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Music Man Hudd Huddleson: Classic Country Style
Tara A. Spears
For the last 25 years, local expat Hudd Huddleson has been entertaining visitors at local bars and fundraisers. A simple man who loves music, people and dogs, his life exemplifies the qualities of a country singer: a complicated life, a keen instinct for storytelling, and an unflinching eye on the world around him. Hudd’s humble beginnings connect him to the country music of the 1930s and ‘40s and the sad, plainspoken narrative songs of that era. A Canadian by birth, in his more than eight decades of living, Hudd has wandered the western US and resides part-time in Oregon when not in La Penita.
While approximately 45% of adult music lovers embrace country music for its ballads and dance tunes (i.e., “honky-tonk music”) it is a simple style of music that consists of folk lyrics and harmonies generally accompanied by instruments such as banjos, fiddles, harmonicas, and many types of guitar (including acoustic, electric, steel, and resonator guitars, 
Music University online,) country music is best known for its use of strings. In fact, most country groups base their entire instrumentation around their string instruments and Hudd’s Band is no exception. “I came to playing guitar late in life,” said Hudd. “It was after my first divorce and learning to play bass guitar helped me through the pain.” At its core, country music is about simple sounds, usually built around a plain melody and 3 chords. One of the critical elements of country music is its lyrics. The vast majority of country songs take the form of ballads that tell a story. 
Most often these are tales of love, heartache, hard work, or personal pride- and Hudd has lived them all. “It’s why I identify so strongly with the old country performers such as Johhny Cash, Whalon Jennings, George Strait, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard.”For the non-musical people– like the author- there is a distinction between the two types of guitars. Bass guitar: The bass generally is played with the fingers or with a pick. In various musical genres, the bass serves largely as a foundation instrument, providing a rhythmic and harmonic framework that supports and elevates the overlaying music. Lead guitar, on the other hand, is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featured guitar, which usually plays single-note-based lines or double-stops, according to Fender magazine. “Any time we have more than 3 people in the audience, it’s a big day for us.
I realized early in my music career to not plan on feeding my family off the tips!” quipped Hudd. Hudd’s current band plays every Thursday at Mendosa’s La Penita location at 5 pm. When Hudd first began performing in La Penita, the spot to go for music was the original Hinde and Jaime’ Bar on Bahia de Punta de Minta. “At that time there was a solo performer playing regularly by the named Bobby Horton. After a while, I got up the nerve to ask him if I could play bass for him. We worked together for a couple years doing mostly older stuff which included a lot of classic country. There were big crowds!”
Besides the scheduled performances, area musicians connect and have jam sessions that include country, rock, bluegrass music. After Horton, I played with a band called Most Wanted which played in the two towns for years. Current bandmate, Lauri Koepfer, shared an insight about the humble musician; 
“He has an amazing capacity to connect with other musicians and always finds people to play with and who want to play with him.
“He has an amazing capacity to connect with other musicians and always finds people to play with and who want to play with him. He and Paul Swan have played together for many years, including playing at the music festival in San Pancho a couple of times.”When Hudd is not performing, he likes to ride his bike to relax, putter around his house, and learn new songs on the guitar.
A longtime volunteer with the local spay neuter clinic, JBAR, Hudd has helped out many times.If you pass Hudd on the streets in the villages of Jaltemba Bay, he might look like just another retired guy but he has a song in his heart and rhythm in his veins. Check out his playing and tribute to classic country music. Good guys do were cowboy hats!
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