Doug Sahm


Sahm in 1974.

Born November 6, 1941 San Antonio, Texas, United States
Died November 18, 1999 (aged 58) Taos, New Mexico, United States

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. With his blend of music, he found success performing in Austin, Texas, as the hippie counterculture soared in the 1970s.

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.

Early life and start in music


High school portrait of Sahm, circa 1958

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The Sir Douglas Quintet
Main article: Sir Douglas Quintet


The Sir Douglas Quintet in 1965 (Sahm to the right)

In 1965, prompted by record producer Huey Meaux, Sahm formed the Sir Douglas Quintet with childhood friend Augie Meyers. They chose the group's name in an effort to make the band seem British to benefit from the British invasion. This image had its problems, particularly because of Sahm's Texas accent and because two of five band members were Hispanic. Some early publicity photos were shot in silhouette to hide this fact.

The band had a top 20 U.S. hit with "She's About a Mover" and a lesser hit with "The Rains Came," the former also reaching the Top Twenty in the UK Singles Chart. The band broke up after a bust for marijuana possession in Corpus Christi, Texas. Sahm moved to San Francisco and formed the Honkey Blues Band, then later re-formed the Sir Douglas Quintet with a new lineup. Eventually Augie Meyers rejoined the quintet, and they released the successful single and album Mendocino. The record contained the song "At the Crossroads", with the Sahm line "You just can't live in Texas if you don't have a lot of soul."

Bob Dylan stated, "Look, for me right now there are three groups: Butterfield, The Byrds and the Sir Douglas Quintet."

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Texas Tornados - "She's About A Mover" [Live from Austin, TX]

Live From Austin TX
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From the Texas Tornados album 'Live from Austin, TX' available now on CD and DVD:
https://www.livefromaustintx.com/

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