![]() His early solo songs were recorded by Bernie Besman. 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. 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. In addition to adapting traditional blues lyrics, he composed original songs. Though illiterate, Hooker was a prolific lyricist. The single, " Boogie Chillen' ", became a hit and the best-selling race record of 1949. Hooker was working as 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. 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. In a city noted for its pianists, guitar players were scarce. ![]() ![]() ![]() He frequented the blues clubs and bars on Hastings Street, the heart of the black entertainment district, on Detroit's east side. He worked in factories in various cities during World War II, eventually getting a job with the Ford Motor Company in Detroit in 1943. 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. Īt the age of 14, Hooker ran away from home, reportedly never seeing his mother or stepfather again. Among the songs that Hollins reputedly taught Hooker were versions of " Crawlin' King Snake" and " Catfish Blues". For the rest of his life, Hooker regarded Hollins as a formative influence on his style of playing and his career as a musician. Īnother influence was Tony Hollins, who dated Hooker's sister Alice, helped teach Hooker to play, and gave him his first guitar. 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. Moore was his first significant blues influence. 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). They were permitted to listen only to religious songs the spirituals sung in church were their earliest exposure to music. She was said to have been a "decade or so younger" than her husband ( Boogie Man, p. 23), which gives additional credibility to this census record as evidence of Hooker's origins. 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. 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. It is believed that he was born in Tutwiler, in Tallahatchie County, although some sources say his birthplace was near Clarksdale, in Coahoma County. 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. Boom boom boom lyrics muddy waters series#In 2017, a series of events took place to celebrate the purported centenary of his birth. Information found in the 19 censuses indicates that he was actually born in 1912. Most official sources list 1917, though at times Hooker stated he was born in 1920. Hooker's date of birth is a subject of debate the years 1912, 1915, 1917, 1920, and 1923 have all been suggested. The Healer (for the song "I'm In The Mood") 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). Lucky (1991), Chill Out (1995), and Don't Look Back (1997), were album chart successes in the U.S. Several of his later albums, including The Healer (1989), Mr. Some of his best known songs include " Boogie Chillen'" (1948), " Crawling King Snake" (1949), " Dimples" (1956), " Boom Boom" (1962), and " One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" (1966). Hooker was ranked 35 in Rolling Stone 's 2015 list of 100 greatest guitarists. ![]() He developed his own driving-rhythm boogie style, distinct from the 1930s–1940s piano-derived boogie-woogie. Hooker often incorporated other elements, including talking blues and early North Mississippi hill country blues. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. John Lee Hooker (Aug or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |