Biography
Born in Houston, Texas, blues guitarist and vocalist Joe "Guitar" Hughes (1937-2003) fronted the Dukes of Rhythm, a unit now chiefly recalled as the early proving ground for Johnny "Clyde" Copeland. The ensemble operated for ten years, cresting in prominence as the house band at Shady's Playhouse, where it led Monday-night jam sessions at the Houston venue between 1958 and its 1963 dissolution while also issuing local successes such as "The Shoe Shy" and "Ants in My Pants." Although Hughes never achieved national solo recognition, Copeland—whose guitar technique Hughes himself had shaped—later emerged as a central figure in the Texas blues movement of the 1980s and early 1990s.
Hughes assembled the Dukes of Rhythm at the age of sixteen. Deeply shaped by Texas blues artists Lightnin' Hopkins and T-Bone Walker, he nevertheless absorbed country & western music, gospel, and ballad traditions through his mother. With the first $25 earned washing dishes, he purchased a guitar and recruited Copeland, Pat Peterson, Steve Washington, and Cornelius into his initial outfit, the Dukes. When Washington and Cornelius gave way to bassist Herbert Henderson and drummer James Johnson, the group adopted the name Dukes of Rhythm.
After the band dissolved, Hughes performed with Little Richard's Upsetters and the Bobby "Blue" Bland group before beginning a solo career in 1988.
Hughes assembled the Dukes of Rhythm at the age of sixteen. Deeply shaped by Texas blues artists Lightnin' Hopkins and T-Bone Walker, he nevertheless absorbed country & western music, gospel, and ballad traditions through his mother. With the first $25 earned washing dishes, he purchased a guitar and recruited Copeland, Pat Peterson, Steve Washington, and Cornelius into his initial outfit, the Dukes. When Washington and Cornelius gave way to bassist Herbert Henderson and drummer James Johnson, the group adopted the name Dukes of Rhythm.
After the band dissolved, Hughes performed with Little Richard's Upsetters and the Bobby "Blue" Bland group before beginning a solo career in 1988.
Albums