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Profile
Hubert Sumlin
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1999 KBA Award Winner
Achievement for Blues on the Internet
Presented by the Blues Foundation
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The significance of Hubert Sumlin’s contribution to modern electric guitar playing cannot be underestimated as he has influenced a generation of rock superstars. Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Jimmy Page, Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck, Carlos Santana and many others consider Sumlin a major influence on their playing. He is also one of the last living connections to an era that produced so much monumental music. Sumlin, one of 13 children, was born on a farm near Greenwood, Mississippi, November 16, 1931. He learned to play drums and guitar as a small child and was playing at parties and local jukes by the time he was 12 years old. Sumlin left home at 17 to tour clubs throughout the South with his childhood friend James Cotton. Both men went on to become major players in the Chicago blues community, sharing time with Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. However, it was Hubert's 22 year association with Wolf that helped him make his mark in the blues world and music history. Sumlin was 11 when he first met Wolf while trying to sneak into a juke joint Wolf was playing at. The rest is history. Sumlin ended up playing with Wolf off and on over the next several years and in 1954, he joined the Howlin' Wolf band full time and moved to Chicago. After Wolf's death in 1976, Sumlin took some time off before returning to music and establishing himself as a solo artist. Sumlin also became close friends with Stevie Ray Vaughan and still wears the trademark "music note" guitar strap that Stevie gave him. He said "I don't play everything, but I play what you like ... I play a little blues." The Tom Hunter Band will be backing Hubert during the festival.
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