Biography
Guitarist, songwriter, and singer Eddie Hinton ranks among the most overlooked white blues musicians in history. A small number of compact disc releases now give listeners access to his work. He passed away at just 51 on July 28, 1995, yet his guitar appears on landmark recordings by Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Joe Tex, Solomon Burke, Percy Sledge, the Staple Singers, the Dells, Johnny Taylor, Elvis Presley, Boz Scaggs, Hour Glass, Otis Redding, and reggae artist Toots Hibbert of Toots & the Maytals.
Hinton served as an unmatched session guitarist. Following stints with Southern groups such as the Spooks and the Five Minutes, he handled lead guitar duties for the Muscle Shoals Sound rhythm section between 1967 and 1971. Few realized then that he also possessed gifts as a singer, songwriter, arranger, and producer. During the late 1960s, Muscle Shoals functioned as a reliable source of hits for Atlantic Records artists under the guidance of producer Jerry Wexler. At age 22, Hinton received an invitation to the Shoals from songwriter and producer Martin Greene. The Hinton/Greene team delivered several country/soul successes, among them “Cover Me” and “It’s All Wrong But It’s Alright” for Percy Sledge.
Hinton’s 1978 Capricorn Records debut, Very Extremely Dangerous, earned strong reviews yet arrived just before the Macon, Georgia label collapsed. In 1982, Jimmy Johnson of the Muscle Shoals rhythm section brought Hinton into the studio for six new tracks; the album stayed unreleased, and the setback, along with a divorce, triggered a downward spiral. Shifting tastes in the 1980s moved audiences away from blues and soul until Stevie Ray Vaughan revived interest in the genre. Hinton was living on the streets of Decatur, Alabama, when he encountered an old acquaintance, John D. Wyker. The two had played together in the University of Alabama’s drum and bugle corps. Wyker arranged housing and a fresh recording opportunity. Assisted by Owen Brown and Jeff Simpson, Wyker captured new material at Birdland Recording Studio and merged it with the 1982 Jimmy Johnson sessions. The resulting album, Letters from Mississippi, launched a career revival. Soon Hinton performed across Europe, Alabama, and the South, where audiences embraced his distinctive soulful blues vocals and precise guitar work. Wyker guided the resurgence and secured a deal with Rounder Records’ Bullseye Blues imprint, yielding Cry & Moan and Very Blue Highway. Hinton regained his health, returned to Birmingham to live with his mother, and continued composing original material. After a brief Italian tour, he entered Birdland Studios in early 1995 to finish another set of songs; he suffered a fatal heart attack while completing the project. Hard Luck Guy appeared on a reactivated Capricorn Records in late 1998 and stands among the most emotionally resonant and skillfully captured recordings by any white blues artist. Fans of Otis Redding or Al Green will find these tracks immediately compelling. Listeners should also seek out Cry & Moan, Very Blue Highway, and the European-only Letters from Mississippi.
Across his 51 years, Hinton contributed memorable music through the many historic Muscle Shoals sessions where he played lead guitar. His vocals remained unmistakably his own—rooted in Southern soil and saturated with instinctive blues and soul feeling.
Jerry Wexler’s liner notes for Hard Luck Guy, whose title references Hinton’s chief influence, Otis Redding, merit attention on their own. Wexler observed of Hinton, “He remains unique, a white boy who truly sang and played in the spirit of the great Black soul artists he venerated. With Eddie it wasn’t imitation; it was totally created, with a fire and fury that was as real as Otis Redding’s and Wilson Pickett’s.”
Hinton served as an unmatched session guitarist. Following stints with Southern groups such as the Spooks and the Five Minutes, he handled lead guitar duties for the Muscle Shoals Sound rhythm section between 1967 and 1971. Few realized then that he also possessed gifts as a singer, songwriter, arranger, and producer. During the late 1960s, Muscle Shoals functioned as a reliable source of hits for Atlantic Records artists under the guidance of producer Jerry Wexler. At age 22, Hinton received an invitation to the Shoals from songwriter and producer Martin Greene. The Hinton/Greene team delivered several country/soul successes, among them “Cover Me” and “It’s All Wrong But It’s Alright” for Percy Sledge.
Hinton’s 1978 Capricorn Records debut, Very Extremely Dangerous, earned strong reviews yet arrived just before the Macon, Georgia label collapsed. In 1982, Jimmy Johnson of the Muscle Shoals rhythm section brought Hinton into the studio for six new tracks; the album stayed unreleased, and the setback, along with a divorce, triggered a downward spiral. Shifting tastes in the 1980s moved audiences away from blues and soul until Stevie Ray Vaughan revived interest in the genre. Hinton was living on the streets of Decatur, Alabama, when he encountered an old acquaintance, John D. Wyker. The two had played together in the University of Alabama’s drum and bugle corps. Wyker arranged housing and a fresh recording opportunity. Assisted by Owen Brown and Jeff Simpson, Wyker captured new material at Birdland Recording Studio and merged it with the 1982 Jimmy Johnson sessions. The resulting album, Letters from Mississippi, launched a career revival. Soon Hinton performed across Europe, Alabama, and the South, where audiences embraced his distinctive soulful blues vocals and precise guitar work. Wyker guided the resurgence and secured a deal with Rounder Records’ Bullseye Blues imprint, yielding Cry & Moan and Very Blue Highway. Hinton regained his health, returned to Birmingham to live with his mother, and continued composing original material. After a brief Italian tour, he entered Birdland Studios in early 1995 to finish another set of songs; he suffered a fatal heart attack while completing the project. Hard Luck Guy appeared on a reactivated Capricorn Records in late 1998 and stands among the most emotionally resonant and skillfully captured recordings by any white blues artist. Fans of Otis Redding or Al Green will find these tracks immediately compelling. Listeners should also seek out Cry & Moan, Very Blue Highway, and the European-only Letters from Mississippi.
Across his 51 years, Hinton contributed memorable music through the many historic Muscle Shoals sessions where he played lead guitar. His vocals remained unmistakably his own—rooted in Southern soil and saturated with instinctive blues and soul feeling.
Jerry Wexler’s liner notes for Hard Luck Guy, whose title references Hinton’s chief influence, Otis Redding, merit attention on their own. Wexler observed of Hinton, “He remains unique, a white boy who truly sang and played in the spirit of the great Black soul artists he venerated. With Eddie it wasn’t imitation; it was totally created, with a fire and fury that was as real as Otis Redding’s and Wilson Pickett’s.”
Albums
