AUSTIN, TEXAS—The organizers of the annual Doug Sahm Day celebration in Austin, Texas have announced a petition drive designed to solicit Sahm’s induction in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Hall is administered by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio.The petition cites Sahm’s founding, decades apart, of two hit-making bands—the Sir Douglas Quintet in the mid-Sixties and the Texas Tornados in the early Nineties. Sahm is also lauded for his lifelong mastery and synthesis of the myriad musical styles that have found a home in his native Texas.
The petition will be hosted online at www.dougsahmday.com. In Austin, a simultaneous physical petition will be launched as part of the third annual Doug Sahm Day, which is scheduled to be held at Antone’s, Austin’s famous blues club (and one of Sahm’s favorite venues), on Nov. 18.
Musical guests at the event, which was inaugurated in 2002, will include Little Joe y La Familia, The Derailers, Bill Kirchen, Augie Meyers, Doug’s son Shawn Sahm, Speedy Sparks, Louie Ortega, Ernie Durawa, Texas Mavericks, Ed Burleson, Troy Campbell, The Lucky Tomblin Band, Ernie Garibay & Cats Don’t Sleep, Dahebegebees and others. For information on the event, see www.dougsahmday.com. Doug Sahm Day is produced by SilverStar Entertainment, of Austin.
Nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are voted on by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation’s nominating committee. Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record. Inductions take place in March at a gala celebration and concert at the Museum. (For more information on the Hall of Fame, see www.rockhall.com).
A native of San Antonio, Texas, Doug Sahm was born in 1941, and was performing by age six. His life’s passion for music and his multifaceted career spanned decades, and was bookended by two famous bands which brought him international acclaim.
In 1965, the Sir Douglas Quintet (which also included Doug’s lifelong friend Augie Meyers) scored a Top 10 hit with the irresistibly catchy hit, “She’s About A Mover.” So great was the Quintet’s fame at the time that the Rolling Stones opened for them on one of the Stones’ first American tours. The band followed up the massive success of “She’s About A Mover” with other hits such as “Mendocino” and “At the Crossroads” (with its famous lyric, “You just can’t live in Texas if you don’t have a lot of soul…”) before going their separate ways in the early Seventies.
In the Nineties, after a wide-ranging and successful solo career, Doug teamed up with Augie Meyers once more and, together with conjunto accordion master Flaco Jimenez and Tejano heartthrob Freddy Fender to form the Texas Tornados. The quartet’s hits, including “Who Were You Thinking Of” and “A Little Bit Is Better Than Nada” (featured in the Kevin Costner movie Tin Cup), brought Doug a whole new generation of fans.
Throughout his life, Sahm was revered in Austin and in Texas and beyond for his masterful synthesis of all the myriad musical styles of the Lone Star State, from Western Swing to blues to rock to country, rhythm and blues, conjunto and Cajun, and everything in between. Fans such as Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson and Jeff Tweedy of Wilco attested to Doug’s wide-ranging influence and appeal.
Augie Meyers told the San Antonio Express-News, “Elvis Costello told Johnny Carson that Doug Sahm and Augie Meyers were his influences. Bob Dylan used to say the Sir Douglas Quintet was his favorite group.”
“Doug was a friend, a great, lovely character and a lover of all great music,” said Rolling Stone magazine founder and publisher Jann Wenner.
And legendary Atlantic Records producer Jerry Wexler added, “In my opinion, he’s the greatest musician I’ve ever worked with because of his incredible versatility and range…He would be just as at home with Joe Scott’s orchestra as he would with Bob Wills.”
Doug Sahm died in New Mexico in 1999.