John Lee Hooker

Biography

John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues that he developed in Detroit. Hooker often incorporated other elements, including talking blues and early North Mississippi hill country blues. He developed his own driving-rhythm boogie style, distinct from the 1930s–1940s piano-derived boogie-woogie. Hooker was ranked 35 in Rolling Stone's 2015 list of 100 greatest guitarists, and has been cited as one of the greatest male blues vocalists of all time.
Some of his best known songs include "Boogie Chillen'×Boogie Chillen'5 April 2003 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 40 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Hey, ’s the House Rent Boogie3:042I’m in the Mood2:593Do My Baby Think of Me?2:564I’m Gonna Git Me a Woman2:355Four Women in My Life3:076Yes, Baby, Baby2:417Let’s Talk It Over (One More Time)3:038Baby, How Can You Do It?2:469Bluebird, Take a Letter Down South2:4610Boogie Chillen’3:1211It Hurts Me So2:4812Down Child2:5413Gonna Boogie2:2514Bad Boy3:0715Baby, I’m Gonna Miss You2:3416Half a Stranger3:0817Rock House Boogie2:5318Baby, You Ain’t No Ugly Good3:1319Lookin’ for a Woman3:1520The Syndicator3:00Disc 21Hey, ’s the House Rent Boogie3:042I’m in the Mood2:593Do My Baby Think of Me?2:564I’m Gonna Git Me a Woman2:355Four Women in My Life3:076Yes, Baby, Baby2:417Let’s Talk It Over (One More Time)3:038Baby, How Can You Do It?2:469Bluebird, Take a Letter Down South2:4610Boogie Chillen’3:1211It Hurts Me So2:4812Down Child2:5413Gonna Boogie2:2514Bad Boy3:0715Baby, I’m Gonna Miss You2:3416Half a Stranger3:0817Rock House Boogie2:5318Baby, You Ain’t No Ugly Good3:1319Lookin’ for a Woman3:1520The Syndicator3:00" (1948), "Crawling King Snake" (1949), "Dimples×Dimples1993 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracks1Dimples2:132Maudie2:263Crawlin' King Snake2:474I Wanna Walk2:165Run On2:126No Shoes2:267Want Ad Blues2:168I'm Mad Again2:419Stella Mae3:0010I'm in the Mood2:4511Let's Go Out Tonight6:5312Peace Lovin' Man3:3713Walkin' the Boogie2:4514Louise3:0615Leave My Wife Alone2:4916High Priced Woman2:43" (1956), "Boom Boom×Boom Boom1 October 1992 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Boom Boom4:192I'm Bad Like Jesse James2:153Same Old Blues Again6:144Sugar Mama4:065Trick Bag (Shoppin' for My Tombstone)4:396Boogie at Russian Hill4:367Hittin' the Bottle Again2:238Bottle Up and Go2:479Thought I Heard4:3610I Ain't Gonna Suffer No More6:26" (1962), and "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer×One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer1995 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 20 tracks1One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer3:022It's My Own Fault2:583I'll Never Trust Your Love Again3:224The Waterfront5:215Down at the Landing2:566Pease Lovin' Man3:517Love Blues3:008High Priced Woman2:459Leave My Wife Alone2:4710Sugar Mama3:1611In the Mood2:4412I Put My Trust In You5:1813Walkin' The Boogie2:4414Stella Mae3:0115Groung Hog Blues2:5816Ramblin' By Myself3:2117Louise3:0518Women and Money2:5719Union Station Blues2:5720You Know I Know3:49" (1966). Several of his later albums, including The Healer×The Healer1989 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1The Healer5:412I’m in the Mood4:313Baby Lee3:464Cuttin’ Out4:375Think Twice Before You Go3:016Sally Mae3:197That’s Alright4:248Rockin’ Chair4:109My Dream4:0710No Substitute4:07 (1989), Mr. Lucky×Mr. Lucky1991 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1I Want to Hug You2:582Mr. Lucky4:423Backstabbers5:064This Is Hip3:275I Cover the Waterfront6:446Highway 136:387Stripped Me Naked4:578Susie4:279Crawlin’ Kingsnake3:2310Father Was a Jockey5:01 (1991), Chill Out (1995), and Don't Look Back (1997), were album chart successes in the U.S. and UK. The Healer (for the song "I'm in the Mood×I'm in the Mood6 October 1992 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1I’m in the Mood2:432Dreamin’ Blues3:093Dimples2:134Good Rockin’ Mama2:295Apologize3:076Please Don’t Go2:327Baby Lee2:568Frisco Blues2:419No Shoes2:2710Women and Money2:5611Peace Lovin’ Man4:1012Mad Man Blues2:40") and Chill Out (for the album) both earned him Grammy wins, as well as Don't Look Back, which went on to earn him a double-Grammy win for Best Traditional Blues Recording and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals (with Van Morrison).

Early life

Hooker's date of birth is a subject of debate; the years 1912, 1915, 1917, 1920, and 1923 have all been suggested. Most official sources list 1917, though at times Hooker stated he was born in 1920. Information found in the 1920 and 1930 censuses indicates that he was actually born in 1912. In 2017, a series of events was held to celebrate the supposed centenary of his birth. In the 1920 federal census, John Hooker is seven years old and one of nine children living with William and Minnie Hooker in Tutwiler, Mississippi.
It is believed that he was born in Tutwiler, in Tallahatchie County, although some sources say his birthplace was near Clarksdale, in Coahoma County. He was the youngest of the 11 children of William Hooker (born 1871, died after 1923), a sharecropper and Baptist preacher, and Minnie Ramsey (born c. 1880, date of death unknown). In the 1920 federal census, William and Minnie were recorded as being 48 and 39 years old, respectively, which implies that Minnie was born about 1880, not 1875. She was said to have been a "decade or so younger" than her husband, which gives additional credibility to this census record as evidence of Hooker's origins.
The Hooker children were homeschooled. They were permitted to listen only to religious songs; the spirituals sung in church were their earliest exposure to music. In 1921, their parents separated. The next year, their mother married William Moore, a blues singer, who provided John Lee with an introduction to the guitar (and whom he would later credit for his distinctive playing style).
Moore was his first significant blues influence. He was a local blues guitarist who, in Shreveport, Louisiana, learned to play a droning, one-chord blues that was strikingly different from the Delta blues of the time.
Another influence was Tony Hollins, who dated Hooker's sister Alice, helped teach Hooker to play, and gave him his first guitar. For the rest of his life, Hooker regarded Hollins as a formative influence on his style of playing and his career as a musician. Among the songs that Hollins reputedly taught Hooker were versions of "Crawlin' King Snake×Crawlin' King Snake1999 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Everynight2:582Will the Circle Be Unbroken2:323Boogie Chillen2:354Little Wheel2:355I Love You Honey2:336It Serves Me Right to Suffer3:307Hobo Blues2:498Frisco Blues2:479Crawlin Kingsnake2:4410I'm in the Mood2:4411Want Ad Blues2:1412Drive Me Baby2:5313You Can Lead Me Baby2:41" and "Catfish Blues".
At the age of 14, Hooker ran away from home, reportedly never seeing his mother or stepfather again. In the mid-1930s, he lived in Memphis, Tennessee, where he performed on Beale Street, at the New Daisy Theatre and occasionally at house parties.
He worked in factories in various cities during World War II, eventually getting a job with the Ford Motor Company in Detroit in 1943. He frequented the blues clubs and bars on Hastings Street, the heart of the black entertainment district, on Detroit's east side. In a city noted for its pianists, guitar players were scarce. Hooker's popularity grew quickly as he performed in Detroit clubs, and, seeking an instrument louder than his acoustic guitar, he bought his first electric guitar.

Earlier career

Hooker was working as a janitor in a Detroit steel mill when his recording career began in 1948, when Modern Records, based in Los Angeles, released a demo he had recorded for Bernie Besman in Detroit. The single, "Boogie Chillen'×Boogie Chillen'5 April 2003 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 40 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Hey, ’s the House Rent Boogie3:042I’m in the Mood2:593Do My Baby Think of Me?2:564I’m Gonna Git Me a Woman2:355Four Women in My Life3:076Yes, Baby, Baby2:417Let’s Talk It Over (One More Time)3:038Baby, How Can You Do It?2:469Bluebird, Take a Letter Down South2:4610Boogie Chillen’3:1211It Hurts Me So2:4812Down Child2:5413Gonna Boogie2:2514Bad Boy3:0715Baby, I’m Gonna Miss You2:3416Half a Stranger3:0817Rock House Boogie2:5318Baby, You Ain’t No Ugly Good3:1319Lookin’ for a Woman3:1520The Syndicator3:00Disc 21Hey, ’s the House Rent Boogie3:042I’m in the Mood2:593Do My Baby Think of Me?2:564I’m Gonna Git Me a Woman2:355Four Women in My Life3:076Yes, Baby, Baby2:417Let’s Talk It Over (One More Time)3:038Baby, How Can You Do It?2:469Bluebird, Take a Letter Down South2:4610Boogie Chillen’3:1211It Hurts Me So2:4812Down Child2:5413Gonna Boogie2:2514Bad Boy3:0715Baby, I’m Gonna Miss You2:3416Half a Stranger3:0817Rock House Boogie2:5318Baby, You Ain’t No Ugly Good3:1319Lookin’ for a Woman3:1520The Syndicator3:00", became a hit and the best-selling race record of 1949. Though illiterate, Hooker was a prolific lyricist. In addition to adapting traditional blues lyrics, he composed original songs. In the 1950s, like many black musicians, Hooker earned little from record sales, and so he often recorded variations of his songs for different studios for an up-front fee. To evade his recording contract, he used various pseudonyms, including John Lee Booker (for Chess Records and Chance Records in 1951–1952), Johnny Lee (for De Luxe Records in 1953–1954), John Lee, John Lee Cooker, Texas Slim, Delta John, Birmingham Sam and his Magic Guitar, Johnny Williams, and the Boogie Man.
His early solo songs were recorded by Bernie Besman. Hooker rarely played with a standard beat, opting instead to adjust the 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 recorded Hooker playing guitar, singing, and stomping on a wooden pallet in time with the music.
For much of this period, he recorded and toured with Eddie Kirkland. In Hooker's later sessions for Vee-Jay Records in Chicago, studio musicians accompanied him on most of his recordings, including Eddie Taylor, who could handle his musical idiosyncrasies. "Boom Boom×Boom Boom1 October 1992 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Boom Boom4:192I'm Bad Like Jesse James2:153Same Old Blues Again6:144Sugar Mama4:065Trick Bag (Shoppin' for My Tombstone)4:396Boogie at Russian Hill4:367Hittin' the Bottle Again2:238Bottle Up and Go2:479Thought I Heard4:3610I Ain't Gonna Suffer No More6:26" (1962) and "Dimples×Dimples1993 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracks1Dimples2:132Maudie2:263Crawlin' King Snake2:474I Wanna Walk2:165Run On2:126No Shoes2:267Want Ad Blues2:168I'm Mad Again2:419Stella Mae3:0010I'm in the Mood2:4511Let's Go Out Tonight6:5312Peace Lovin' Man3:3713Walkin' the Boogie2:4514Louise3:0615Leave My Wife Alone2:4916High Priced Woman2:43," two popular songs by Hooker, were originally released by Vee-Jay.

Later career

Beginning in 1962, Hooker gained greater exposure when he toured Europe in the annual American Folk Blues Festival. His "Dimples×Dimples1993 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracks1Dimples2:132Maudie2:263Crawlin' King Snake2:474I Wanna Walk2:165Run On2:126No Shoes2:267Want Ad Blues2:168I'm Mad Again2:419Stella Mae3:0010I'm in the Mood2:4511Let's Go Out Tonight6:5312Peace Lovin' Man3:3713Walkin' the Boogie2:4514Louise3:0615Leave My Wife Alone2:4916High Priced Woman2:43" became a successful single on the UK Singles Chart in 1964, eight years after its first US release. Hooker began to perform and record with rock musicians. One of his earliest collaborations was with British blues rock band the Groundhogs. In 1970, he recorded the joint album Hooker 'n Heat, with the American blues×Blues2006 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 20 tracks1I'm in the Mood3:052Baby Please Don't Go2:163Whistle Done Blown3:084Come Back Baby2:555Turnin' Gray Blues2:496Bad Boy3:037Down Child2:508Gotta Boogie2:229Turn Over a New Leaf3:0510Tease Me Baby3:0011Lord What More Can I Do2:5412Women in My Life3:1213Leave My Wife Alone2:4614Wheel and Deal2:3015Time Is Marching3:0016Louise3:0217I Met the Grindin' Man3:0118Throw This Old Dog a Bone2:3819Queen Bee2:3320John Lee's House Rent Boogie3:02 and boogie rock group Canned Heat, whose repertoire included adaptations of Hooker songs. It became the first of Hooker's albums to reach the Billboard charts, peaking at number 78 on the Billboard 200. Other collaboration albums soon followed, including Endless Boogie×Endless Boogie1971 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks · 2 discsDisc 1A1(I Got) A Good ’Un5:12A2House Rent Boogie6:23A3Kick Hit 4 Hit Kix U (Blues for Jimi and Janis)6:41B1Standin’ at the Crossroads6:08B2Pots On, Gas on High11:22Disc 2C1We Might as Well Call It Through (I Didn’t Get Married to Your Two-Timing Mother)8:04C2Doin’ the Shout3:31C3A Sheep Out on the Foam6:27D1I Don’t Need No Steam Heat4:17D2Sittin’ in My Dark Room5:38D3Endless Boogie, Parts 27 and 288:44 (1971) and Never Get Out of These Blues Alive×Never Get Out of These Blues Alive1972 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 7 tracksA1Bumblebee, Bumblebee4:13A2Hit the Road2:58A3Country Boy6:59A4Boogie With the Hook6:33B1T.B. Sheets4:59B2Letter to My Baby3:57B3Never Get Out of These Blues Alive10:16 (1972), which included Steve Miller, Elvin Bishop, Van Morrison, and others.
Hooker appeared in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers as a street musician playing "Boom Boom×Boom Boom1 October 1992 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Boom Boom4:192I'm Bad Like Jesse James2:153Same Old Blues Again6:144Sugar Mama4:065Trick Bag (Shoppin' for My Tombstone)4:396Boogie at Russian Hill4:367Hittin' the Bottle Again2:238Bottle Up and Go2:479Thought I Heard4:3610I Ain't Gonna Suffer No More6:26." In 1989, he recorded the album The Healer×The Healer1989 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1The Healer5:412I’m in the Mood4:313Baby Lee3:464Cuttin’ Out4:375Think Twice Before You Go3:016Sally Mae3:197That’s Alright4:248Rockin’ Chair4:109My Dream4:0710No Substitute4:07 with Carlos Santana, Bonnie Raitt, and others. The 1990s saw additional collaboration albums: Mr. Lucky×Mr. Lucky1991 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1I Want to Hug You2:582Mr. Lucky4:423Backstabbers5:064This Is Hip3:275I Cover the Waterfront6:446Highway 136:387Stripped Me Naked4:578Susie4:279Crawlin’ Kingsnake3:2310Father Was a Jockey5:01 (1991), Chill Out (1995), and Don't Look Back (1997) with Morrison, Santana, Los Lobos, and additional guest musicians. His re-recording of "Boom Boom" (the title track for his 1992 album) with guitarist Jimmie Vaughan became Hooker's highest charting single (number 16) in the UK. Come See About Me, a 2004 DVD, includes performances filmed between 1960 and 1994 and interviews with several of the musicians.
Hooker owned five houses in his later life, including ones in the California cities of Los Altos, Redwood City, and Long Beach. On June 21, 2001, Hooker died in his sleep at home in Los Altos.

Awards and recognition

Among his many awards, Hooker was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. He was a recipient of a 1983 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. He was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000 and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1997. He was also inducted into the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame.
Two of his songs, "Boogie Chillen'×Boogie Chillen'5 April 2003 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 40 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Hey, ’s the House Rent Boogie3:042I’m in the Mood2:593Do My Baby Think of Me?2:564I’m Gonna Git Me a Woman2:355Four Women in My Life3:076Yes, Baby, Baby2:417Let’s Talk It Over (One More Time)3:038Baby, How Can You Do It?2:469Bluebird, Take a Letter Down South2:4610Boogie Chillen’3:1211It Hurts Me So2:4812Down Child2:5413Gonna Boogie2:2514Bad Boy3:0715Baby, I’m Gonna Miss You2:3416Half a Stranger3:0817Rock House Boogie2:5318Baby, You Ain’t No Ugly Good3:1319Lookin’ for a Woman3:1520The Syndicator3:00Disc 21Hey, ’s the House Rent Boogie3:042I’m in the Mood2:593Do My Baby Think of Me?2:564I’m Gonna Git Me a Woman2:355Four Women in My Life3:076Yes, Baby, Baby2:417Let’s Talk It Over (One More Time)3:038Baby, How Can You Do It?2:469Bluebird, Take a Letter Down South2:4610Boogie Chillen’3:1211It Hurts Me So2:4812Down Child2:5413Gonna Boogie2:2514Bad Boy3:0715Baby, I’m Gonna Miss You2:3416Half a Stranger3:0817Rock House Boogie2:5318Baby, You Ain’t No Ugly Good3:1319Lookin’ for a Woman3:1520The Syndicator3:00" and "Boom Boom×Boom Boom1 October 1992 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Boom Boom4:192I'm Bad Like Jesse James2:153Same Old Blues Again6:144Sugar Mama4:065Trick Bag (Shoppin' for My Tombstone)4:396Boogie at Russian Hill4:367Hittin' the Bottle Again2:238Bottle Up and Go2:479Thought I Heard4:3610I Ain't Gonna Suffer No More6:26", are included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. "Boogie Chillen×Boogie Chillen1989 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracks1Shake, Holler and Run2:372Gotta Boogie2:263Ride ’til I Die3:014Hobo Blues3:035Half a Stranger3:106Boogie Chillen3:107Bad Boy3:088Down Child2:549Rock House Boogie2:5510Playin’ the Races3:1811Cool Little Car3:1412Hug and Squeeze2:4213Tease Me Baby3:0514I’m in the Mood3:0415Looking for a Woman3:1516Too Much Boogie3:01'" is also included in the Recording Industry Association of America's list of the "Songs of the Century".

Grammy Awards

Best Traditional Blues Recording, 1990, for I'm in the Mood, with Bonnie Raitt
Best Traditional Blues Album, 1995, for Chill Out×Chill Out20 February 1995 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Chill Out (Things Gonna Change)4:452Deep Blue Sea4:053Kiddio3:084Medley: Serves Me Right to Suffer / Syndicator6:235One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer3:216Tupelo3:547Woman on My Mind5:268Annie Mae5:169Too Young4:4210Talkin' the Blues3:4011If You've Never Been in Love4:4412We'll Meet Again4:00
Best Traditional Blues Recording, 1998, for Don't Look Back
Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, 1998, "Don't Look Back", with Van Morrison
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, 2000
National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame, 2021–22

Film

The Blues Brothers on Maxwell Street (Chicago) outside Aretha Franklin's restaurant (1980)
John Lee Hooker & Furry Lewis [DVD] (1995)
John Lee Hooker: That's My Story [DVD] (2001)
John Lee Hooker Rare Performances 1960–1984 [DVD] (2002)
Come See About Me [DVD] (2004)
John Lee Hooker: Bits and Pieces About … [DVD and CD] (2006)