Champ Hood
Birth nameCarroll DesChamps Hood
Born(1952-08-16)August 16, 1952
Spartanburg, South Carolina US
DiedNovember 3, 2001(2001-11-03) (aged 49)
Austin, Texas US
GenresAlternative country
Rock music
Folk music
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter
Years active1970s–2001
Websitechamphood.com

Carroll DesChamps "Champ" Hood (August 16, 1952 – November 3, 2001)[1] was an American singer and multi-instrumentalist. He was inducted into the Austin Music Memorial in 2011,[2] the Austin Chronicle’s Texas Music Hall of Fame in 2000, and was a five-time recipient of the Austin Best String Player Award.[3]

Early life

Hood grew up in Spartanburg, South Carolina. His mother was a housewife and his father owned a lumberyard. Hood learned to play Dobro resonator guitar in his early teens, then he played electric guitar in local band Washington Subway.[4][5]

Career

Early career

In his senior year of high school, Hood met Walter Hyatt. Their first collaboration was the Walter Hyatt Consort. When David Ball joined them, they formed Uncle Walt's Band.[5][6] When they decided a fiddle player would be a good sound for their band, he learned to play the fiddle as an adult.[7] Champ also had a vocal range of almost three octaves.[4]

After moving to Nashville, in 1972 they met Willis Alan Ramsey, who persuaded them to perform and record in Texas. After that, they moved back to Spartanburg to record their eponymous debut record.[5]

They disbanded in 1975 so they could form new bands.[8] Hood and Hyatt returned to Nashville and performed in a band called the Contenders.[4]

In 1978, they reunited with Ball to re-form Uncle Walt's Band. They appeared on Austin City Limits in 1980, then broke up again in 1983 to pursue solo careers.[5]

Late 1970s and onward

In the late 70s and early 80s, Hood regularly performed at EmmaJoe's at the Alamo Hotel with Butch Hancock, David Rodriguez, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and Ray Wylie Hubbard.[2][6]

Hood performed with Lyle Lovett, Kelly Willis, and Guy Clark on guitar and fiddle.[9] He also performed with Blaze Foley, Mandy Mercier, Sarah Elizabeth Campbell, and with David Halley.[6]

For eleven years, in the late 80s and for most of the 90s, Hood performed with Jimmie Dale Gilmore's band in a weekly Wednesday night gig at Threadgill's. When Gilmore signed with a major label, Hood took over the Threadgill's Troubadours (Marvin Dykhuis, David Heath, and Ron Erwin) for a reincarnation of the Threadgill's Restaurant's Wednesday night Singin' and Supper Sessions.[2][5]

Hood played in singer Toni Price's band for more than nine years. Price's Tuesday night "Hippie Hour" early show at the Continental Club also featured guitarists "Scrappy" Jud Newcomb, Rich Brotherton, and Rick "Casper" Rawls.[5][10]

Death and legacy

In spring of 2001, Hood was diagnosed with cancer.[11] He was working on his first and only solo album when he died. Bon Haven was released posthumously on January 20, 2002.[6]

Toni Price recorded her album Born to be Blue in 2003, with each song intended as a tribute to Champ Hood, with whom she had been so close.[12]

Walter Hyatt died in 1996 in the ValuJet Flight 592 plane crash in the Everglades.[13] After Uncle Walt's Band broke up the second time, David Ball went on to record successful country albums (beginning with Thinkin' Problem in 1994).[14]

Hood's son Warren Hood is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and singer who toured as a member of The Waybacks. He has also performed and/or recorded with Lyle Lovett, Joan Osborne, Emmylou Harris, Little Feat, Elvis Costello, the Bodeans, Susan Tedeschi, Gillian Welch, and Alejandro Escovedo.[15][16] His own band – Emily Gimble keyboards, vocals), guitarist Willie Pipkin (guitar), Nate Rowe (bass), and Corey Keller (drums) – have recorded and toured extensively.[17]

Champ's nephew Marshall Hood plays lead guitar in the Americana band The Belleville Outfit, with Toni Price, and with his own band, the Bads.[7][16][18]

Personal life

In 1982, Hood married Elizabeth Haynes.[19] They had one son, Warren Hood.[20] They divorced in 1985.[5][21][22]

Discography

Champ Hood

Uncle Walt's Band

Appears on

This is a partial list of recordings which feature Champ Hood as performer and/or composer.

References

  1. ^ "Carroll D Hood United States Social Security Death Index". FamilySearch. November 3, 2001.
  2. ^ a b c Admin. "Champ Hood". South Congress Records. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  3. ^ Lindsay, John (October 24, 2015). "Hood, Carroll DesChamps [Champ]". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  4. ^ a b c admin. "Champ Hood". themightycontenders.com. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Hall, Michael (February 2002). "The Player: Champ Hood". Texas Monthly. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c d admin (2002). "Excellent Suggestions: DesChamps "Champ" Hood". Music Austin. Archived from the original on January 27, 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  7. ^ a b Peter Cooper. "Champ Hood". Spartanberg Music Trail. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  8. ^ Davidson, Rick (March 30, 2020). "Uncle Walt's Band: Those Boys From Carolina". Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  9. ^ "Champ Hood Dies at 49". Country Music Television. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  10. ^ Burnett, John (February 18, 2002). "Singer Toni Price, the Toast of Austin". NPR. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  11. ^ Blackstock, Peter (December 31, 2001). "Champ Hood: 1952 to 2001". No Depression. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  12. ^ Barr, Greg (January 1, 2004). "Toni Price". The Houston Press. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  13. ^ Eugene Chadbourne. "About The Contenders". Country Music Television. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  14. ^ "David Ball: For the sake of the single". No Depression. August 1, 1999. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  15. ^ Hernandez, Raoul (July 12, 2013). "The Warren Hood Band Record Review". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  16. ^ a b archive (July 22, 2015). "Marshall Hood Band". Time Out. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  17. ^ Beale, Jr., Jim (May 22, 2013). "Warren Hood at home at Kerrville". My San Antonio. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  18. ^ Hartman, Russ (December 17, 2011). "Marshall Hood". Austin Daze. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  19. ^ "Carroll D Hood mentioned in the record of Carroll D Hood and Mary E Haynes". FamilySearch. September 20, 1982.
  20. ^ "Carroll DesChamps Hood mentioned in the record of Warren DesChamps Hood". FamilySearch. March 20, 1983.
  21. ^ "Carroll D Hood mentioned in the record of Carroll D Hood and Mary E Hood". FamilySearch. August 13, 1985.
  22. ^ Corcoran, Michael (June 19, 2003). "A Pair Blossoms: Warren Hood and Emily Gimble are the present of Austin music". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved November 4, 2016.

External links

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