This Week in Texas Music History, we’ll meet a musician who loved to “steel” the blues.
“Hop” Wilson died on August 27, 1975, in Houston. Born in Grapeland, Texas, in 1921, he became a popular guitarist, singer, and harmonica player throughout East Texas following World War II. Wilson often collaborated with drummer Ivory Lee Semien, and in the late 1950s, the two began recording together. However, what made Hop Wilson truly unique as a bluesman was that he performed mainly on steel guitar, an instrument most often associated with country music.
Although he made no more recordings after 1961, Hop Wilson continued to perform around Houston until his death in 1975. His distinctive style had a major impact on many younger Texas guitarists, including Jimmie Vaughan and Johnny Winter.
Next time on This Week in Texas Music History, we’ll recall an artist who not only made borderlands music history, but wrote it as well.
