This guy was Frank Zappa‘s all time favorite guitarist. Really, I could just stop right there.
Gatemouth got his nickname from a high school teacher who said he had a voice like a gate. I’m not sure what that means exactly. Where I come from, gates don’t have voices. He first drew the attention of the blues community after filling in for T-Bone Walker at a show when Walker got sick. Don Robey started Peacock Records for the purpose of putting out stuff by Gatemouth. After some initial successful records, the company fell under when audiences found Gatemouth’s guitar style unusual and indecipherable. Okie Dokie Stomp was especially seen as a musical achievement that the general public didn’t care for.
Later in life, Gatemouth would go on tour to countries that were war-torn, politically embargoed, or otherwise seen as dangerous or unorthodox. When asked about why he chose to go to these kind of places, he remarked ‘People can’t come to me, so I go to them.’
He died shortly after seeking refuge from Hurricane Katrina, of lung cancer.
This is a video of Okie Dokie Stomp that is totally awesome. It’s the kind of television musical performance that you just don’t see anymore, and it makes me wish you still did.