John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker was a prominent American blues musician born in 1917 in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Raised in a religious environment that forbade secular music, he became influenced by his stepfather, a blues guitarist, who taught him a minimalist and rhythmic guitar style. Hooker left home at a young age, eventually settling in Detroit, where he played in nightclubs while working as a factory janitor. His breakthrough came in 1948 with the hit "Boogie Chillen," leading to a successful career that produced over one hundred albums. Known for his unique, heavy rhythmic style and deep voice, Hooker's music integrated elements of Delta blues and urban rhythms, gaining acclaim from both audiences and fellow musicians. He achieved significant recognition in the 1960s with the folk music revival, and his influence extended to famous rock bands and artists who covered his songs. Over his lifetime, Hooker received numerous accolades, including multiple Grammy Awards and inductions into the Blues and Rock and Roll Halls of Fame. He continued performing and recording until his death in 2001, leaving a lasting legacy in the blues genre and popular culture.
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Subject Terms
John Lee Hooker
Blues musician, singer, and songwriter
- Born: August 22, 1917
- Birthplace: Clarksdale, Mississippi
- Died: June 21, 2001
- Place of death: Los Altos, California
Hooker was one of the leaders in the development of both Delta blues and electronic blues. Early rock-and-roll musicians borrowed heavily from his guitar style. Hooker is considered one of the best blues guitarists, singers, and songwriters, and his music has influenced many blues and rock performers.
Early Life
John Lee Hooker born in 1917 in Clarksdale, Mississippi, in the Mississippi Delta. He was the fifth son of Minnie and William Hooker, a sharecropper and devout Christian who forbade secular music in his home. When Hooker’s parents divorced, Minnie married William Moore, a blues singer and guitarist who had performed with Charley Patton. Moore became his stepson’s mentor, teaching Hooker to play guitar in his minimalist, heavily rhythmic style. Hooker refined his singing through performing in his church choir and with a gospel group, the Fairfield Four.
At fourteen, Hooker ran away to Memphis, where he became an usher in a movie theater before finding work with gospel groups who were partial to his deep, gravelly voice. After periods in Knoxville and Cincinnati, he moved to Detroit in the late 1930’s and worked as a factory janitor while playing his guitar in nightclubs.
Life’s Work
After several years performing in clubs, Hooker was discovered by executives from Modern Records and recorded “Boogie Chillen” in 1948. This autobiographical song about how he came to the blues soon reached number one on the rhythm-and-blues chart. Hooker quit his job and exchanged his acoustic guitar for an electric one given to him by blues performer T-Bone Walker. He went on to merge his laid-back Delta style with more visceral urban rhythms. Hooker always explained in interviews that he made no conscious changes but simply played what he felt.
Several more hits followed, including “Crawling King Snake” and “I’m in the Mood,” before Hooker left Modern because of its reluctance to issue royalty checks. For Vee-Jay, he recorded the hits “Dimples,” “It Serves Me Right to Suffer,” and “Boom Boom,” his most famous song. With the rise in popularity of folk music in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, Hooker reached new audiences by toning down his amplification and playing an acoustic guitar more frequently. He was hailed as a great country blues musician, performing in coffeehouses, on college campuses, and at folk festivals in the United States and Europe. When British rock groups such as the Rolling Stones, the Animals, the Yardbirds, the Who, and Led Zeppelin identified Hooker as an influence and recorded his songs, his music reached an even wider audience. Soon, American acts like the Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Aerosmith, and ZZ Top also played Hooker’s music.
Hooker continued recording until the end of his life, producing more than one hundred albums, including compilations. He even recorded new versions of his old songs with different arrangements and rhythms. Among his most significant albums are The Country Blues of John Lee Hooker (1959), Urban Blues (1967), Hooker ’n Heat (1971) with the group Canned Heat, Endless Boogie (1971), The Healer (1989), Mr. Lucky (1992), Chill Out (1995), and Don’t Look Back (1997). The Healer, the biggest success of Hooker’s career, included his duet with Bonnie Raitt on “I’m in the Mood for Love,” for which he won his first Grammy Award. Hooker also notably adapted his style to the Latin rhythms of Carlos Santana for “Chill Out (Things Gonna Change).” He performed duets with many other famous performers, collaborating with Van Morrison several times.
Hooker performed “Boom Boom” and “Boogie Chillen” in the film The Blues Brothers (1980). His songs also have appeared on the sound tracks of many other films, including Angel Heart (1987), Stealing Beauty (1996), American Gangster (2007), and Hancock (2008). The Hot Spot (1990) sound track features Hooker’s solo guitar as well as collaborations with jazz great Miles Davis and blues guitarists Taj Mahal and Roy Rogers. “Boom Boom” has been used in several television commercials.
Divorced four times, Hooker had eight children, including the singers Zakiya Hooker and John Lee Hooker, Jr., with whom he recorded and performed. Two of his son’s albums have been nominated for Grammys for Best Traditional Blues Album. Hooker died in his sleep at his home in 2001.
Significance
Hooker’s playing is considered unique and tended to be even more repetitive than traditional blues. The heavy rhythms are complemented by the heaviness of his voice, which matches his guitar in intensity. In live performances, especially in his later years, Hooker was usually seated, beating the tempo with his foot. Beyond adapting to the electric guitar, Hooker and his music changed little over his unusually long career, and his voice remaining strong.
Hooker won two more Grammys for Don’t Look Back and for his duet on the title song with Morrison. He was elected to the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000. Because of the volume of his recordings, his broad influence on blues and rock performers, and his ubiquity in popular culture, Hooker, along with Muddy Waters and B. B. King, was one of the most famous blues musicians of the twentieth century.
Bibliography
Benadon, Fernando, and Ted Gioia. “How Hooker Found His Boogie: A Rhythmic Analysis of a Classic Groove.” Popular Music 28, no. 1 (January, 2009): 19-32. Detailed technical explanation of Hooker’s boogie style, including its origins.
Morris, Chris. “The Billboard Interview: John Lee Hooker—50th Anniversary.” Billboard 110, no. 36 (September 5, 1998): 77-80. Hooker discusses his early life, the beginnings of his career, and his collaborations with Van Morrison and others.
Murray, Charles Shaar. Boogie Man: The Adventures of John Lee Hooker in the American Twentieth Century. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2000. Scholarly biography pays equal attention to Hooker’s life and the significance of his music.
Ouellette, Dan. “John Lee Hooker: ’Hi, I’m the Boogie Man.’” DownBeat 64, no. 6 (June, 1997): 20-24. Interview focusing on Hooker’s musical style.