The great Sam John "Lightnin'" Hopkins was immortalized in the late Les Blank's 1968 documentary The Blues Accordin' to Lightnin' Hopkins. And now, you can watch this great piece of filmmaking, for free, via Hulu.
One of Rolling Stone's Top 100 Guitarists of All Time, and a country blues aficionado who bridged the gap between rural and urban guitar playing and songwriting, Hopkins refused to bend with the changing tides of the idiom.
In fact, Hopkins' dexterity in the former, steadfastness with the latter ultimately gave him his own unique blues--emulated by guitarists (and even the occasional pianist) since his death on January 30, 1982 in Houston, Texas.
Blank's documentary--uniquely well done, itself--captured the troubadour like probably no other documentarian could have. (When Hopkins talks about how he was racially profiled for driving his car into a ditch while fishing for catfish, well, that's just one of many highlights.)
So, go over to Hulu and watch The Blues Accordin' to Lightnin' Hopkins while it's still free.
While you wait for that page to load, here's the trailer for one of the best documentaries I, myself, have ever seen.
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