Record Of The Day: The Best Of The Sir Douglas Quintet – Doug Sahm

I backed into an appreciation of Doug Sahm, and I can tell you exactly how I got there. In 1996, I got married, and my then wife was a huge fan of Los Lobos. I became a huge fan, too, and we started buying other albums by members of Los Lobos, including the 1998 album by the supergroup Los Super Seven. That band featured David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos, along with Tex-Mex and tejano giants such as Freddie Fender, Joe Ely and Doug Sahm. Sahm’s voice hit me immediately, sounding like last call in all the juke joints in the world. That said, I didn’t start listening to too much of his own music until I started working at Webster’s. I kept seeing “Sir Douglas Quintet” records and passing them by, not realizing that “Sir Douglas” was Doug Sahm. Once I listened, though, I was hooked.