[Editor's note: Over the holiday season, SonicNet is looking back at 1999's top stories, chosen by our editors and writers. This story originally ran on Saturday, Nov. 20.]

Veteran musician/songwriter Doug Sahm, leader of the Texas Tornados and

the Sir Douglas Quintet, and renowned for his guitar prowess, was found

dead Thursday in a New Mexico hotel. He was 58.

Sahm's body was discovered in a Taos, N.M., hotel room about 12:45 p.m.,

according to the Taos Police Department. Though no cause of death had been

determined at press time, police said that foul play was not suspected.

"We feel a terrible loss," said famed guitarist Freddy Fender, Sahm's

bandmate in the Texas Tornados, on Friday (Nov. 19). "The fact that he's

not going to be around anymore just blows our mind," Fender said, referring

also to former bandmate Augie Meyers and Sahm's family.

"He was one of the greatest guitarists when it came to blues," he said.

"... There were many things where he was the only one capable of [creating]

that kind of feeling."

Sahm is believed to have been staying at the hotel on a drive between his

home state of Texas and California, according to Tornados spokesperson

Kirt Webster. Autopsy results were expected to be completed Friday evening, Webster said.

Doug Sahm was born Nov. 6, 1941, in San Antonio. He began playing steel

guitar on a local radio station at age 9, and in his early teens, Sahm

started recording under the name Little Doug Sahm. Soon he was heading a

band called the Pharaohs.

In the late '50s and early '60s, Sahm released singles including "Crazy

Daisy," "If You Ever Need Me" and "Sapphire." In 1964 Sahm formed the

Sir Douglas Quintet with keyboardist Meyers, bassist Harvey Kagan, drummer

Johnny Perez and saxophonist Frank Moran.

"I told [Atlantic Records producer] Jerry Wexler that Doug Sahm was my

idol," Bob Merlis, senior vice president of corporate communications for

Warner Bros. Records, said. "What he wants to do, he does it — and

well. He was really one of a kind. Double his age [and] that's how much

he lived."

The Sir Douglas Quintet had a hit with "The Rains Came" (RealAudio

excerpt), but the group split up when Sahm moved to California.

After fronting an ensemble called the Honkey Blues Band, Sahm re-formed

the Quintet.

The new Quintet then cut the country-rock classic Mendocino (1969),

including the hit title track, as well as the popular album Together

After Five (1970).

But Sahm stepped away again to record as a solo act in 1973 with Doug

Sahm and Band, an LP that featured folk-rock legend Bob Dylan and

Dr. John. It yielded the minor hit "Is Anybody Going to San Antone?" Then

the Quintet re-formed for LPs including Wanted Very Much Alive and

Back to the 'Dillo. Sahm also played on Grateful Dead records

in the '70s.

In the late '80s, Sahm and Meyers teamed with two of their heroes, guitarist

Fender and accordionist Flaco Jimenez, to form the Texas Tornados. The

Tornados released an eponymous 1990 debut LP, featuring such cuts as "Who

Were You Thinkin' Of" and "Laredo Rose."

The album reached the top 30 on the Billboard country chart. After

Hangin' On by a Thread (1992), the bandmembers went their separate

ways.

Friends and colleagues said Sahm will be remembered as a unique individual

who knew what he liked musically and held firmly to those beliefs. "It

worked fine — whatever worked for him worked for the band," Fender

said. "He will be greatly missed. We all will miss him."

In 1994 Sahm was nominated for a Grammy Award for his solo The Last

Real Texas Blues Band, including "Reconsider Baby" and "My Girl Josephine."

That same year, the Sir Douglas Quintet, who added former Creedence

Clearwater Revival drummer Doug Clifford, released Day Dreaming at

Midnight. The Best of Doug Sahm & Friends was issued by Atlantic

Records in 1995. Last year he released SDQ '98 — Get a Life.

The Tornados reunited in 1996 for 4 Aces. Earlier this year, they

issued Live From the Limo, including "South of the Border (Down

Mexico Way)."

Also this year, Fantasy Records reissued Sahm's 1980 solo LP Hell of

a Spell. Prime of Sir Douglas Quintet, featuring the band's

early hit "She's About a Mover" (RealAudio

excerpt), arrived last month.

Sahm is survived by sons Shawn and Shandon, his sister, Dawn Sahm, and

brother, Victor Sahm.