John Lee Hooker was an American
bluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
singer-songwriter and guitarist.
Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to
Delta bluesThe Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region of the United States that stretches from Memphis, Tennessee in the north to Vicksburg, Mississippi in the south, Helena, Arkansas in the west to the Yazoo River on the east. The...
. He developed a '
talking bluesTalking blues is a form of country music. It is characterized by rhythmic speech or near-speech where the melody is free, but the rhythm is strict....
' style that was his trademark. Though similar to the early Delta blues, his music was metrically free. John Lee Hooker could be said to embody his own unique genre of the blues, often incorporating the
boogie-woogieBoogie-woogie has the following meanings:*Boogie-woogie, a piano-based music style*Boogie-woogie , a swing dance or a dance that imitates the rock-n-roll dance of the 1950s*"Boogie Woogie" , a song by EuroGroove and Dannii Minogue...
piano style and a driving rhythm into his masterful and idiosyncratic blues guitar and singing. His best known songs include "Boogie Chillen'" (1948), "I'm in the Mood" (1951) and "Boom Boom" (1962), the first two reaching R&B #1 in the
BillboardBillboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
charts.
Early life
There is some debate as to the year of Hooker's birth in
Coahoma County, Mississippi-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 30,622 people, 10,553 households, and 7,482 families residing in the county. The population density was 55 people per square mile . There were 11,490 housing units at an average density of 21 per square mile...
, the youngest of the eleven children of William Hooker (1871–1923), a sharecropper and Baptist preacher, and Minnie Ramsey (born 1875, date of death unknown); according to his official website, he was born on August 22, 1917.
Hooker and his siblings were home-schooled. They were permitted to listen only to religious songs, with his earliest exposure being the spirituals sung in church. In 1921, his parents separated. The next year, his mother married William Moore, a blues singer who provided Hooker with his first introduction to the guitar (and whom John would later credit for his distinctive playing style).
John's stepfather was his first outstanding blues influence.William Moore was a local blues guitarist who learned in Shreveport, Louisiana to play a droning, one-chord blues that was strikingly different from the
Delta bluesThe Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region of the United States that stretches from Memphis, Tennessee in the north to Vicksburg, Mississippi in the south, Helena, Arkansas in the west to the Yazoo River on the east. The...
of the time. Around 1923 his natural father died. At the age of 15, John Lee Hooker ran away from home, reportedly never seeing his mother or stepfather again.
Throughout the 1930s, Hooker lived in
Memphis, TennesseeMemphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
where he worked on
Beale StreetBeale Street is a street in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately . It is a significant location in the city's history, as well as in the history of the blues. Today, the blues clubs and restaurants that line Beale Street are...
at
The New Daisy TheatreThe New Daisy Theatre is an all-ages venue located at 330 Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee.The New Daisy plays host to both local and national acts as well as being available for rental events....
and occasionally performed at house parties. He worked in factories in various cities during World War II, drifting until he found himself in Detroit in 1948 working at Ford Motor Company. He felt right at home near the blues venues and saloons on Hastings Street, the heart of black entertainment on Detroit's east side. In a city noted for its pianists, guitar players were scarce. Performing in Detroit clubs, his popularity grew quickly and, seeking a louder instrument than his crude acoustic guitar, he bought his first electric guitar.
Career
Hooker's recording career began in 1948 when his agent placed a demo, made by Hooker, with the
Bihari brothersThe Bihari Brothers, Lester, Jules, Saul and Joe, were American music entrepreneurs and the founders of Modern Records in Los Angeles and its subsidiaries such as Meteor Records based in Memphis.-Origins:...
, owners of the
Modern RecordsModern Records was an American record label formed in 1945 in Los Angeles by the Bihari brothers. In the 1960s, Modern Records went bankrupt and ceased operations, but the catalogue went with the management into what became Kent Records. This back catalogue was eventually licensed to the UK label...
label. The company initially released an up-tempo number, "Boogie Chillen'", which became Hooker's first hit single. Though they were not songwriters, the Biharis often purchased or claimed co-authorship of songs that appeared on their labels, thus securing songwriting royalties for themselves, in addition to their own streams of income.
Sometimes these songs were older tunes which Hooker renamed, as with B.B. King's "Rock Me Baby", anonymous jams "B.B.'s Boogie" or songs by employees (bandleader Vince Weaver). The Biharis used a number of pseudonyms for songwriting credits: Jules was credited as
Jules Taub; Joe as
Joe Josea; and Sam as
Sam Ling. One song by John Lee Hooker, "Down Child" is solely credited to "Taub", with Hooker receiving no credit for the song whatsoever. Another, "Turn Over a New Leaf" is credited to Hooker and "Ling".
Despite being illiterate, Hooker was a prolific lyricist. In addition to adapting the occasionally traditional blues lyric (such as "if I was chief of police, I would run her right out of town"), he freely invented many of his songs from scratch. Recording studios in the 1950s rarely paid black musicians more than a pittance, so Hooker would spend the night wandering from studio to studio, coming up with new songs or variations on his songs for each studio. Because of his recording contract, he would record these songs under obvious pseudonyms such as
John Lee Booker, notably for
Chess RecordsChess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
and
Chance RecordsChance Records was a Chicago-based label founded in 1950 by Art Sheridan. It specialized in blues, jazz, doo-wop, and gospel.Among the acts who recorded for Chance were The Flamingos, The Moonglows, Homesick James, J. B. Hutto, Brother John Sellers, and Schoolboy Porter...
in 1951/52, as
Johnny Lee for
De Luxe RecordsDe Luxe Records was a Linden, New Jersey, United States based record label formed in 1944 by brothers David and Jules Braun. The label flourished in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1947, Syd Nathan, the founder and owner of King Records, purchased a majority interest in De Luxe. In 1949, Nathan moved the...
in 1953/54 as
John Lee, and even
John Lee Cooker, or as
Texas Slim,
Delta John,
Birmingham Sam and his Magic Guitar,
Johnny Williams, or
The Boogie Man.
His early solo songs were recorded under Bernie Besman. John Lee Hooker rarely played on a standard beat, changing tempo to fit the needs of the song. This often made it difficult to use backing musicians who were not accustomed to Hooker's musical vagaries. As a result, Besman would record Hooker, in addition to playing guitar and singing, stomping along with the music on a wooden pallet. For much of this time period he recorded and toured with
Eddie KirklandEddie Kirkland was an American electric blues guitarist, harmonicist, singer, and songwriter.Kirkland, known as the "Gypsy of the Blues" for his rigorous touring schedules, played and toured with John Lee Hooker from 1949 to 1962...
, who was still performing as of 2008. Later sessions for the
VeeJay labelVee-Jay Records is a record label founded in the 1950s, specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. It was owned and operated by African Americans.-History:...
in Chicago used studio musicians on most of his recordings, including
Eddie TaylorEddie Taylor was an American electric blues guitarist and singer.-Biography:Born Edward Taylor in Benoit, Mississippi, United States, as a boy Taylor taught himself to play the guitar. He spent his early years playing at venues around Leland, Mississippi, where he taught his friend Jimmy Reed to...
, who could handle his musical idiosyncrasies very well. His biggest UK hit, "Boom Boom", (originally released on VeeJay) was recorded with a horn section.
Later life
He appeared and sang in the 1980 movie
The Blues BrothersThe Blues Brothers is a 1980 musical comedy film directed by John Landis and starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as "Joliet" Jake and Elwood Blues, characters developed from a musical sketch on the NBC variety series Saturday Night Live. It features musical numbers by R&B and soul singers James...
. Due to Hooker's improvisational style, his performance was filmed and sound-recorded live at the scene at Chicago's Maxwell Street Market, in contrast to the usual "playback" technique used in most film musicals. Hooker was also a direct influence in the look of
John BelushiJohn Adam Belushi was an American comedian, actor, and musician, best known as one of the original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, The Star of the Films National Lampoon's Animal House and the The Blues Brothers and for fronting the American blues and soul...
's character Jake Blues.
In 1989, he joined with a number of musicians, including
Carlos SantanaCarlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
and
Bonnie RaittBonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
to record
The HealerThe Healer is a blues album by John Lee Hooker, released in 1989. The album features collaborations with Bonnie Raitt, Charlie Musselwhite, Los Lobos and Carlos Santana, among others. The Healer peaked at number 62 on the Billboard 200 and won a Grammy award.-Track listing:All songs were written by...
, for which he and Santana won a
Grammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
. Hooker recorded several songs with
Van MorrisonVan Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
, including "Never Get Out of These Blues Alive", "
The Healing Game"The Healing Game" is the title song on Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison's 1997 album.It was released twice as a single in 1997 as an A-side with different B-sides - including "Have I Told You Lately" and "Gloria"...
" and "
I Cover the Waterfront"I Cover the Watefront" is a 1933 popular song and jazz standard composed by Johnny Green with lyrics by Edward Heyman.The song was inspired by Max Miller's 1932 best-selling novel I Cover the Waterfront...
". He also appeared on stage with Van Morrison several times, some of which was released on the live album
A Night in San FranciscoA Night in San Francisco is a live album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1994. Guest artists were John Lee Hooker, Junior Wells and Jimmy Witherspoon as well as Morrison's daughter, Shana Morrison...
. The same year he appeared as the title character on
Pete TownshendPeter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...
's
The Iron Man: A MusicalThe Iron Man: The Musical by Pete Townshend, released in 1989, is an adaptation of Ted Hughes' story The Iron Man, produced and largely composed and performed by Pete Townshend of The Who...
.
Hooker recorded over 100 albums. He lived the last years of his life in Long Beach, California. In 1997, he opened a nightclub in San Francisco's
Fillmore DistrictThe Fillmore West was an historic music venue in San Francisco, California made famous by concert promoter Bill Graham. Named after Graham's original "Fillmore" location at the intersection of Fillmore Street and Geary Boulevard, it stood at Market Street and South Van Ness Avenue and was formerly...
called "John Lee Hooker's Boom Boom Room", after one of his hits.
He fell ill just before a tour of Europe in 2001 and died on June 21 at the age of 83, two months before his 84th birthday. His last live in the studio recording on guitar and vocal was of a song he wrote with
Pete SearsPeter 'Pete' Sears is an English rock musician. In a career spanning more than four decades he has been a member of many bands and has moved through a variety of musical genres, from early R&B, psychedelic improvisational rock of the 1960s, folk, country music, arena rock in the 1970s, and blues...
called "Elizebeth", featuring members of his "Coast to Coast Blues Band" with Sears on piano. It was recorded on January 14, 1998 at Bayview Studios in Richmond, California. The last song Hooker recorded before his death was "Ali D'Oro", a collaboration with the Italian soul singer
ZuccheroAdelmo Fornaciari, Commander , more commonly known by his stage name Zucchero Fornaciari or simply Zucchero /ˈtsukkero/, is an Italian rock singer. His music is largely inspired by gospel, blues and rock music, and alternates between ballads and more rhythmic boogie-like pieces.Zucchero is the...
, in which Hooker sang the chorus "I lay down with an angel". He was survived by eight children, nineteen grandchildren, eighteen great-grandchildren, a nephew, and fiance Sidora Dazi. One of his children is the musician John Lee Hooker, Jr.
Among his many awards, Hooker has a star on the
Hollywood Walk of FameThe Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
and in 1991 he was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of FameThe Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
. Two of his songs, "Boogie Chillen" and "Boom Boom" were included in the list of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. "Boogie Chillen" was included as one of the
Songs of the CenturyThe "Songs of the Century" list is part of an education project by the Recording Industry Association of America , the National Endowment for the Arts, and Scholastic Inc. that aims to "promote a better understanding of America’s musical and cultural heritage" in American schools...
. He was also inducted in 1980 into the
Blues Hall of FameThe Blues Hall of Fame is a listing of people who have significantly contributed to blues music. Started in 1980 by the Blues Foundation, it honors those who have performed, recorded, or documented blues.-1980:*Big Bill Broonzy*Willie Dixon*John Lee Hooker...
. In 2000, Hooker was awarded the
Grammy Lifetime Achievement AwardThe Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award is awarded by the Recording Academy to "performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording."...
.
Music
Hooker's guitar playing is closely aligned with piano
boogie-woogieBoogie-woogie is a style of piano-based blues that became popular in the late 1930s and early 1940s, but originated much earlier, and was extended from piano, to three pianos at once, guitar, big band, and country and western music, and even gospel. Whilst the blues traditionally depicts a variety...
. He would play the walking bass pattern with his thumb, stopping to emphasize the end of a line with a series of
trillsThe trill is a musical ornament consisting of a rapid alternation between two adjacent notes, usually a semitone or tone apart, which can be identified with the context of the trill....
, done by rapid
hammer-onHammer-on is a stringed instrument playing technique performed by sharply bringing a fretting-hand finger down on the fingerboard behind a fret, causing a note to sound. This technique is the opposite of the pull-off...
s and
pull-offA pull-off is a stringed instrument technique performed by plucking a string by "pulling" the string off the fingerboard with one of the fingers being used to fret the note.-Performance and effect:...
s. The songs that most epitomize his early sound are "Boogie Chillen", about being 17 and wanting to go out to dance at the Boogie clubs, "
Baby, Please Don't Go"Baby, Please Don't Go" is a blues song first recorded by Big Joe Williams in 1935. It is related to a group of early 20th century blues and work songs that include "I'm Alabama Bound", "Another Man Done Gone", and "Don't Leave Me Here", and "Turn Your Lamp Down Low".It has become a blues and rock...
", a blues standard first recorded by
Big Joe WilliamsJoseph Lee Williams , billed throughout his career as Big Joe Williams, was an American Delta blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, notable for the distinctive sound of his nine-string guitar...
, and "Tupelo Blues", a stunningly sad song about the flooding of
Tupelo, MississippiTupelo is the largest city in and the county seat of Lee County, Mississippi, United States. It is the seventh largest city in the state of Mississippi, smaller than Meridian, and larger than Greenville. As of the 2000 United States Census, the city's population was 34,211...
in April 1936.
He maintained a solo career, popular with
bluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and
folk musicFolk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
fans of the early 1960s and crossed over to white audiences, giving an early opportunity to the young
Bob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
. As he got older, he added more and more people to his band, changing his live show from simply Hooker with his guitar to a large band, with Hooker singing.
His vocal phrasing was less closely tied to specific bars than most blues singers. This casual, rambling style had been gradually diminishing with the onset of
electric bluesElectric blues is a type of blues music distinguished by the amplification of the guitar, bass guitar, drums, and often the harmonica. Pioneered in the 1930s, it emerged as a genre in Chicago in the 1940s. It was taken up in many areas of America leading to the development of regional subgenres...
bands from Chicago but, even when not playing solo, Hooker retained it in his sound.
Though Hooker lived in Detroit during most of his career, he is not associated with the Chicago-style blues prevalent in large northern cities, as much as he is with the southern rural blues styles, known as
delta bluesThe Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region of the United States that stretches from Memphis, Tennessee in the north to Vicksburg, Mississippi in the south, Helena, Arkansas in the west to the Yazoo River on the east. The...
,
country bluesCountry blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
, folk blues, or "front porch blues". His use of an electric guitar tied together the Delta blues with the emerging post-war electric blues.
His songs have been covered by
Buddy GuyGeorge "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...
,
CreamCream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...
,
AC/DCAC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
,
ZZ TopZZ Top is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "That Little Ol' Band from Texas". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based boogie rock, has come to incorporate elements of arena, southern, and boogie rock. The band, from Houston Texas, formed in 1969...
,
Led ZeppelinLed Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
,
Tom JonesSir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
,
Jimi HendrixJames Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
,
Eric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds,
Van MorrisonVan Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
,
The Yardbirds- Current :* Chris Dreja - rhythm guitar, backing vocals * Jim McCarty - drums, backing vocals * Ben King - lead guitar * David Smale - bass, backing vocals...
,
The AnimalsThe Animals were an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne during the early part of the decade, and later relocated to London...
,
The DoorsThe Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
,
The White StripesThe White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...
,
MC5The MC5 is an American rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan and originally active from 1964 to 1972. The original band line-up consisted of vocalist Rob Tyner, guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith, bassist Michael Davis, and drummer Dennis Thompson...
,
George ThorogoodGeorge Thorogood is an American blues rock vocalist/guitarist from Wilmington, Delaware, United States, known for his hit song "Bad to the Bone" as well as for covers of blues standards such as Hank Williams' "Move It On Over" and John Lee Hooker's "House Rent Boogie/One Bourbon, One Scotch, One...
,
R. L. BurnsideNot to be confused with R. H. Burnside, stage director.R. L. Burnside , born Robert Lee Burnside, was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist who lived much of his life in and around Holly Springs, Mississippi. He played music for much of his life, but did not receive much attention...
, The J. Geils Band,
The GoriesThe Gories are an American garage rock trio that formed in Detroit in 1986. They were among the first 1980s garage punk bands to incorporate overt blues influences...
,
Cat PowerCharlyn Marie Marshall , also known as Chan Marshall or by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer/songwriter and occasional actress and model. Cat Power was originally the name of Marshall's first band, but has come to refer to her musical projects with various backing bands...
, and The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.
Awards and recognition
- A Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
- Inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame
The Blues Hall of Fame is a listing of people who have significantly contributed to blues music. Started in 1980 by the Blues Foundation, it honors those who have performed, recorded, or documented blues.-1980:*Big Bill Broonzy*Willie Dixon*John Lee Hooker...
in 1980
- Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
in 1991
- Inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame in 2007.
Grammy Awards:
- Best Traditional Blues Recording, 1990 for I'm in the Mood (with Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
)
- Best Traditional Blues Recording, 1998 for Don't Look Back
Don't Look Back is an album released by Blues singer-songwriter John Lee Hooker in 1997 that was produced by Van Morrison, who also performed duets with Hooker on four of the tracks. The album was the Grammy winner in the Best Traditional Blues Album category in 1998...
- Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, 1998, "Don't Look Back
"Don't Look Back " is a song written by Blues singer-songwriter John Lee Hooker and released as a single in 1964. As a duet Hooker performed with Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, it was a Grammy Award winner in Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals in 1998 from the album, Don't Look...
" (with Van MorrisonVan Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
)
- Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award is awarded by the Recording Academy to "performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording."...
in 2000
- Two of his songs, "Boogie Chillen" and "Boom Boom" were named to the list of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. "Boogie Chillen" was included as one of the Songs of the Century
The "Songs of the Century" list is part of an education project by the Recording Industry Association of America , the National Endowment for the Arts, and Scholastic Inc. that aims to "promote a better understanding of America’s musical and cultural heritage" in American schools...
.
Singles
Hooker issued a large number of singles, with almost a hundred releases by 1960.
Here are ten of his early classic recordings:
- Detroit September 1948 - Boogie Chillen' - Modern 627 (11/48) R&B #1 (Crown LP "The Blues")
- Detroit September 1948 - Hobo Blues - Modern 663 (3/49) R&B #5 (Crown LP "The Blues")
- Detroit September 1948 - Crawling King Snake - Modern 714 (10/49) R&B #6 (Crown LP "The Blues")
- Detroit August 7, 1951 - I'm In the Mood - Modern 835 (9/51) R&B #1 (Crown LP "The Blues")
- Detroit Early 1955 - The Syndicator b/w Hug And Squeeze - Modern 966 (8/55) (Crown LP "Sings The Blues")
- Chicago March 17, 1956 - Dimples - Vee-Jay 205 (8/56) (VJ LP "I'm John Lee Hooker")
- Chicago June 10, 1958 - I Love You Honey - Vee-Jay 293 (9/58) R&B #29 (VJ LP "I'm John Lee Hooker")
- Chicago March 1, 1960 - No Shoes - Vee-Jay 349 (4/60) R&B#21 (VJ LP "Travelin'")
- Chicago Late 1961 - Boom Boom - Vee-Jay 438 (4/62) R&B #16 (VJ LP "Burnin'")
- Chicago Mid 1964 - It Serves You Right (To Suffer) - Vee-Jay 708 (11/65) (VJ/Dynasty LP "In Person")
Albums
Listed below are the original albums with notable reissues.
THE DETROIT YEARS (recordings 1948-1955)
- 1959 - House Of The Blues (Chess
Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
)
- 1960 - The Blues (Crown) early Modern tracks
- 1961 - Sings The Blues (Crown) - Modern tracks
- 1961 - Plays And Sings The Blues (Chess
Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
) 1950-52 tracks
- 1961 - Sings Blues (King)- reissued as "Moanin' and Stompin'", and "Don't You Remember Me", Texas Slim 1948-50 tracks
- 1962 - Folk Blues (Crown) - Modern tracks
- 1963 - The Great John Lee Hooker (Crown) - Modern tracks
- 1963 - Don't Turn Me from Your Door (Atco) 1953 and 1961 recordings
- 1963 - John Lee Hooker & Big Maceo Merriweather (Fortune)
- 1964 - Original Folk Blues (Kent)
- 1966 - John Lee Hooker & his Guitar (Advent)
- 1969 - No Friend Around (Advent/Red Lightnin')
- 1970 - Alone (Specialty)
- 1971 - Goin' Down Highway 51 (Specialty)
- 1971 - Coast to Coast Blues Band (United Artists)
- 1972 - Johnny Lee (GreeneBottle 2-LP)
- 1973 - John Lee Hooker's Detroit (United Artists 3-LP)
- 1973 - Mad Man Blues (Chess 2-LP compilation)
- 1973 - Hooker, Hopkins, Hogg (Specialty-Sonet)
- 1973 - Slim's Stomp (Polydor) - King tracks
- 1979 - Southern Blues (Savoy)
- 1981 - Blues For Big Town (Chess
Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
) - v.a. compilation featuring unissued early 1950s
- 1987 - Gotham Golden Classics - Rare Recordings (Collectables)
- 1987 - Detroit Blues (Krazy Kat)
- 1989 - 40th Anniversary Album (DCC) - reissued on Eiropean Demon as Detroit Lion
- 1990 - Boogie Awhile (Krazy Kat 2-LP)
- 1999 - Savoy Blues Legends, 1948-1949 (SavoyJazz/Atlantic) - reissued on Savoy
- 2000 - The Unknown John Lee Hooker (Krazy Kat) - 1951 tracks, reissued as "Jack 0'Diamonds" (Eagle, 2004)
THE CHICAGO YEARS
- 1959 - I'm John Lee Hooker (Vee-Jay)
- 1960 - Travelin (Vee-Jay)
- 1961 - The Folk Lore of John Lee Hooker (Vee-Jay)
- 1962 - Burnin (Vee-Jay)
- 1962 - The Big Soul of John Lee Hooker (Vee Jay
Vee-Jay Records is a record label founded in the 1950s, specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. It was owned and operated by African Americans.-History:...
)
- 1962 - The Best of John Lee Hooker (Vee Jay
Vee-Jay Records is a record label founded in the 1950s, specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. It was owned and operated by African Americans.-History:...
) - compilation
- 1963 - John Lee Hooker On Campus (Vee Jay
Vee-Jay Records is a record label founded in the 1950s, specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. It was owned and operated by African Americans.-History:...
) - ("I Want To Shout The Blues" on European Stateside) - reissued as "Big Band Blues" (Buddah Records)
- 1965 - ... And Seven Nights (Verve-Folkways) British recordings of 1964 (re-issued with brass overdub as "On The Waterfront" on Wand) - and reissued in several versions later
- 1965 - Is He The World's Greatest Blues Singer? (Vee Jay
Vee-Jay Records is a record label founded in the 1950s, specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. It was owned and operated by African Americans.-History:...
) compilation - reissued on Exodus
- 1974 - Gold (Vee Jay
Vee-Jay Records is a record label founded in the 1950s, specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. It was owned and operated by African Americans.-History:...
) - compilation comprisising "I'm John Lee Hooker" and "The Big Soul of"
- 1974 - In Person (VeeJay/Dynasty) late Vee-Jay tracks
- 1989 - The Hook - 20 Years of Hits & Hot Boogie (Chameleon) Vee-Jay license compilation
- 1993 - John Lee Hooker on Vee-Jay 1955-1958 (VeeJay) compilation
THE FOLK YEARS (recordings 1959-1963)
- 1959 - The Country Blues of John Lee Hooker (Riverside
Riverside Records was a United States record label specializing in jazz. Founded by Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer under his firm Bill Grauer Productions, Inc. in 1953, the label was a major presence in the jazz record industry for a decade...
) - reissued as "How Long Blues" (Battle, 1963)
- 1960 - That's My Story - JLH Sings the Blues (Riverside
Riverside Records was a United States record label specializing in jazz. Founded by Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer under his firm Bill Grauer Productions, Inc. in 1953, the label was a major presence in the jazz record industry for a decade...
) - reissued as "The Blues Man" (Battle, 1963)
- 1962 - John Lee Hooker (Galaxy
Galaxy Records was a subsidiary of Fantasy Records. It was established in 1951 and has been reactivated several times. Its first incarnation was as a 1950s jazz label. It was revived again in 1961 as a gospel and R&B label. It was last active from 1978 until the mid eighties.-Circa late...
) - reissued as "The King of Folk Blues" (America)
- 1963 - Live At Sugar Hill (Galaxy)
- 1964 - Burning Hell (Riverside
Riverside Records was a United States record label specializing in jazz. Founded by Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer under his firm Bill Grauer Productions, Inc. in 1953, the label was a major presence in the jazz record industry for a decade...
) recorded 1959
- 1964 - Concert At Newport (Vee Jay
Vee-Jay Records is a record label founded in the 1950s, specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. It was owned and operated by African Americans.-History:...
) - reissued with bonus tracks as "Live At Newport" (Fantasy)
- 1966 - Teachin' The Blues (Guest Star) half an LP of recordings from 1961
- 1969 - That's Where It's At! (Stax) recordings of 1961
- 1971 - Detroit Special (Atlantic) compilation ("Don't Turn Me From Your Door" plus bonus tracks)
- 1972 - Boogie Chillun (Fantasy) ("Live at Sugar Hill" plus bonus tracks) - reissued on Ace as "Live at Sugar Hill Vol. 1 & 2"
- 1972 - Black Snake (Fantasy 2-set) - reissue of Riverside's "The Country Blues" and "That's My Story"
- 1979 - Sittin' Here Thinkin (Muse) - reissued as "Sad And Lonesome" (Savoy recordings of 1961)
- 2002 - Live At Sugar Hill, Vol. 2 (Fantasy) unissued recordings from 1961 (featuring a "third session")
THE ABC YEARS (recordings 1965-1974)
- 1966 - It Serve(s) You Right To Suffer
It Serves You Right to Suffer is an album by blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist John Lee Hooker, released on the Impulse Records label in early 1966...
(Impulse! RecordsImpulse! Records was an American jazz record label, originally established in 1960 by producer Creed Taylor as a subsidiary of ABC-Paramount Records, based in New York City...
)
- 1966 - The Real Folk Blues
The Real Folk Blues is a series of blues compilation albums released between 1965 and 1967 by Chess Records, and distributed by MCA Records. Each album in the series highlighted the music of one major Chess artist, including John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, and Sonny Boy Williamson II...
(ChessChess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
) new Chicago recordings
- 1967 - Live at the Café Au Go-Go (Bluesway)
- 1967 - Urban Blues (Bluesway)
- 1968 - On The Waterfront (Wand) (... And Seven Nights" with brass overdub)
- 1969 - Simply The Truth (luesway])
- 1969 - If You Miss 'Im ... I Got 'Im (Bluesway)
- 1970 - I Wanna Dance All Night (America) Europe recordings - reissued with the next as "Black Rhythm 'n' Blues" (Festival)
- 1970 - I Feel Good (Carson) Europe recordings - reissued on Jewel (1972)
- 1971 - Get Back Home In The USA (Black & Blue) Europe recordings - reissued with bonus tracks as "Get Back Home"
- 1971 - Hooker 'n Heat (Liberty) - reissued as "Infinite Boogie" (Rhino)
- 1971 - Endless Boogie (ABC)
- 1972 - Never Get Out Of These Blues Alive (ABC)
- 1972 - Live at Kabuki Wuki (Bluesway)
- 1973 - Live At Soledad Prison (ABC)
- 1973 - Born In Mississippi, Raised Up In Tennessee (ABC)
- 1974 - Free Beer And Chicken (ABC)
- 1991 - More Real Folk Blues - The Missing Album (Chess
Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
) - also issued with "The Real Folk Blues" as "The Complete Chess Folk Blues Sessions"
THE ROSEBUD YEARS (recordings 1975-2001)
- 1976 - Alone Vol 1 (Labor) live - reissued on Tomato
- 1976 - Alone - Live in New York Vol 2 (MMG) - reissued on Tomato
- 1978 - Live + Well (Ornament
Ornament Records is a German record label set up in the early 1970s by Siegfried A. "Ziggy" Christmann. It initially specialised in issuing live recordings of blues artists who were touring Germany...
)
- 1978 - The Cream (Tomato) live recordings - reissued with bonus tracks on Charly
- 1979 - Live in 1978 (Lunar)
- 1981 - Hooker 'n' Heat Recorded Live at the Fox Venice Theatre (Rhino, various artists)
- 1986 - Jealous (Pulsa) - reissued on Pointblank 1996 - and on Shout!Factory with bonus tracks
- 1989 - The Healer
The Healer is a blues album by John Lee Hooker, released in 1989. The album features collaborations with Bonnie Raitt, Charlie Musselwhite, Los Lobos and Carlos Santana, among others. The Healer peaked at number 62 on the Billboard 200 and won a Grammy award.-Track listing:All songs were written by...
(Chameleon)
- 1990 - The Hot Spot
The Hot Spot is a 1990 American drama film directed by Dennis Hopper and based on the 1952 book Hell Hath No Fury by Charles Williams. It stars Don Johnson, Virginia Madsen, and Jennifer Connelly, and features a score by Jack Nitzsche played by John Lee Hooker, Miles Davis, Taj Mahal and Roy...
(Featuring Miles Davis)
- 1991 - Mr. Lucky (Pointblank)
- 1992 - Boom Boom (Pointblank) - reissued on Shout!Factory with bonus tracks
- 1995 - Chill Out (Pointblank) - reissued on Shout!Factory with bonus tracks
- 1997 - Don't Look Back
Don't Look Back is an album released by Blues singer-songwriter John Lee Hooker in 1997 that was produced by Van Morrison, who also performed duets with Hooker on four of the tracks. The album was the Grammy winner in the Best Traditional Blues Album category in 1998...
(Pointblank/VirginVirgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
) - reissued on Shout!Factory with bonus tracks
- 1998 - The Best of Friends (Pointblank) compilation 1986-1998 incl one new track - reissued on Shout!Factory download with bonus track
- 2003 - Face to Face (Eagle) new recordings
Compilations
- 1990 - That's My Story/The Folk Blues of (Ace) - the two original Riverside LPs on one CD
- 1990 - That's Where It's At (Stax) reissue of Florida recordings from 1961
- 1991 - The Ultimate Collection 1948-1990 (Rhino 2CDbox)
- 1991 - Half A Stranger (Mainstream) Modern tracks 1948-1955 incl unedited masters
- 1991 - Free Beer And Chicken (BeatGoesOn/MCA) recorded 1974
- 1991 - Don't Turn Me From Your Door (Atlantic/Atco) 1953 and 1961 (incl the bonus tracks)
- 1992 - Graveyard Blues (Specialty/Ace) 1948-1950 Besman/Sensation tracks
- 1992 - The Best of John Lee Hooker 1965 to 1974 (Universal) Impulse and ABC/Bluesway recordings
- 1993 - Everybody's Blues (Specialty/Ace) Besman tracks of 1950-51 plus two 1954 sessions direct for Specialty
- 1993 - The Legendary Modern Recordings 1948-1954 (Flair/Ace) the original singles
- 1994 - The Boogie Man (Charly DIG 5) anthology box featuring 1948-1966 (excluding Modern)
- 1995 - Alternative Boogie - Early Studio Recordings, 1948-1952 (Capitol 3CD) Besman alternates
- 1995 - The Gold Collection - 40 Classic Performances (Retro) 2 CD set Made in Italy by Phonocomp
- 1996 - Live at the Café Au Go-Go (and Soledad Prison) (Universal) 1966 with Muddy Waters' band and 1972
- 1998 - The Complete 50's Chess Recordings (Chess 2CD) anthology featuring the tracks from "House of the Blues" and "Plays and Sings the Blues" (1951–52) plus several bonus tracks from Fortune 1954 incl "Blues For Big Town"
- 2000 - The Complete 1964 recordings (RPM) last Vee-Jay session 1964 plus British London recordings - the British tracks reissued with brass overdubs as "The London 1965 Sessions" on Sequel
- 2000 - I'm John Lee Hooker (Charly -with bonus tracks) his very first LP, 1955-1959 recordings - reissued on SNAP in 2003 and without bonus tracks on Shout!Factory in 2007
- 2000 - Travelin (Charly -with bonus tracks) the great LP session of 1960- reissued on SNAP in 2003
- 2000 - The Folk Lore of John Lee Hooker (Charly -with bonus tracks) his third VJ LP - reissued on SNAP in 2003
- 2000 - Burnin (Charly -with bonus tracks) the fourth VJ LP, 1962 - reissued on SNAP in 2003
- 2000 - The Complete - Vol. 1 1948-49 [Body & Soul 2CD]
- 2000 - The Complete - Vol. 2 1949 [Body & Soul 2CD]
- 2001 - The Complete - Vol. 3 1949-50 [Body & Soul 2CD]
- 2001 - House Rent Boogie (Ace) Modern compilation of rare early 1950s recordings
- 2001 - Testament - 3CDbox featuring some of the very best Vee-Jay recordings (Charly/Snapper)
- 2002 - The Complete - Vol. 4 1950-51 [Body & Soul 2CD]
- 2002 - The Real Folk Blues/More Real Folk Blues
The Real Folk Blues is a series of blues compilation albums released between 1965 and 1967 by Chess Records, and distributed by MCA Records. Each album in the series highlighted the music of one major Chess artist, including John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, and Sonny Boy Williamson II...
(Chess) 1966 recordings; reissue of the 1991 CD "The Complete Chess Folk Blues Sessions"
- 2002 - Giant of Blues (FruitTree 2CD) Charly license featuring 20 of the "Testament" tracks
- 2003 - Boogie Chillen (Audio Fidelity) 1949 - 1952 Besman and Siracuse (engineer) compilation
- 2003 - Blues Kingpins - Blues Immortal (Virgin) 1948-1955 Modern anthology
- 2004 - Early Years - The Classic Savoy Sessions (Metro Doubles 2CD) recorded 1948 and 1961 - comprising the tracks from "Savoy Blues Legends" (Savoy in 1999 and 2003) and the 1961 Savoy recordings from "Sittin' Here Thinkin'" (32Blues in 2004 with the bonus track)
- 2004 - I'm A Boogie Man (Varése Sarabande) Vintage 1948 - 1953 Texas Slim and John Lee Booker (King/De Luxe tracks featuring all the King singles)
- 2004 - The Complete - Vol. 5 1951-53 [Body & Soul 2CD]
- 2005 - The Complete - Vol. 6 1953-54 [Body & Soul 2CD]
- 2005 - Blues Is The Healer
Blues Is The Healer is a 10 CD box set of 149 songs from the early years of blues legend John Lee Hooker's repertory, released in 2005 by the German label Membran. According to one reviewer, "the first 8 discs are early solo Hooker with the occasional backing guitar or piano. Disc 9 sounds like...
(Membran), 149 songs from the early years in a German 10 CD box set
- 2006 - Hooker (4 disc chronological anthology covering his entire career) (Shout!Factory)
- 2006 - The Boogie Man 1948 - 1955 (Charly 4 CDBox) - not identical to Charly's rare CD DIG 5 (but this time also featuring Modern recordings)
- 2007 - Gold (Hip-O Select 2CD) 1948-2001 chronological anthology
- 2009 - John Lee Hooker Anthology: 50 Years (Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory is an entertainment company founded in 2003 that was started by Richard Foos , Bob Emmer and Garson Foos initially as a specialty music label...
2CD) 1948-1998 chronological anthology
- 2009 - From Detroit to Chicago 1954-1958 (SagaBues46) Modern, Battle, and early Vee-Jay singles
- 2010 - At His Very Best (MetroUnionSquare 2CD) Vee-Jay compilation and some live recordings
- 2010 - Blues In Transition (Jasmine 2CD) Vee-Jay 1956-1959 plus the two Riverside sessions 1959 (50 tracks)
Film
- The Blues Brothers
The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedy actors Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on Saturday Night Live...
on Maxwell StreetMaxwell Street is an east-west street in Chicago, Illinois that intersects with Halsted Street just south of Roosevelt Road. It runs at 1330 South in the numbering system running from 500 West to 1126 West. The Maxwell Street neighborhood is considered part of the Near West Side and is one of the...
(ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
) outside the Aretha Franklin's restaurant (1980)
- John Lee Hooker & Furry Lewis
Furry Lewis was an American country blues guitarist and songwriter from Memphis, Tennessee. Lewis was one of the first of the old-time blues musicians of the 1920s to be brought out of retirement, and given a new lease of recording life, by the folk blues revival of the 1960s.-Life and...
DVD (1995)
- John Lee Hooker Rare Performances 1960 - 1984 DVD (2002)
- John Lee Hooker - Bits and pieces about ... DVD + CD (2006)
External links