Americana

Died On This Date (November 18, 1999) Doug Sahm / Influential Texas Singer-Songwriter

themusicsover November 18, 2009 No Comments

Doug Sahm
November 6, 1941 – November 18, 1999

Doug Sahm was a Texas singer, songwriter and musician who was musical styles covered a wide spectrum, from country to Cajun to blues to western swing to rock.  He was Tex-Mex.  And he was Americana, some 30 years before the term was coined.   A child prodigy, Sahm mastered at least a dozen instruments, his earliest being the guitar, violin and guitar by the time he was five.  It was that same year he made his radio debut, and when he was 11, he made his first record.  He even performed on stage with Hank Williams Sr. before he turned 12.   By the end of the ’50s, Sahm was fronting his own band and touring around the clubs of Texas.  In the mid ’60s, he formed the Sir Douglas Quintet, choosing the name as to be less conspicuously American during the British invasion.  It only worked until Sahm opened his mouth and the band kicked into their obvious Tex Mex flavored rock ‘n roll.  The band did score a top 20 hit in 1965 with “She’s About a Mover.”  Three years later they hit again with “Mendocino” which cracked the top 15 and sold in excess of 3 million copies worldwide.  Sahm was also a favorite session player and singer throughout his career.  He’s recorded with the likes of Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson and the Grateful Dead.   In 1990, Sahm formed the Texas Tornados, a so-called Tex-Mex supergroup with Freddy Fender, Flaco Jimenez and old friend, Augie Meyers. The group recorded four albums including their Grammy wining debut, Texas Tornados.  On November 19, 1999, Doug Sahm, 58, suffered a fatal heart attack while asleep in a Taos, New Mexico hotel room.

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