Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown Interview: “Don’t Call Me a Bluesman!”

In 1992, the Outspoken Texan Reflected on Life and Music

Gatemouth Brown publicity photo by Robert Barclay (courtesy Alligator Records)

It was not a good idea to call Gatemouth Brown a bluesman to his face. “I’m a musician,” he’d growl in response, “not some dirty lowdown bluesman. I play American and world music, Texas-style. I play a part of the past with the present and just a taste of the future.”

Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, who passed away in 2005, was among the foremost exponents of the swinging, sophisticated blues guitar school once headed by T-Bone Walker. He was equally adept at jazz, swing, Cajun, bluegrass, country, and folk music.

Gruff, direct, and, fiercely individualistic, the Stetson-wearing, pipe-smoking Texan had a rich singing voice and spirited, horn-like approach to the electric guitar, which he played bare-fingered. He could easily double on violin, viola, mandolin, bass, drums, and harmonica.

A previous post of mine, Clarence “Gatemouth Brown” at Aladdin Records, details his upbringing, musical development, various band, and recording sessions. Gatemouth provided much of the information in this article during our first interview, a day-long session in June 1978.

We stayed in touch during the ensuing years. When Gatemouth invited me do another interview with him in late 1992, I happily agreed. James Rotondi accompanied me to the interview, which took place in a San Francisco hotel room. An edited version of our conversation appeared in the March ’93 Guitar Player as “‘Don’t Call Me a Bluesman!’ Gatemouth Brown Takes on the World.” Here’s a transcription of the whole conversation.

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You’ve often said that you don’t play guitar like guitar, but…

Like a horn. I play horn lines and horn kicks. You know how a horn would phrase different passages? Well, I do that with my guitar.