Photo courtesy Unkown Hinson
Nearly two decades ago, music teacher/studio musician
Stuart Baker joined the cast of a Charlotte, N.C., public access sketch
comedy program called The Wild Wild South, performing as a
character he invented and christened “Unknown Hinson.” Darkly patterned
after Country stars of the 1950s, with a loudly embroidered and
rhinestoned wardrobe and black string tie, Baker enhanced the effect
even more with pasted-on sideburns, blacked-out front teeth,
slicked-back hair (exposing a gravely serious widow’s peak) and a wildly
exaggerated Southern drawl. His performances as Hinson featured equally
exaggerated Country songs detailing his stereotypically illegal and
immoral lifestyle, which included baby-making, vampirism and murder.
Baker ultimately created The Unknown Hinson Show and then took his act on the road and into the studio, resulting in five weirdly wonderful albums, including his 1999 debut, 21 Chart-toppers, and his most recent, Unknown Hinson: Live and Undead.
Unknown Hinson with The Lewis BrothersSaturday, Dec 03
Hinson’s “back story” includes convictions for numerous nefarious deeds and a 30-year prison sentence, which concluded with his release in 1993.
Since then, Hinson has been a constant presence on the
road and briefly flirted with major label status after being signed by
Capitol Records, which released 2002’s Rock n Roll is Straight From Hell and reissued The Future is Unknown.
Unknown Hinson plays Southgate House Saturday with The Lewis Brothers. Read Brian Baker's full Sound Advice here.
