf Blues Part 3â; âMoonrise Bluesâ; and âAbileneâ were also recorded. And Hopkins came up with âWhiskey Headed Woman,â which was a spoof on âShort Haired Womanâ:
Didnât 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 Hopkinsâs February 1948 session were actually released in 1948 and had little impact upon Quinn, who continued to record Lightninâ because âShort Haired Womanâ had sold so well on Gold Star. Lightninâ was starting to make real money from his music. On May 7, 1948, he signed an âOption on Contract for Unique Servicesâ with Quinnâs 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 itâs more likely that it had been with Quinn (who recorded âShort Haired Womanâ in spring 1947). In either event, upon signing the new agreement with Quinn,
Alaska Angelini, A. A. Dark