Born on November 6th: Doug Sahm (Sir Douglas Quintet), the Tex-Mex rocker in all his forms

Doug Sahm was born in San Antonio, Texas in 1941 and passed away in 1999 from a heart attack at the age of 58.

A precocious talent, he was barely 14 when he produced his first recordings under the name Little Doug. At the crossroads of country, Texas folk, and intoxicating Chicano influences tinged with rock and blues, the Sir Douglas Quintet, which he formed in the early 1960s, popularised a style that notably influenced Los Lobos.

"It was from this blend that my passion for what we now call Tex-Mex music was born. I still remember the nights when the guitars and accordions seemed to converse under the Texas stars. This fusion of Mexican tradition and American rhythms. For me, it was much more than a style. It was like a bridge built between the two cultures."

The Sir Douglas Quintet was one of the first to musically connect the two banks of the Rio Grande, even though their name, suggested by their producer Huey P. Meaux, gave them a British kitten-like feel. The idea was to capitalise on the Beatles craze, even though, once the needle dropped into the groove, the connection evaporated in a whirlwind of absolutely scorching, hybrid blues. And, as Doug Sahm was never one to shy away from a challenge, he chose "The Best Of Sir Douglas Quintet" as the title for his first studio album in 1965. It was certainly a compilation of their early singles, augmented by six new compositions, but the label "hit" was, to say the least, an exaggeration. Between 1966 and 1999, the year of Doug Sahm's death, the group amassed an impressive number of recordings—up to two per year if you include live albums.

While the quintet's inspiration still steered in the same direction, the group nevertheless boasts a few iconic tracks in its repertoire. Even today, most Texans consider "She's About a Mover" to be the unofficial anthem of their state. This refrain can also be found on the soundtracks of several films, from "Echo Park" (1986) and "American Boyfriends" (1989) to "Beautiful Darlings" (2010). So, no cinematic masterpieces here!

Doug Sahm also formed The Texas Tornados in 1989, who won a Grammy Award that same year for their album "í." Surprisingly, in the category of Best Mexican-American Album.

Throughout his long career, Doug Sahm methodically hammered home the same point with an obstinacy that was as playful as it was admirable. Until his death in his New Mexico hotel room on November 18, 1999, due to cardiovascular complications following a heart attack.

(MH with Stéphane Soupart - Photo : © Etienne Tordoir)

Photo: Doug Sahm with the Sir Douglas Quintet at Passage 44 in Brussels on May 4, 1981