R.I.P. Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown

HOUSTON (Sept. 12) - Weakened by lung cancer and devastated by the destruction of his beloved New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina, Grammy Award-winning singer and guitarist Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown died in Texas this weekend, his longtime keyboard player said Sunday.

Brown, 81, won a blues Grammy in 1982 for his album "Alright Again!" and was a pioneering electric guitar player who helped make the instrument a centerpiece of popular American music.

Early in his 60-year career, he was a drummer for blues legend T-Bone Walker and a friend of Lightnin' Hopkins, but he eschewed the label of "bluesman" and played a range of styles including blues, jazz, country, big band, rhythm-and-blues and Cajun.

Music Blues RIP Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown McBoozo