Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown Dies

He escaped Katrina and went back to his hometown of Orange,Texas. He has been in ill health for over a year, suffering from lung cancer and heart disease. He was a fantastic musician and I loved to listen to him play. His family stated his home in Sidell, LA was destroyed by the hurricane and he was heart broken over it. Gatemouth was a helluva blues player but refused to be pigeon-holed into just the blues, he loved country,jazz, fusion and zydeco..the whole ball of wax. His biographer stated:"He never wanted to be called a bluesman, but I used to tell him that though he may not like the blues, he does the blues better than anyone," added Walters. "He inherited the legacy of great bluesmen like Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker, but he took what they did and made it better." Clarence was 81 when he passed this weekend at his brother's home. We lose another one sadly much too quick.