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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZSAHM, Doug(b Douglas Saldaña, 6 November 1941, San Antonio TX; d 18 November 1999, Taos NM) Singer, bandleader, guitarist, fiddler, songwriter and chronicler of Texas music, who loved to be called a hippie, according to his son. After flop local singles, producer Huey P. Meaux recorded him as the Sir Douglas Quintet to cash in on the British Invasion (Sahm said in an interview many years later that they saw somebody from Liverpool with long hair on TV and he said, 'Hey Huey, we can do this crap; let's go get after it.') The hits included Sahm's own songs 'She's About A Mover' '65 and 'Mendicino' '69; albums were Mendicino and Together After Five on Smash. He brought Tex-Mex, blues and country to his act; after a few years in San Francisco he relocated to Austin, Texas and was among the prime movers in the 'outlaw' movement in country music there. Many albums included The Return Of Doug Soldaña '73 on Philips, with Freddy Fender's 'Wasted Days And Wasted Nights', prompting Meaux to record Fender and reviving his career; Doug Sahm And Band and Texas Tornado '73-4 on Atlantic included sidemen/guests such as Bob Dylan, David Newman, Jack Walrath, Mac Rebbenack (compilation later on Rhino); then Groovers' Paradise '74 on WB was said to define the Austin 'redneck rock' scene of the period, followed by Texas Rock For Country Rollers '76 on ABC, Hell Of A Spell '80 (a tribute to Guitar Slim) and Border Wave '80-1 on Takoma. During the '80s Sahm and/or keyboardist Augie Meyers produced albums such as San Antonio Saturday Night and Tex-Mex Breakdown (by Flaco Jimenez y su Conjunto) on Sonet; other Sahm albums on obscure labels included Quintessence '83, Live and Best Of '87, Back To The 'Dillo '88, Juke Box Music '89; he moved to Canada at about the time the famous Austin club the Armadillo World Headquarters was demolished in the early 1980s during an economic downturn in that town, but nothing could keep Austin or Sahm down for long: he formed the Texas Tornados with Fender, Meyers and Jimenez for Texas Tornados '90, Zone Of Our Own '91, Hangin' On By A Thread '92 and 4 Aces '96 on Reprise. Their last, Live From The Limo, was recorded at Antone's in Austin. Sahm's early death was an avoidable tragedy; clearly in ill health with circulation problems, instead of going to a doctor he jumped in his car and drove to New Mexico, where his heart failed in a motel room. It broke Austin's heart. Keep Your Soul - A Tribute To Doug Sahm came out on Vanguard almost ten years after his death, his songs lovingly done by Meyers, Jimenez, Shawn Sahm, Little Willie G, Los Lobos, Terry Allen, Jimmy Vaughan, Delbert McClinton, Marcia Ball (as Freda and the Firedogs) and many more. |