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Samuel John "Lightnin" Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist, from Centerville.The musicologist Robert "Mack" McCormick opined that Hopkins is "the embodiment of the jazz-and-poetry spirit, representing its ancient form in the single creator whose words and music are one act". The song appears on the album "
Blues in my Botte" . It was the tenth studio album by Lightnin' Hopkins. It was originally released in 1961 and now available on the label Original Blues Classics. Hopkins was born in Centerville, Texas, and as a child was immersed in the sounds of the blues. He developed a deep appreciation for this music at the age of 8, when he met
Blind Lemon Jefferson at a church picnic in Buffalo, Texas. In 1959, the blues researcher Mack McCormick contacted Hopkins, hoping to bring him to the attention of a broader musical audience engaged in the folk revival. McCormack presented Hopkins to integrated audiences first in Houston and then in California. He made his debut at Carnegie Hall on October 14, 1960, alongside Joan Baez and Pete Seeger, performing the spiritual "
Mary Don't You Weep". Hopkins was Houston's poet-in-residence for 35 years. He recorded more albums than any other bluesman.