Blues Biography

Performer: John Lee Hooker
Distributor: IDN Distribution

Notes: This collection centers on the prolific John Lee Hooker's recordings for Vee-Jay Records in the late '50s and early '60s, with a nice dose of sides Hooker recorded for Bernie Besman at United Sound Studios in Detroit between 1948 and 1952 (these were leased to Modern Records in Los Angeles, although Besman did release some of them on his own Sensation Records imprint). You'd have to just know that, though, since the track annotation here, beyond a broad and hardly specific biographical booklet, is nonexistent. However, the music is vintage Hooker, and some of it is as smooth as Hooker ever got (relatively speaking, of course). Check out "Onions" here to get a glimpse of what Hooker might have sounded like in a parallel universe backed up by Booker T. & the MG's and the Memphis Horns. There are countless compilations of Hooker material on the market, issued by a variety of labels under assorted different titles, but you really can't go wrong with this guy -- he always delivered what he was supposed to deliver with no frills and no fuss. ~ Steve Leggett

John Lee Hooker is the most elemental of the electric blues giants. His spooky musical minimalism--plaintive yet powerful vocals coupled with guitar work alternately haunting and toe-tapping--has inspired countless artists, from contemporaries like Slim Harpo to acolytes the Rolling Stones. Few, however, can summon up the inexplicable erotic charge at the heart of Hooker's best performances. The patented "boogie" rhythm upon which seemingly every blues-rock and hard rock band of the 1970s wrought variations was virtually invented by Hooker. One of the most-recorded post-war bluesmen, Hooker released records on countless labels, working much of the time in Detroit and Chicago. He kept working well into his eighties, his style growing ever more refined and penetrating.

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