Remembering Doug Sahm
by Rick Dennis with Freda Eckstein
Doug Sahm, one of rock music's most engaging and enduring talents,
passed away unexpectedly last month at the age of 58.
I met Doug in 1986 but the life-affirming spirit and energy embodied in
his music had been part of my personal soundtrack long before that.
Kindersley, Saskatchewan ... I'm a nerdy kid toughing out my teens in a
town without pity. Okay, I should be studying for my Geometry exam right
now. But, hey, who can concentrate when the brontosaurus beat of Sir
Douglas Quintet's "She's About a Mover" is stomping out of my radio and
leaving big muddy footprints all over my homework. Flunk me if you want
to, Mr. Weatherbee. Someday I'm gonna leave this burg and get me a real
life ... out there where the music's playing.
Atlantic City Pop Festival ... Here I am at my first rock festival ....
Santana, the Byrds, Janis Joplin and Jefferson Airplane have played in a
steady drizzle and now it's the turn of Sir Douglas Quintet. The band
starts to play "Mendocino" and the crowd roars. An irresistably catchy
ode to a sun-buzzed little California town, the song is Doug's first
radio hit in several years and he is grinning like a country boy who has
just gotten lucky on his first date. Most of us are wet, tired and
hungry. Yet we can't help smiling along with him. And when he fires up
his fiddle for a blazing version of "San Antonio Rose" I swear the
clouds begin to part. Even the weather gods can't stay angry for long
when Doug Sahm is working his musical mojo on stage.
CFUV-FM, University of Victoria Radio ... I'm hosting my weekly folk
music show on the campus station. Doug Cox is sitting in with me and he
suggests we phone up Doug Sahm at his house. This is back in the mid 80s
when Sir Doug was living in the Shawnigan Lake area. So we give him a
call and even though he is in the middle of his breakfast (it's 8:30 in
the morning) he pauses for a few minutes to chat good-naturedly with us
on the air. I tell him that I still have vivid memories of his
performance at Atlantic City Pop light years ago but he is more
interested in talking about the other acts on the bill that weekend.
"Wasn't Janis something?" he chuckles and starts describing the lusty 20
minute version of "Ball and Chain" that was the undisputed highlight of
her set. That was typical of Doug, I would discover. He was always
willing to shift the spotlight away from himself and focus it on other
acts he admired. I was struck by his refreshing lack of pretension, rare
in an industry known for its big egos and false humility. A star in his
native Texas since the age of nine, Doug Sahm knew that he had nothing
left to prove.
Memorial Arena Victoria... The Moody Blues are playing here tonight.
"Tuesday Afternoon", "Nights in White Satin" and other Sixties pop
cultural touchstones ring hollowly as they bounce off the walls of this
battered old hockey arena. I glance around and decide that I have had
enough corporate nostalgia for one night. It's time to head over to the
O.A.P. Hall where Doug is sitting in with his friends Prairie Oyster.
The Oysters are touring behind their first album and lord knows Doug has
enough hits in his back catalogue by now but no one is pushing new
product or cynically recycling their oldies at the O.A.P. tonight.
Instead the musicians are having fun singing old George Jones and Lefty
Frizzell covers and vintage jukebox rock.
During the break I meet Doug for the first time. I'm a little
intimidated at first but it's hard to be tense when you're talking to
this genial, easy-going Texan. He smiles when I tell him I am still
volunteering at the FUV because I like the creative freedom even though
I have since landed a paying gig playing elevator music at a commercial
station in the city. The conversation turns to the heyday of
"underground radio" in the Sixties when disc jockeys could still pick
their own music. Jazz, folk, country, blues, soul, international ... it
didn't matter. If it was good, it got airplay. Doug says his music does
not fit into any of the tidy little boxes which make up today's
commercial radio formats. I begin to see why Doug is so well liked and
respected by his fellow performers. I've only been talking to him for
ten minutes and already I feel as if I have met a kindred spirit and
made a new friend.
Harpo's Nightclub, Victoria... Doug is here to play a gig with Toronto
piano man Gene Taylor and long time compadre Louie Ortega on guitar.
Every time I see him he seems to be working on some new band project or
another solo album. The last time he played at Harpo's he was on tour
with Taylor and Amos Garrett. The trio's debut LP, "Return of the
Formerly Brothers", went on to win a 1987 Juno for Best Roots or
Traditional Recording. He is especially enthused about his latest
project which will include Freddy Fender on vocals, his old pal Augie
Meyer from the original Sir Douglas Quintet on keyboards and
accordionist supremo Flaco Jimenez. "We're gonna be the Tex-Mex
Wilburys," he chuckles.
Cobblestone Inn, Cobble Hill... Doug and his young wife Debra have
flown in from Texas to celebrate his 56th birthday with friends from his
Island days. Longtime pal Freda Eckstein has invited some of her
musician friends from the area to perform at the Cobblestone and if he
feels up to it Doug will sit in with the band just for the fun of it. It
turns out to be one of those nights that come along once in a lifetime.
Doug is in fine drawling vocal form. And, no, he doesn't do any of his
old hits unless you count "Is Anybody Goin' to San Antone?" (Doug's
cover version of this Charley Pride chestnut was produced by Bob Dylan
and released as an Atlantic single in the early 70s.) Friendly and
unassuming, Doug shares a table with us locals after the set is finished
and savors the evening. I don't think I have ever met a performer who
is as comfortable in their own skin. He even poses for a photo with an
admiring fan. Little do I realize... this is the last time I will ever see him.
CODA: Freda Eckstein knew Doug better than any person on the Island.
She first met him at the Edmonton Folk Festival in 1986. He accepted an
invitation to visit Victoria with his wife and ended up staying
with Freda and her husband. She writes: "We were four very different
individuals who, for two years, shared birthdays, Thanksgivings and
Christmases together. At the time Doug and I were as close as fire is to
water. Things change and Doug returned to Texas. A few years passed and
I got a call. We had both been through a lot and had a great deal to
talk about. Out of forgiveness and tears our real friendship began. From
then on, I would be known to my worldly Texas friend endearingly as
'Firedawg' ...
He loved this Valley. He felt at peace here. Every time
we would talk he would ask if his room was still available. I'd say, 'For
you, anytime.' and we'd laugh. I feel fortunate to have known Doug as
the person inside, genuine and loyal as it gets. He was one of the
original 'Groovers' of this century and I'm going to miss him very,
very, very much. But I know, if there's a place we go after we leave
this earth, he's there, checkin' it out and stirrin' it up, 'just a
little bit'." - 'Firedawg' Dec. 2 / 1999
"People come into our lives for a reason, a season, a lifetime ...
let's enjoy them while we can." - Freda Eckstein
