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John Lee Hooker

Performance photograph, Massey Hall, Toronto, 1978 — photographer unrecorded/unknown (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

Delta

John Lee Hooker

This artist is no longer with us.

Born: August 22, 1912 (per census records; the year has also been variously reported as 1915, 1917, 1920 or 1923), Tutwiler or near Clarksdale, Mississippi · Died: June 21, 2001, Los Altos, California (died in his sleep)• United States

Electric BluesBoogie Blues

Instruments

Electric guitar, Voice, Foot-stomp

Labels

Modern, Vee-Jay, Chess, Silvertone

from

Mississippi → Detroit

Born

August 22, 1912 (per census records; the year has also been variously reported as 1915, 1917, 1920 or 1923), Tutwiler or near Clarksdale, Mississippi

John Lee Hooker recorded so many songs, for so many labels, under so many different names, that nobody has ever managed to produce a complete count of his sessions — and he built almost his entire career on a single droning chord and a foot stomping out time on a wooden floor. Even his birth date is disputed: 1912, 1915, 1917, 1920 and 1923 have all been claimed at different points, though census records point to August 22, 1912, in either Tutwiler or near Clarksdale, Mississippi. He was the son of William Hooker, a sharecropper and Baptist preacher, and Minnie Ramsey. When his mother remarried in 1922, his stepfather William Moore — himself a blues singer — became the direct source of Hooker's signature sound, teaching him a droning, one-chord style of blues that Hooker never really abandoned for the rest of his life. A local musician named Tony Hollins also gave the young Hooker his first guitar and further tutoring (Kilde: Wikipedia). He moved to Detroit in 1943, took a job with Ford Motor Company, and spent his evenings on Hastings Street's blues clubs. He was working as a janitor in a Detroit steel mill in 1948 when Modern Records released "Boogie Chillen'" — a hypnotic, single-chord groove that became the best-selling race record of 1949 and, the following year, the first "down-home" electric blues song to reach number one on the R&B chart (Kilde: Wikipedia). Because he was constantly signed to conflicting, non-exclusive contracts, Hooker spent the 1950s recording essentially the same songs over and over for different labels under a rotating cast of pseudonyms — John Lee Booker for Chess and Chance Records, Johnny Lee for De Luxe, along with John Lee Cooker, Texas Slim, Delta John, Birmingham Sam and His Magic Guitar, Johnny Williams, and simply "the Boogie Man." His main outlet remained Modern Records through the early 1950s, before he moved to Vee-Jay Records in the mid-1950s, cutting "Dimples" there in 1956, and also recorded for Chess, Savoy, Atlantic, Specialty and King along the way (Kilde: Wikipedia). His October 1961 Chicago session for Vee-Jay produced "Boom Boom," released on the album "Burnin'" in 1962, which became both an American R&B/pop hit and, three decades later, a UK top-twenty hit all over again in 1992. His 1966 Chess/ABC-Bluesway recording of "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" — a song originally written by Rudy Toombs for Amos Milburn in 1953 — became the version most people now think of as definitive (Kilde: Wikipedia). Through the 1970s and 1980s he worked and recorded with Canned Heat, the Groundhogs, Steve Miller, Elvin Bishop and Van Morrison, and then, in 1989, staged one of the great late-career comebacks in blues history with "The Healer," featuring Carlos Santana and Bonnie Raitt, which won him a Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Recording. He followed it with "Mr. Lucky" (1991), "Chill Out" (1995, also a Grammy winner), and "Don't Look Back" (1997, a further Grammy win for a Van Morrison collaboration) (Kilde: Wikipedia). In 2000 he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, on top of a 1997 star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a National Heritage Fellowship dating back to 1983. He owned five houses by the end of his life, including properties in Los Altos, Redwood City and Long Beach, California, and died in his sleep at his Los Altos home on June 21, 2001. He was buried at the Chapel of the Chimes columbarium and mausoleum in Oakland, California — the site's most famous resident (Kilde: Find a Grave).

Musical Influence

Hooker's droning, one-chord hypnotic style became a direct blueprint for the Rolling Stones, Canned Heat (who backed him repeatedly and named a song after him), and ZZ Top's entire boogie-rock aesthetic. His late-career collaborators — Carlos Santana, Bonnie Raitt, Van Morrison, Los Lobos and Robert Cray, all featured across "The Healer" and its follow-ups — treated recording with him as something close to a rite of passage. He received four competitive Grammy Awards plus a Lifetime Achievement Award, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 (Kilde: Wikipedia).

Influences

William MooreTony HollinsCharley Patton

Family and personal life

Father

Sharecropper and Baptist preacher.

Mother

Remarried in 1922.

Stepfather

Blues singer who taught young Hooker his droning, one-chord guitar style.

Formative experiences

•1922: Mother remarried William Moore, who taught Hooker his signature droning, one-chord style. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
•1943: Moved to Detroit, worked for Ford Motor Company, and frequented Hastings Street blues clubs. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
•1948: "Boogie Chillen'" released on Modern Records while he was working as a steel-mill janitor — became the best-selling race record of 1949. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
•1950s: Recorded under numerous pseudonyms (John Lee Booker, Texas Slim, Delta John, and others) due to conflicting non-exclusive contracts. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
•1989: "The Healer," with Carlos Santana and Bonnie Raitt, relaunched his career and won a Grammy. (Kilde: Wikipedia)

Instruments & Equipment

Guitar

Electric guitar (droning one-chord style)

His entire sound was built on a hypnotic, single-chord droning technique taught to him by his stepfather William Moore.

Other

Foot-stomp percussion

Kept time by stamping his foot on the floor, an audible and essential part of his signature groove.

Stories & Anecdotes

"Recorded under a rotating cast of pseudonyms — including Texas Slim, Delta John and "Birmingham Sam and His Magic Guitar" — to get around conflicting non-exclusive record contracts in the 1950s. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"

"Was working as a janitor in a Detroit steel mill at the exact moment "Boogie Chillen'" became the best-selling race record of 1949. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"

"He owned five houses by the end of his life, a striking contrast to his beginnings as a Mississippi sharecropper's son. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"

Collaborators

Stepfather and blues singer who directly taught him his signature droning guitar style.

Local musician who gave the young Hooker his first guitar.

Carlos Santana & Bonnie Raitt

Featured on his 1989 comeback album "The Healer," which won a Grammy.

Collaborated on "Don't Look Back" (1997), winning Hooker two more Grammys.

Watch & Listen

Featured

John Lee Hooker - Boom Boom (Official Lyric Video)

Recorded October 1961, released on "Burnin'" (1962) — a US hit and a UK top-20 hit again in 1992.

JOHNLEEHOOKERVEVO

John Lee Hooker - Boogie Chillen' [1948]

John Lee Hooker - Boogie Chillen' [1948]

John Lee Hooker - One Bourbon One Scotch One Beer

John Lee Hooker - One Bourbon One Scotch One Beer

Watch & Listen

Henter videoer fra YouTube…

Discography

Year	Title	Producer	Studio	Label	Chart	Sales	Musicians	YouTube	Notes
1948	"Boogie Chillen'" (debut)	Modern Records	—	Modern	—	—	—		Recorded/released 1948, hit #1 R&B in 1949 — the best-selling race record of the year.
1951	Chess / Chance Records era (as "John Lee Booker")	Chess / Chance	—	Chess / Chance	—	—	—		1951–1952, recorded under pseudonym to bypass contract restrictions.
1953	De Luxe Records era (as "Johnny Lee")	De Luxe Records	—	De Luxe	—	—	—		1953–1954.
1956	Vee-Jay Records era, Chicago	Vee-Jay Records	—	Vee-Jay	—	—	Eddie Taylor (Guitar)		Includes "Dimples" (1956) and "Boom Boom" (recorded Oct 1961, released on "Burnin'" 1962).
1966	Chess / ABC-Bluesway era	Various	—	Chess / ABC-Bluesway	—	—	—		Includes "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" (1966), released on "The Real Folk Blues."
1971	Various labels, with rock collaborators	Various	—	Various	—	—	Steve Miller (Guitar), Elvin Bishop (Guitar)		1970s recordings/tours with Canned Heat, the Groundhogs, Steve Miller and Elvin Bishop.
1989	The Healer	Chameleon / Pointblank	—	Chameleon	—	—	Carlos Santana (Guitar), Bonnie Raitt (Vocals)		Comeback album featuring Carlos Santana and Bonnie Raitt; won a Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Recording.
1991	Mr. Lucky	Pointblank/Virgin	—	Pointblank	—	—	—		Follow-up to The Healer.
1995	Chill Out	Pointblank/Virgin	—	Pointblank	—	—	—		Won the Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album.
1997	Don't Look Back	Pointblank/Virgin	—	Pointblank	—	—	Van Morrison (Vocals)		Won two Grammys, including Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for the title track with Van Morrison.

Famous songs

01Boogie Chillen'

02Boom Boom

03One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer

04Dimples

05Crawling King Snake

External links

YouTube Music Wikipedia

Sources

Keep SlowBlues independent. Official merch — wear the blues.