Gatemouth Brown, RIP
Versatile musician "Gatemouth" Brown dies in Texas at 81 (Doug Simpson, AP)
Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, the singer and guitarist who became famous with juke-joint stomp numbers and built a 50-year career playing blues, country, jazz and Cajun music, died Saturday in his hometown of Orange, Texas, where he'd gone to escape Hurricane Katrina. He was 81.
Brown, who had been battling lung cancer and heart disease, was in ill-health for the past year, said Rick Cady, his booking agent, in a telephone interview Saturday. Cady, who received a call earlier Saturday from Brown's manager Jim Bateman, said the musician was with his family at his brother's house when he passed away.
Brown's home in Slidell, La., a bedroom community of New Orleans, was destroyed by Katrina, which wiped out much of the Mississippi Gulf Coast and New Orleans, Cady said.
"He was completely devastated," Cady said. "I'm sure he was heartbroken, both literally and figuratively. He evacuated successfully before the hurricane hit, but I'm sure it weighed heavily on his soul."
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/12/05 11:24 | Music | Technorati
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We'll all miss one of the giants, particularly his ability to cross genres to create his own fusion of blues with practically everything else. "American Music, Texas Style" is one of the all-time great albums. Farewell, Clarence.
Posted by another precinct chair @ 11:32 on 09/12/05
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