Biography
Born on 3 January 1904 in Centreville, Texas, USA, Joel Hopkins died on 15 February 1975 in Galveston, Texas, USA. The older sibling of Lightnin’ Hopkins, the guitarist absorbed his technique directly from Blind Lemon Jefferson during joint travels throughout the 1920s. Joel Hopkins devoted the greater part of his existence to employment far removed from music, yet joined his brother Lightnin’ on the landmark Gold Star recording of ‘Short Haired Woman’ in 1947. He reappeared in 1959 to cut a selection of traditional Texas blues pieces for historian and folklorist Mack McCormick. Poor health defined his closing years, ending with a fatal heart attack in 1975.