Doug Sahm
Douglas Wayne Sahm (November 6, 1941 – November 18, 1999) was an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist born in San Antonio, Texas. Sahm is regarded as one of the main figures of Tex-Mex music, and as an important performer of Texan Music. He gained fame along with his band, the Sir Douglas Quintet, with a top-twenty hit in the United States and the United Kingdom with "She's About a Mover" (1965). Sahm was influenced by the San Antonio music scene that included conjunto and blues, and later by the hippie scene of San Francisco.[1] With his blend of music, he found success performing in Austin, Texas, as the hippie counterculture soared in the 1970s.
Doug Sahm
Douglas Wayne Sahm
Little Doug
Doug Saldaña
Samm Dogg
Wayne Douglas
November 6, 1941
San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
November 18, 1999 (aged 58)
Taos, New Mexico, U.S.
Musician
singer-songwriter
bandleader
Guitar, steel guitar, fiddle, mandolin, bajo sexto, dobro, drums, piano
1946–1999
- Sarg Records
Renner Records
Atlantic Records
Warner Records
Takoma Records
Sonet Records
Antone's Record Label
Tornado Records
- Sarg Records
Sahm began singing at age five and learned to play the steel guitar at age six. He was considered a child prodigy on the instrument. By the age of eight, he had appeared on the Louisiana Hayride. He made his recording debut as "Little Doug" in 1955, and was influenced by rock and roll during his teenage years. Sahm had local hit records, while he played clubs as a musician for other bands. In 1965, Huey P. Meaux produced Sahm and the Sir Douglas Quintet's "She's About a Mover". The same year, Sahm moved to California. In 1971, he returned to San Antonio, and soon after he moved to Austin. Atlantic Records signed Sahm and released his debut solo album Doug Sahm and Band in 1973.
After a continuing decline in record sales, Sahm kept performing in clubs in Austin, and moved through different record labels. Meanwhile, he enjoyed success in Sweden and in Canada. In 1989, Sahm formed the supergroup the Texas Tornados with fellow Tex-Mex musicians Augie Meyers, Freddy Fender and Flaco Jiménez. The Texas Tornados toured successfully, and one of their releases earned a Grammy Award. In 1999, Sahm died during a vacation trip. A posthumous album, The Return of Wayne Douglas, was released in 2000. Sahm received multiple honors in the state of Texas, including hall of fame inductions and memorials in public places.
Personal life[edit]
Sahm met Violet Morris at a Christmas party in 1961. At the time, Morris worked as an executive secretary at a Montgomery Ward department store. The couple married in 1963. Morris had three children from a previous marriage, and in 1964, she gave birth to Dawn Sahm.[82] As he was responsible for his wife and four children, Sahm was classified 1-Y on the Selective Service System.[83] His first son, Shawn, was born in 1965,[84] and Shandon in 1969.[85]
In 1973, during a visit to the Mexican restaurant La Rosa in San Antonio, Sahm was apprehended by police officers who searched him, his car, and his companions for drugs. As they searched the car, his fiddle was broken.[86] After being handcuffed, Sahm was beaten by the police officers as he continued to protest and move. He was arrested for public intoxication.[87] The case was dismissed at his trial in June 1973, and Sahm unsuccessfully tried to sue the city.[88] Violet had already been unhappy with the marriage because of Sahm's numerous affairs,[89] and after his arrest, they divorced.[90]
Sahm was a dedicated follower of baseball. He followed several teams and visited their training camps through the years. He often refused to attend rehearsals to watch games, and on one occasion, he rejected a tour to be able to watch the World Series.[9][91]
Death[edit]
By the end of 1999, Sahm decided to take a vacation trip to New Mexico. He planned to visit a friend in Taos, New Mexico, then continue to a cabin in the Sangre de Cristo Range and finish the trip with a visit to Dan Healy in San Francisco.[92] Sahm left for New Mexico after a brief visit with his son Shawn in Boerne, Texas. During the trip, Sahm called his son to inform him he had been feeling ill and that he often had to pull over to vomit. Sahm checked into the Kachina Lodge Hotel in Taos, New Mexico. His son continued calling him over the next few days. Sahm's girlfriend, Debora Hanson, and Shawn offered to fly to New Mexico and drive him back to Texas. Sahm initially refused, but he agreed to drive himself to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to meet Hanson there for the drive back to Texas.[93] As his condition worsened, he asked a clerk about local doctors who would do house calls. Sahm was advised to visit the local emergency room, but he did not do so.[94] On November 18, 1999, Sahm was found dead in his hotel room. Local authorities determined it to be a death by natural causes, but an autopsy was ordered.[95][96] The results of the autopsy determined that Sahm died of arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, described as a heart attack.[97] The Austin Music Network aired a three-hour tribute to Sahm, while KUT dedicated an episode of one of its shows to his music. A memorial concert was announced to take place at Antone's in December 1999.[98]
On November 23, 1999, Sahm's funeral took place at the Sunset Memorial Home in San Antonio.[98] Loudspeakers were placed outside of the funeral home for the service to be heard by the estimated one thousand mourners in attendance. According to the Austin American Statesman, the crowd consisted of people "across all lines of age, race, and social standing".[99] The viewing lasted an hour and a half, as the mourners passed Sahm's casket and left keepsakes. Freddy Fender chose not to attend the funeral to avoid distracting the crowds with his presence.[99] Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen,[98] then-Texas governor George W. Bush, and Willie Nelson reached out to the family to express their condolences.[100] A planned tribute by a local radio station had to be called off, as the viewing took longer than expected, and the station's programming moved to the broadcast of the weather report.[101] Sahm was buried in a private ceremony at Sunset Memorial Park in San Antonio, next to his mother and father.[101][2]
In July 2000, the songs recorded at the Cherry Ridge Studios sessions the previous year were released on the posthumous album The Return of Wayne Douglas.[81]