WALT ANDRUS
Studio owner/producer/engineer who worked with Thirteenth Floor Elevators, Fever Tree and more, 1937-2009
BIG H.A.W.K.
Born John Hawkins (Fat Pat’s brother), Screwed Up Click co-founder and “Swang” rapper, 1969-2006
TEXAS JOHNNY BROWN
Blues singer, bandleader and songwriter (“Two Steps from the Blues”), 1928-2013
ALBERT COLLINS
Electric-blues guitarist known as “Iceman,” 1932-1993
JOHNNY CLYDE COPELAND
R&B/funk singer and guitarist (“The Invitation”), 1937-1997
LOLA ANNE CULLUM
Talent scout who discovered Lightnin’ Hopkins and Amos Milburn, died 1970
PAPPY DAILY
Record-label owner who signed George Jones and George Strait, 1902-1987
DJ SCREW
Born Robert Earl Davis Jr., invented slower-than-slow rap style known as “Screw,” 1971-2000
BOB DUNN
Steel-guitar pioneer with Milton Brown and his Brownies, first man to record with an electrified steel, 1908-1971
FAT PAT
Born Patrick Hawkins, Big H.A.W.K.’s brother, SUC co-founder and and Ghetto Dreams rapper, 1970-1998
EARL GILLIAM
Blues pianist and “Doghouse” jam-session host, 1930-2011
ROCKY HILL
Blues and rock and roll guitarist/bassist, 1946-2009
LIGHTNIN’ HOPKINS
Groundbreaking country-blues guitarist and singer, 1912-1982
JOE “GUITAR” HUGHES
Blues-guitar master rediscovered and revived by European audiences in the ’80s, 1937-2003
JERRY IRBY
Country and gospel singer/club owner known for “Drivin’ Nails in My Coffin,” 1917-1983
ILLINOIS JACQUET
Tenor saxophonist who blew for Count Basie and Cab Calloway, 1922-2004
AMOS MILBURN
Boisterous blues pianist and singer known for “Chicken Shack Boogie,” 1927-1980
MICKEY NEWBURY
“San Francisco Mabel Joy” songwriter who changed the sound of ’70s country music, 1940-2002
PIMP C
Born Chad Butler, pioneered Gulf Coast rap as one-half of UGK, 1973-2007
WALTER PRICE
Genial blues pianist and singer known as “Big Walter,” “The Thunderbird” or both, 1914-2012
DON ROBEY
Label and nightclub mogul who built a regional empire, 1903-1975
VICTORIA SPIVEY
Blues singer (re)discovered in 1960s folk revival, 1906-1976
GENE THOMAS
Swamp-pop singer (“Sometimes”) and member of Gene and Debbe, 1938-2012
BIG MAMA THORNTON
Sang “Hound Dog” definitively long before Elvis, 1926-1984
NORMA ZENTENO
Locally beloved singer equally adept at jazz or rock in English or Spanish, 1952-2013
This article appears in Aug 1-7, 2013.
