The chances are you’ve never heard of Hop Wilson, but this Hawaiian steel slide player really is a fabulous exponent of the blues. Born in 1921, Harding Wilson got his nickname from his early prowess on the blues harp. He was influenced by the records of fellow Texan, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and got his first steel guitar in 1939, which allowed him to begin working the Houston clubs.
After serving in the US Army in World War 2 Hop became a fulltime musician during the post war years. He worked with ‘Ivory’ Lee Semien’s band and they recorded for Goldband in 1958 as Hop Wilson & His Two Buddies and Hop Wilson and his Blue Steel Guitar. It was not just Hop’s skilful guitar playing, which he did while having the Hawaiian steel sitting on a stand in a similar manner to some country performers, but also his strong vocals that worked so well.
Besides recording as Hop Wilson he cut records, including A Good Woman is Hard to Find which will be included on the 100 Years of the Blues box set coming out in September, under the name Poppy Hop, probably on account of having reached the venerable age of 40! During this time Hop Wilson could be found playing the clubs of Houston along with Lightnin’ Hopkins and Juke Boy Bonner and like many other blues musicians he was none to keen on being recorded, he made more money from playing live.
When he was approached to record in the latter part of the 1960s Hop refused, and so it’s a relatively small treasure trove of recordings that allow us to hear music that few white people witnessed at the time. Hop Wilson’s health deteriorated during the 1970s and he died in August 1975 never having had the acclaim that his talent deserved.
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