Doug Sahm, also referred to as “the Godfather of San Antonio rock ‘n’ roll” was born in San Antonio in 1941 and an artist who became popular in many different genres of music. He is often associated with “Tex-Mex” music that arose on the San Antonio music scene in the 70s and 80s.
Sahm had been a musical prodigy from a young age as he was able to play the fiddle, steel guitar and mandolin by the age of 8. Growing up in a predominantly African-American neighborhood in San Antonio, many different music genres have influenced Sahm’s style such as blues, rock, Tejano, conjunto, and German polkas.
Doug Sahm and the Sir Douglas Quintet
The Sir Douglas Quintet was a music band created by Doug Sahm and Huey P. Meaux in 1964 in San Antonio, TX. The group included San Antonio based artists, Augie Meyers (Doug’s friend), Frank Morin, Johnny Perez, and Jack Barber. As such, their sound was very unique and multifaceted because San Antonio was a very diverse city with many different ethnic groups influencing the music, food and social scenes. San Antonio was heavily influenced by Tejano culture due to it previously being part of Mexico which is why people often associate Sahm with Tex-Mex music. Their music consisted of elements from blues, country, jazz, British Invasion rock ‘n roll, some psychedelic rock, Cajun music, and conjunto styles.
- **Fun fact: Cosmic Cowboys was sometimes associated with the group in reference to the fusion of Texas style country music with “hippie” culture and psychedelic rock
The group also drew inspiration from the sound of music coming from what was known as the British Invasion. The British Invasion was a musical movement in the 1960s that popularized British pop and rock and roll and other aspects of British culture in the United States. Popular groups of the British Invasion were The Beatles, The Kinks, and the Rolling Stones. These British groups combined the rebellious energies and beats from American rock ‘n roll and focused more on a group image than individual artists. The Sir Douglas Quintet imitated this image and soon rose to popularity after releasing their hit, “She’s About a Mover” in 1965.
Sir Douglas Quintet Rebrand
After becoming more established publicly, the Sir Douglas Quintet toured the U.S and Europe. It was only until an unfortunate encounter in the Corpus Christi Airport that the quintet disbanded. It is said that Sahm ditched the group because he and his band members became grouped into the box of “hippies” after being found with marijuana as he thought this was due to his style and hair at the time. Frank Morin and Sahm moved to the West Coast (San Francisco) and formed a new version of the old Sir Douglas Quintet with other artists including Frank Morin (again), George Rains, Wayne Talbert and more.
The group went on to play gigs in California but soon Rains and Talbert left the group. This prompted Sahm to invite Augie Meyers and Johnny Perez, who brought Harvey Kagan to be a part of the group. The group recorded one of their biggest hits, “Mendocino” in 1969. The song was extremely popular among the genres of country and pleased Tex-Mex audiences as well.
Texas Tornadoes
In 1971, the Sir Douglas Quintet officially disbanded and Sahm went back to Texas to pursue his own endeavors.
In 1989, Sahm formed the legendary supergroup comprised of himself, Augie Meyers, Freddy Fender, and Flaco Jimenez – the Texas Tornados. The group blended R&B, country, conjunto and Tex-Mex rock music styles to create their own special sound. They went on to perform in many different venues and rose to great success and popularity due to the all-star line up.
In the beginning of the video you can hear that Doug Sahm refers to the band’s music as “conjunto rock and roll”. This is another reference to the fusion of conjunto’s Latin American folk style polka beat with elements of rock and roll.
Conclusion
Overall, Sahm seems to be associated with various artists and bands as he helped create and was part of multiple musical groups throughout his career.
Additionally, Sahm also had many different aliases that seem to be associated with the various music groups he was part of throughout his career. One of his aliases is associated with his last album that he came out with just before his death in 1999, The Return of Wayne Douglas. Sahm referred to himself as Wayne Douglas throughout his gigs in Texas – the reason why? Still unknown but perhaps it was to make himself feel less out in the open or to create an identity specifically tied to his music.
The people who knew Doug Sahm often said he was obsessed with the “groove” and was never satisfied which is why he dabbled in so many different genres as he wanted to be “free from all constraints” music wise.
Sources
Head, J & Jasinski, L. E. “Sahm, Douglas Wayne”. Texas State Historical Association, 26 May. 2021, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/sahm-douglas-wayne
Hickinbotham, G. “Texas Tornados”. Texas State Historical Association, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/texas-tornados. Accessed 10 Apr. 2023.
Lehman, C. “Sir Douglas Quintet”. Texas State Historical Association, 19 May. 2015, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/sir-douglas-quintet.
“Sir Doug and the Genuine Texas Cosmic Groove Trailer 1 Movie HD [2015] – Video Dailymotion.” Dailymotion, www.dailymotion.com/video/x2isvw8. Accessed 10 Apr. 2023.
“The Sir Douglas Quintet Biography, Songs, and Albums” AllMusic, www.allmusic.com/artist/the-sir-douglas-quintet-mn0000018708/biography. Accessed 10 Apr. 2023.
