My condolences go out to the family and friends of Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, who died on Saturday.
Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, was an extremely versatile musician that played blues, country, jazz, Cajun, and other variations of American music for over 50 years. For the past few years, he had been battling lung cancer and heart disease. Before Hurricane Katrina hit his Louisiana home, he escaped to his hometown of Orange, Texas. He lost his home and all of his possessions. I have no doubt this loss excelerated his will to live. He was 81 years old.
I had the pleasure to work with Gatemouth when I was hired as a writer for the Blues Express television show. This little photo is from that unreleased TV show. He will be missed.
Years ago, I was on a plane coming back from Frankfurt, Germany and had the unexpected pleasure of having Gatemouth Brown being seated next to me. I had only just heard of him a few weeks before, so having him in a seat next to me was one of those phenomenon that defies explanation. He wasn’t feeling well but chatted with me anyway, and let me listen to a tape of his music. It was something I thought about for a long time afterwards, and of course I made sure to attend concerts he gave whenever he was in my area. Whenever I need a dose of Gate’s music, I pop in one of my cd’s and listen to his rich voice take off, reminding me of a chance encounter that lifted my spirits and grounded me at the same time. He talked of his home and family and his music with an equal sense of pride and devotion. When Katrina hit, I knew this would be bad for him but hoped that he somehow escaped tragedy. God bless Gatemouth Brown, a man true to his own path, who loved to share his passion- luckily for those of us left behind.