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Doug Sahm

Doug Sahm
Doug Sahm Warner Brothers Portrait cropped.jpg
Sahm in 1974
Background information
Also known as Wayne Douglas,
Doug Saldana
Born (1941-11-06)November 6, 1941
San Antonio, Texas, United States
Died November 18, 1999(1999-11-18) (aged 58)
Taos, New Mexico, United States
Genres Americana
Roots rock
Blues rock
Tejano/Tex-Mex
Country
Occupation(s) Musician
singer-songwriter
Bandleader
Instruments Guitar, steel guitar, mandolin, violin, keyboards
Years active 1952–1999
Associated acts Sir Douglas Quintet
Texas Tornados
Los Super Seven
Grateful Dead

Douglas Wayne Sahm (November 6, 1941 – November 18, 1999) was an American musician from Texas. Born in San Antonio, Texas, he was a child prodigy in country music but became a significant figure in roots rock and other genres. Sahm is considered one of the most important figures in what is identified as Tex-Mex music. He was the founder and leader of the 1960s rock and roll band, the Sir Douglas Quintet. He would later co-found the Texas Tornados with Augie Meyers, Freddy Fender, and Flaco Jiménez as well as Los Super Seven.

Sahm was proficient on multiple musical instruments and was a lifelong baseball fan.

Sahm began his musical career singing and playing steel guitar, mandolin and violin. He made his radio debut at the age of five. He released his first record "A Real American Joe" at age eleven. On December 19, 1952, at the age of eleven, he played on stage with Hank Williams Sr. at the Skyline Club in Austin, Texas. It was Hank Williams's very last performance. Williams died on New Year's Day of 1953, on the road to his next show, in Canton, Ohio. Sahm was offered a permanent spot on the Grand Ole Opry at age thirteen, but his mother wanted him to finish junior high.

One of Sahm's earliest recordings was rejected by Mercury Records in 1953. In the mid-1950s, he started sneaking into San Antonio rhythm and blues clubs, such as the Tiffany Lounge and the Ebony Lounge, and he was soon performing in them. Sahm formed his first band, the Knights, in 1957. Later in the decade, Sahm joined up with Spot Barnett's band, playing mostly black San Antonio blues clubs. In 1960, Sahm travelled across the country promoting a record. He met Freddy Fender in 1958 and met Roy Head, of Roy Head and the Traits, from San Marcos, Texas, in 1959, when they shared the stage at a sock hop in San Antonio's Municipal Auditorium.


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