“It’s always been a passion for me, music. It’s always been that way. I think I was born to be a musician.”
Born in 1953 into a family with five brothers and four sisters, Leonard grew up with music all around him. Like many Black families during the Great Migration, Leonard’s mother and father journeyed from their home in Arkansas to Gary, Indiana to raise their family and find more economic opportunity. Music was one way they remained connected to their southern roots, and they shared this passion with their children. He recalls, “When we moved into our first house, the first thing my mom bought was a piano. Everybody would play on it, even if they didn’t know how. The house was always full of music.”
Leonard and his siblings spent their formative years singing in traveling gospel choirs, which he credits as the foundation of his musical style. To him, “When you really listen, all that early gospel music is just the blues with different words put to it.” Around the age of six, Leonard’s father gave him his first guitar and he hasn’t stopped playing since. “I just can’t imagine not having a guitar,” he tells me. “Even if I never played in a club again, I can’t imagine not playing music. It’s part of me, I couldn’t be a whole person without it.”
By his early twenties, Brown was making his rounds playing in the Chicago music scene in gospel and quartet groups, but had a thirst to try out other styles of music. He took inspiration from the artistry of B.B. King, R.L. Burnside, Chet Atkins and T-Bone Walker’s fingerpicking, tuning into his own sound through imitating theirs. His path changed directions in 1980, when he graduated from a two-year training program at General Electric and was assigned to work in Houston.
A stranger to the city, Brown found his community through music. He met bandmates by frequenting different music clubs, such as Dan Electro’s Thursday night jam sessions. “I’ve met a lot of friends and people through music that I probably never would have talked to otherwise, but because of music we have a reason to communicate.” Leonard quickly became a mainstay of Houston’s music culture and was dubbed as the “Lowdown” by the organizers of Benson and Hedges Houston Blues Festival in 1988–and the catchy name has stuck for a reason.
When asked what he loves about playing for a live audience, he shares, “The thing about music, to me, is that it’s a way to bring people together and get them on the same frequency. Most people come to listen to music to have fun and dance; it’s a way to unify people. Music is what we have in common.”
As the Houston master soul-bluesman gears up to release an incredible debut record on June 22nd at the age of 70 via the Music Maker Foundation, Glide is excited to share the encapsulating tune “Blues Makes Me Feel Good.” With its slow, smile-inducing groove and guitar that weaves around it, the tune is something of a manifesto for Brown as he lays out his simple love of the blues in all its glory. This isn’t a shred fest throwdown, but rather a cool, slowburning passage through Brown’s love that feels suited for the kind of dark nightclubs that make for the perfect late night blues sessions. His singing is straightforward and confessional, while the guitar playing sneaks up on you in a way that is subtle yet intoxicating much like a well-made cocktail. The soulful touch of the organ only adds to the mix and gives this tune its real sense of power.
LISTEN:
