Clarence Gatemouth Brown

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Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown (April 18, 1924 - September 10, 2005) was a Louisiana and Tex-Mex American blues musician. He was a highly acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, who played an impressive array of instruments such as guitar, fiddle, mandolin, viola as well as harmonica and drums. During his career, Brown recorded 30 records. He won a Grammy Award for Traditional Blues in 1983 for his album, Alright Again!

During his career, he played a wide variety of guitars, including Gibson L-5s and Fender Telecasters, but he is mainly associated with a mid-60s Gibson Firebird. His guitar style influenced many other blues guitarists such as Albert Collins, Guitar Slim, and Johnny "Guitar" Watson. Frank Zappa named Brown as his all-time favorite guitarist. He is also considered as one of the first guitarists to use a capo in his guitar technique. Although well-known in the American South and Southwest, Brown had trouble reaching a national audience, and recorded for several different small labels in the early part of his career. His most recent album, Timeless, was released in late 2004.

In September 2004, Brown was diagnosed with lung cancer. His home in Slidell, Louisiana, was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and he was evacuated to his hometown of Orange, Texas, where he died at his brother's home at the age of 81.

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