Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown at Aladdin Records, 1947

The Events Leading Up to the Texas Bluesman’s Debut Session

One morning in early March 1947, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown stood alongside Highway 90 heading east out of San Antonio and raised his thumb in the air. By then, the 22-year-old had been a professional drummer for several years. Soon after arriving in Houston, he stopped in at Don Robey’s upscale nightclub, the Bronze Peacock, where T-Bone Walker was hea…