Smokey Hogg

Andrew "Smokey" Hogg (January 27, 1914 – May 1, 1960)[1] was an American post-war Texas blues and country blues musician.

For the Scottish rugby league footballer who played in the 1900s for Great Britain, England, Other Nationalities, and Broughton Rangers, see Andrew Hogg (rugby league). For the English association footballer for Malta, Pietà Hotspurs, and Valletta, see Andrew Hogg.
Smokey Hogg
Birth nameAndrew Hogg
Born(1914-01-27)January 27, 1914
Westconnie, Texas, United States
DiedMay 1, 1960(1960-05-01) (aged 46)
McKinney, Texas, United States
GenresTexas blues, country blues
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentsGuitar
Years active1930s–1950s
LabelsDecca, Modern, Specialty, Federal, Imperial, Recorded In Hollywood, Meteor

Life and career

Hogg was born near Westconnie, Texas, and grew up on a farm.[2] He was taught to play the guitar by his father, Frank Hogg.[2] While still in his teens he teamed up with the slide guitarist and vocalist B. K. Turner, also known as Black Ace,[2] and the pair travelled together, playing a circuit of turpentine and logging camps, country dance halls and juke joints around Kilgore, Tyler, Greenville and Palestine, in East Texas.

In 1937, Decca Records brought Hogg and Black Ace to Chicago to record. Hogg's first record, "Family Trouble Blues" backed with "Kind Hearted Blues", was released under the name of Andrew Hogg. It was an isolated occurrence — he did not make it back into a recording studio for over a decade.[1] By the early 1940s, Hogg was married and making a good living busking around the Deep Ellum area of Dallas, Texas.

Hogg was drafted in the mid-1940s. After a brief spell with the U.S. military, he continued working in the Dallas area, where he was becoming well known. In 1947 he came to the attention of Herbert T. Rippa Sr., the head of the Dallas-based record label Bluebonnet Records, who recorded several sides with him and leased the masters to Modern Records.

The first release on Modern was the Big Bill Broonzy song "Too Many Drivers".[2] It sold well enough that Modern brought Hogg to Los Angeles to cut more sides with their team of studio musicians. These songs included his two biggest hits, "Long Tall Mama" in 1949 and another Broonzy tune, "Little School Girl."[2] In January 1950, "Little School Girl" reached number 5 on the Billboard Retail R&B chart and number 9 on the Most Played Juke Box R&B chart.[3][4]

His two-part "Penitentiary Blues" (1952) was a remake of the prison song "Ain't No More Cane on the Brazos".[5]

Hogg's style, influenced by Broonzy, Peetie Wheatstraw and Black Ace, was popular with record buyers in the South during the late 1940s and early 1950s. He continued to work and record until the end of the 1950s.[2]

He died in McKinney, Texas in 1960, at the age of 46.[6] The cause of his death was seemingly not made public.[7]

Relatives and others

Hogg was reputed to be a cousin of Lightnin' Hopkins and to be distantly related to Alger "Texas" Alexander, but both claims are ambiguous.[8]

Hogg's cousin John Hogg was also a blues musician; he recorded for Mercury Records in 1951.

He is not to be confused with Willie "Smokey" Hogg, a musician based in New York City in the 1960s.[1]

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See also

References
  1. Dahl, Bill. "Andrew 'Smokey' Hogg: Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
  2. Colin Larkin, ed. (2002). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Fifties Music (Third ed.). Virgin Books. p. 196. ISBN 1-85227-937-0.
  3. "Most-Played Rhythm & Blues Records" (PDF). Billboard: 33. January 14, 1950.
  4. "Best-Selling Retail Rhythm & Blues Records" (PDF). Billboard: 27. January 7, 1950.
  5. Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books. pp. 117–18. ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
  6. Doc Rock. "The 1960s". TheDeadRockStarsClub.com. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
  7. Talevski, Nick (April 7, 2010). "Rock Obituaries: Knocking On Heaven's Door". Omnibus Press. p. 274 – via Google Books.
  8. "Smokey Hogg". Thebluestrail.com. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
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