Hubert Charles Sumlin (November 16, 1931 – December 4, 2011) was a American… Read Full Bio ↴Hubert Charles Sumlin (November 16, 1931 – December 4, 2011) was a American Chicago blues guitarist and singer, best known for his "wrenched, shattering bursts of notes, sudden cliff-hanger silences and daring rhythmic suspensions" as a member of Howlin' Wolf's band. He was ranked number 43 in Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and influenced many guitarists.

Sumlin was born in Greenwood, Mississippi, and raised in Hughes, Arkansas. He got his first guitar when he was eight years old. As a boy, he met Howlin' Wolf by sneaking into a performance.
Wolf relocated from Memphis to Chicago in 1953, but his longtime guitarist Willie Johnson chose not to join him. In Chicago, Wolf hired the guitarist Jody Williams, but in 1954 he invited Sumlin to move to Chicago to play second guitar in his band. Williams left the band in 1955, leaving Sumlin as the primary guitarist, a position he held almost continuously (except for a brief spell playing with Muddy Waters around 1956) for the remainder of Wolf's career. According to Sumlin, Howlin' Wolf sent him to a classical guitar instructor at the Chicago Conservatory of Music to learn keyboards and scales. Sumlin played on the album Howlin' Wolf (called the "rocking chair album", with reference to its cover illustration), which was named the third greatest guitar album of all time by Mojo magazine in 2004.
Upon Wolf's death in 1976, Sumlin continued playing with several other members of Wolf's band, as the Wolf Pack, until about 1980. He also recorded under his own name, beginning with a session from a tour of Europe with Wolf in 1964. His last solo album was About Them Shoes, released in 2004 by Tone-Cool Records. He underwent lung removal surgery the same year, but he continued performing until just before his death. His final recording, just days before his death, was tracks for an album by Stephen Dale Petit, "Cracking the Code" (333 Records).

Sumlin was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 2008. He was nominated for four Grammy Awards: in 1999 for the album Tribute to Howlin' Wolf, with Henry Gray, Calvin Jones, Sam Lay, and Colin Linden; in 2000 for Legends, with Pinetop Perkins; in 2006, for his solo project About Them Shoes (which features performances by Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Levon Helm, David Johansen and James Cotton) and in 2010 for his contribution to Kenny Wayne Shepherd's Live! in Chicago. He won multiple Blues Music Awards. He was a judge for the fifth annual Independent Music Awards, given to support the careers of independent artists.

Sumlin lived in Totowa, New Jersey, for 10 years before his death, He died of heart failure on December 4, 2011, at the age of 80, in a hospital in Wayne, New Jersey. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards paid Sumlin's funeral expenses.

Still Playing the Blues
Hubert Sumlin Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Oh winter trail
November night
Feeling no pain
Losing the fight
I tried so hard
I had to choose
But I'll still be playing the blues
Old red guitar

Hanging back to you
I travelled far
Paying my dues
A door behind bars
I am telling you too.
But I'll still be playing the blues
My time will go
I'll live this place
But not a soul
Will remember my face
You hear my song
I'll be spreading the news

But I am still playing the blues
Yes I'm still playing the blues

Overall Meaning

In Hubert Sumlin's song "Still Playing the Blues," the lyrics describe a scene of a cold November night where the singer is feeling no pain, losing a fight, and struggling to make a difficult choice. The lyrics express a sense of isolation as the singer feels forgotten and unrecognized by the world, yet they continue to play the blues with an unwavering passion on their old red guitar. For the singer, their music is a way of spreading the news and preserving their legacy even if nobody remembers their face after they leave this world.

The theme of this song is the perseverance and dedication of the blues musician. The lyrics capture the spirit of the blues musician who defies adversity and continues to play their music against all odds. The singer's struggle and desperation are emotionally charged, as they face an uncertain future, but their commitment to their art remains unbroken.

Overall, "Still Playing the Blues" is a powerful and moving song about the enduring nature of the blues, and how it serves as a means of expression and connection for those who live it.

Line by Line Meaning

Oh winter trail
The setting is a cold and desolate place

November night
The time is late in the year, the end of things

Feeling no pain
The singer is numb to the world due to hardship

Losing the fight
The singer has struggled hard, but things aren't looking up

I tried so hard
The singer has done all he could to succeed

I had to choose
The singer had to make sacrifices in his life and career

But I'll still be playing the blues
Despite all the hardships, the singer remains devoted to his music

Old red guitar
The singer's instrument, which has aged with him

Hanging back to you
The singer's guitar is a symbol of his past and lifelong passion

I travelled far
The singer has gone through a lot in his life

Paying my dues
The singer has worked hard and sacrificed much to get where he is