A VERY PERMISSIVE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENT HAS NURTURED THE CAREERS of many fine musicians and singers who migrated westward from Texas.
Among those who have made the move are Janis Joplin, Steve Miller, Mother Earth, and Doug Sahm of the Sir Douglas Quintet.
Doug left for San Francisco two years ago because he realized that his “extraordinary musical talents and the freedom he would enjoy there would make for a great combination.”
The change in atmosphere from small, conservative towns in Texas to the creative San Francisco scene has enabled Doug to get his first hit record since his chart-topper of a few years ago, “She’s About a Mover.”
Now that the Sir Douglas Quintet is back on the scene with their new single, “Mendocino,” and an album of the same title, Doug says that “San Francisco is the least paranoid place you can be. It’s the best place in the world for music, and everything else.”
Besides Doug, the others in the Quintet are Augie Meyers, Harvey Kagan, John Perez, and Frank Morin. A few months ago, before they released “Mendocino,” the group put out an album titled Sir Douglas Quintet + 2 = Honkey Blues.
Although that album is far from being commercial, it is probably one of the finest “white blues” LPs. According to Doug, “Honky blues is our form of San Francisco soul music, with the lyrics geared for more far-out ears than for the regular R & B market, while at the same time sticking to our old, Texas-style arrangements. But the lyrics are into what’s happening today.”
Doug, the group’s vocalist and guitarist, boasts that he has the “heaviest musicians that can be found almost anywhere in the world.”
Doug credits much of the Quintet’s musical ability to the members’ upbringing in Texas. “In the Southwest they were exposed to virtually every form of music, especially country and blues,” says Doug. “And, too, none of them have been playing for less than five years.”
A native of San Antonio, Doug began his musical career at the age of six, when he learned how to play the steel guitar. By the time he was nine, he was a featured performer on the Louisiana Hayride country show.
He switched to rock in 1956 “when some of the younger people were getting away from country music,” and that’s where he’s been ever since.
Since arriving in San Francisco, Doug has rarely played live, preferring to spend most of his time perfecting recording techniques. Now, with two LP’s on the Smash label out of the way, he’s getting back on the personal appearance track.