Lightnin' Hopkins is a true folk singer. His songs are the heart of the South, the very essence of his people, their joys, their triumphs, their difficulties, their oppression. Lightnin's music, like that of any great artist, has a universal quality. When you hear it, it might be your sadness or your ecstasy that is being told. The feeling of all people, the qualities of all living, good and bad, lie in the easy cadences and pathos of Lightnin's expression. So long as folk music endures, so long will Lightnin' Hopkins be played. Strums the Blues is a compilation that was originally released in 1958 on the Score label. It is a collection of his legendary early Aladdin 78" sides. These songs have been carefully remastered for this release and cut by Warren Defever and Bill Skibbe. The cover art has been reimagined by modern-day folk artist Tim Kerr.
