Blues Family Tree Project

Henry "Blues Boy" Hubbard

Hubbard succeeded T. D. Bell as the leading blues guitarist of his generation. Hubbard came to Austin after World War II when he was stationed at Bergstrom Air Force Base. He worked with many lineups during the 1950s; his bands became known as Blues Boy Hubbard and the Jets (Hubbard was trained as a jet mechanic in the Air Force).

Hubbard and the Jets became th ehouse band at Charlie's Playhouse in the late 1950s and backed up the many touring acts which played at the club. During the early 1960s, the Jets worked most nights of the week at Charlies Playhouse during legal drinking hours, then moved over to Gilden's Chicken Shack for after hours playing till dawn.

It was during this time that th escene began to integrate and Gilden's bars hosted a mis of African American East Side Regulars and young white listeners from UT. At the same time, a handful of white musicians began to play in East Side Bars. Hubbard was one of the instructors and influences for this new group of players.

Although he is known among most blues players in town, Hubgard's career has been one of the casualties of the death of the East Side scene. A great and respected layer, Hubbard rarely gets work on the West Side and has a very personal point of view on the effects of integration.

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