Gatemouth Brown: 1924-2005

Arguably the best measure of an artist lies in the esteem in which he is held by other artists. Thus it is quite telling that Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown's 1996 Long Way Home album attracted participation by artists like Eric Clapton, Ry Cooder, Leon Russell, and Maria Muldaur. Lightning In A Bottle, a DVD released in March of this year featured Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, John Fogerty, Bonnie Raitt, and Buddy Guy.

He was best known for his guitar work, but was also accomplished on violin, mandolin, viola, piano, harmonica, and drums. He didn't like to be categorized, and described his genre as "American music, Texas style."

Gate lived in Slidell, Louisiana, and Hurricane Katrina had forced him to escape to his brother's house in his hometown of Orange, Texas. He died there on Saturday, finally losing a battle with lung cancer and heart disease. He was 81.
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