Lightnin' Hopkins - First Meetin' of Blues Giants

The complete studio session along with Lightnin' Hopkins live at the Ash Grove Club Now for the first time ever on 180-gram double vinyl! This 1960 studio session commemorates a rare moment in blues history. With the help of the ubiquitous Lomax family, Pacific World Records managed to get four giants of the blues — Lightnin' Hopkins, Brownie McGhee, Sonny Terry, and Big Joe Williams — together in-studio for this informal jam session on July 6, 1960. Interestingly, it was also the first time that Hopkins and McGhee had ever met (although each man had always admired the other's guitar playing tremendously). Eight years prior, McGhee had even written a "challenge" song called "A Letter To Lightnin' Hopkins," to which Lightnin' had the chance to respond for the first time here in this entirely improvised "answer song" called "First Meetin'." In fact, most of the songs on this album, like "Wimmin From Coast To Coast" and "Ain't Nothin' Like Whisky," are recorded in a rare call-and-answer format between Lightnin', Brownie, and Big Joe. In addition, Side D features a live recording of Lightnin' Hopkins playing the legendary Ash Grove folk club in L.A. the following night (July 7, 1960). Pure unrehearsed genius. These men were not mere blues players, they were mediums for the divine. Side 1 First Meetin' If You Steal My Chickens You Can’t Make ‘Em Lay Wimmin From Coast To Coast Side 2 Ain’t Nothin’ Like Whisky Penitentiary Blues Right On That Store Side 3 Early Morning Blues Blues for Gamblers Bucked and Scorned Side 4 Excuse Me Miss Big Black Cadillac Blues Coffee House Blues Stool Pigeon Blues Ball of Twine How Long Have It Been Since You’ve Been Home?