Episode 4 John Lee Hooker

Subscribe monthly to this podcast and be enrolled in opportunities to win free merchandise in supporter drawings announced in episodes:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2405236/support

 Episode 4 is about the life and musical career of Blues Master John Lee Hooker.  A native of Mississippi, Hooker is known as ‘King of the Boogie’.  He has been the major influence on my love for boogie-style music.

 The titles of releases on my label Big Guitar Music the songs are taken from in this episode include Boogie Man, Classic Live Performances of the 1990s vol.1, What’s Buggin’ You?, Muddy Springs Road, and Big Town Playboy.

 The musicians featured in the tracks on this episode are Chris Duarte, Derek O’Brien, Eve Monsees, Gary Primich, George Rains, George Reiff, Gerry “Phareaux” Felton, James Cotton, Jason Crisp, Malcolm “Papa Mali” Welbourne, Mike Buck, Nico Leophonte, Paul Junior, Rich Chilleri, Ronnie James, and Wes Starr.  I am on vocals and guitar (except on “Lone Star Boogie” and “Boogie Man”).

 Omar’s Picks for further study of copyrighted music not used in Episode 4 the Legendary Modern Recordings from 1945 to 1954, The Ultimate Collection, 1948 to 1990, and Alone on Rhino Records, the first concert and the second concert.

 Visit my website for more info  www.omarandthehowlers.com

 Thank you to Matthew Garza (Upwork.com) for his work mastering this podcast.

Transcript

EPISODE 4 JOHN LEE HOOKER

Hello, everybody. It's Omar. You're listening to Brown Shoes Blues. Today I'm exploring the life and music of John Lee Hooker. He is a musical icon and in the top ranks of the Blues Masters. Sometimes it is difficult to separate the details of his life from his music because in many ways it's the same thing. John Lee Hooker was born to boogie. 

 John Lee was one of a kind with his deep, dark vocals and his droning one chord trance inducing guitar style. The first time I heard "Boogie Chillen," I said, "What is that?" I was captivated by his hypnotic guitar playing, his booming vocal delivery, and the intriguing lyrics about Hastings Street in Detroit. Not only were these lyrics provocative, but they had a dreamlike quality to them. I was, no pun intended, hooked.

When I was around 15 years old, my dad bought me The Best of John Lee Hooker on Vee Jay Records, and my life was transformed forever. Hooker's music was ingrained in me from that moment on, and I played some of his songs for the rest of my lifetime in my performance years, until I stopped touring in 2017. Some of my personal favorites were "Little Wheel," "Crawlin' King Snake," and "I'm Mad.". I'm mad with you. And when he said he was mad, he sounded like he was mad. Although there are many others I love, I will attempt to give you a personal history of John Lee Hooker's life. A lot of the information I have come across is chaotic and all over the map. That being said, off we go. 

This is a John Lee Hooker song called "No More Doggin" on my release, Big Town Playboy, featuring Jimmie Vaughan and Derek O'Brien on guitars, Ronnie James on bass, Wes Starr on drums, and James Cotton on the harmonica.

John Lee Hooker was born either in 1917 or 1920. I have seen both years used, but mostly 1917. You choose. See what I mean? We're talking about his birthday, and it's already started. He was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, right in the heart of the Delta blues. He was one of 11 children, and his father was a Baptist minister allowing no blues in the Hooker home.

When John Lee was about seven or eight years old, his sister Alice was dating a man named Tony Hollins, a part time blues musician, and he took a particular liking to John Lee.  Hollins bought a new guitar and gave his old guitar to the boy. Hooker never forgot this kind gesture and spoke fondly of Hollins in later years. 

When John Lee was quite young, his parents went their separate ways and his mother married Will Moore, who was a farmer and a blues musician on the side. Hooker's mother took him with her and Will Moore adopted him and taught him to play the guitar. John Lee Hooker said many times that he got his style from his stepfather Will Moore. Hooker said, "Will stomped his foot, sang loud, and played the guitar just like I do today."

When John Lee was 12 years old, he started playing at dances and country suppers in and around Clarksdale with his stepfather. John Lee benefited from his stepfather's personal friendships that included Blind Lemon Jefferson, Charlie Patton, and many others.

Hooker left home as a teenager and went to Memphis. After hanging out in Memphis for a while and feeling like he was making no headway, he left abruptly and went to Cincinnati. He remained there for the next seven years, and he recorded with the King Record label. He finally left Cincinnati and relocated to Detroit, Michigan in 1943. He got a job in an auto factory where he worked in the daytime. At night he played loud electric guitar and sang in the juke joints and clubs along the famous Hastings Street.

In 1948, Hooker recorded his own songs, "Sally Mae" and "Boogie Chillen." The latter took off and was picked up by Modern Records out of Los Angeles. It became a huge hit for the label. Bernard Bessman, who had paid for the session, was one of the first to record it, claimed co-authorship of "Boogie Chillen" resulting in a long and successful partnership with Hooker. You would think that Hooker would be mad about losing half of his songwriting credit, but he was as happy as he could be to have a hit song. This caused Bessman and Hooker to work together and become good friends. On February the 19th, 1949, John Lee was back in the studio to record a follow up to "Boogie Chillen" under the guidance of Bernard Bessman. Hooker recorded "Crawlin' King Snake" that Tony Hollins had taught him in his youth. Also in this session, John Lee recorded "Hobo Blues". These two offerings produced two more R and B hits for the Modern label. Modern wasn't coming through with the money like they should. Imagine a record company not coming through with the money. This set John Lee Hooker off to recording for a multitude of labels. John Lee said, "To heck with it, whoever's got the cash gets the recordings." Hooker was off to the races. 

This prompted him to change his name to such things as John Lee Booker, Texas Slim, Boogie Man, Johnny Williams, Delta John, Birmingham Sam and others. In spite of that, everyone knew it was John Lee Hooker because his voice and style are so distinct. At times in my career, I have been cited as the man of many labels, but John Lee Hooker had me beat by a long shot. The record companies he worked with before Vee Jay Records included Gotham, Regal, Sensation, Gone, Swing Time, Federal, Acorn, Chart, Deluxe, Chess, Chance, Savoy, Specialty, Modern, and others. Whew, whoa, that's a lot of labels. I had a lot, but not that many. 

 I think it's funny that Ike Turner changed the names of many of Howlin' Wolf songs so he could sell them to different record labels, and John Lee Hooker changed his own name to several other names in order to sell his songs to multiple labels. Neither one of them were fooling nobody. Pretty smart.

At this time, John Lee Hooker became the undisputed king of the Detroit blues scene. This time period also saw him form a long-lasting partnership with a fellow Detroit guitarist, Eddie Kirkland. Kirkland was a lot like Eddie Taylor to Jimmy Reed's career. You wouldn't talk long about John Lee Hooker before Eddie Kirkland's name came up. Like Taylor before him, Kirkland had his own career, his songs and his recordings, but will always be remembered as a partner and associate of John Lee Hooker. 

On a personal note, I was able to become friends with Eddie Kirkland after being introduced to him by the Wentus Blues Band out of Finland. The leader of the Wentus Blues Band, my good friend Robban Hagnas, brought Eddie to Europe and performed with him as his backup band. I was fortunate enough to be on some of those European tours with my band Omar and the Howlers. I found Eddie to be a great performer, and he had a wonderful sense of humor. I was saddened by his death in an auto accident several years later. I still have fond memories of him. 

Only after arriving at Vee Jay Records in 1955, and recording under his own name, did John Lee Hooker stop his label hopping antics. After signing a contract with Vee Jay Records and becoming a valuable member of the label, Vee Jay decided to present John Lee Hooker in a band setting. A lot of people thought this might be a bad move, as Hooker had mostly recorded as a solo artist or in a duet format with Eddie Kirkland. And it was also known that Hooker had his own peculiar timing and changed chords at a totally unorthodox interval. Nobody needed to worry because the band presentation worked out beautifully because of the tremendously sympathetic musical backing of Eddie Taylor, Jimmy Reed, and others on the Vee Jay roster. Jimmy Reed and John Lee Hooker loved each other. They called each other snake. I've seen in writing where they were talking together, and they would both, "Hey, snake," they would do it back and forth. It was funny, too.

This song is called "Little Wheel", written by John Lee Hooker and performed live with me on vocals and guitar, Paul Jr. on bass, and Rich Chilleri on drums. 

That was "Little Wheel" from my release Classic Live Performances Volume 1.

The band setting worked because they listened closely and let Hooker do his thing. Jimmy Reed and Eddie Taylor recorded "Time is Marching" and a follow up to "Boogie Chillen" called "Mambo Chillen." You know, they always try to follow up the same thing they've already done, but that's all right, cause I like "Mambo Chillen," too. It's funny. It's got the mambo beat. 

Eddie Taylor stayed on, and in 1956, did a session that produced the songs, "Dimples", and "Baby Lee", which both became classics for John Lee Hooker. Eddie was still in the band in 1958 when they recorded "I Love You, Honey", which dented the R& B charts. Hooker continued to have chart success into the early 60s with "No Shoes". He had on shoes, that's the name of the song, and continuing on with "Boom Boom" in 1961, and I loved it.

In the mid-60s, I helped my dad on his retail route selling shoes, clothes, and shower curtains, bedspreads out of the trunk to people in remote rural areas outside of the towns. I remember hearing "Boom Boom" coming out of these small country homes, either from the radio or them playing a record player. I loved hearing it, and I bought an LP by the Animals out of England that included the cut "Boom Boom". I was like a kid in a candy store.

John Lee Hooker was cast as a player in the folk and blues movement and recorded acoustic albums directed toward that audience. In 1964, he recorded one of his last titles for the Vee Jay label called "Big Legs, Tight Skirt". The abrupt closing of Vee Jay Records in 1965 sent Hooker on another label hopping venture, recording on Chess, Impulse, Verve, Folkways, and the Bluesway imprints.

Like a lot of the other blues artists, John Lee Hooker was also quite popular with the British Invasion bands. These groups included the Animals, Manfred Man, the Yardbirds, John Mayall and the Blues Breakers, Long John Baldry, and the Groundhogs, who were named after Hooker's song, "Groundhog Blues".

In 1966, John Lee Hooker did a tour of England and was backed on the first part of the tour by John Mayall and the Blues Breakers, and on the latter part of the tour by the Groundhogs. For whatever reason, Hooker did these dates with the Groundhogs by opting to travel in the worn-out van owned by the band, and by staying in the same cheap hotels. He gave up his limousine and luxury hotel rooms because he said he wanted to be part of the band. This greatly endeared him to the Groundhogs, and they love John Lee Hooker to this day.

In 1970, John Lee Hooker cut a record with the blues rock band Canned Heat. It was titled Hooker N Heat, recorded on ABC Records. It was recorded in Los Angeles at Liberty Records Studio over a three-day period, produced by Bob Hite, Canned Heat's singer, and Skip Taylor, Canned Heat's manager. Not only was this record a major success, but it hit number 73 on the pop album charts. Shortly after the release of the album, Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson died of an overdose in California. The band and John Lee Hooker were devastated. Hooker said this was one of the best albums he had ever made and that Alan Wilson, Blind Owl, was a genius. 

There is not a lot of information available on John Lee Hooker's life in the 70s. Two albums released in the 70s were "Endless Boogie" in 1971 and "Never Get Out of These Blues Alive" in 1972 that included Van Morrison, Steve Miller, Elvin Bishop and others. Also released in 1972 was "Boogie Chillen" on the Fantasy label, which was a live recording from 1962 that was recorded in San Francisco. Hooker's delivery was toned down and had a coffee house feel to it. 

There is also another live performance of John Lee Hooker's recorded in 1976 at Hunter College in New York. This is Hooker by himself stomping on a board, playing guitar, and singing up a storm. See, I love this record. It was called Alone, and it was fabulous.  When John Lee Hooker played alone, all rules went out the window. When he played with a band, he tried as hard as he could to have regular timing, but it was still erratic. What makes a lone recording so good is he doesn't have to conform to regular timing. His delivery was astonishingly simple, and because he was a minimalist, he made every single note count. John Lee Hooker had arrived, and there was much more to follow. It has been said that Hooker is probably the most recorded artist in the history of the blues. In a word, he was on his way. As a rule of thumb, you can't have too much John Lee Hooker. It's all good.

Hooker also recorded a live concert at the Keystone Club in Palo Alto, California in 1978 with a full band. Highlights from this record include "One Room Country Shack", one of my favorites, and "Tupelo". It seems John Lee Hooker spent a good bit of time in the 70s in clubs and concerts playing what some call the 'Endless Boogie'. 

This song is from my release from 1995. It's called "Midnight Ramblin' Man", an attempt by me to play the driving beat inspired by John Lee Hooker. 

 The seventies came to an end and as the eighties were being ushered in Hooker was given a cameo part in the Blues Brothers movie released in 1980. In the film, Hooker is playing one of the signature songs "Boom Boom" alongside Luther Johnson on guitar, and the unbeatable Big Walter Horton on harmonica. I love them in that movie. They fit it perfect. The movie was a tremendous success and helped to boost Hooker's career. He was also inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980, and in 1983, he was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship, which is the highest honor given in Folk and Traditional Arts by the United States government. What a great honor.

It seems like he spent the remainder of the 80s doing what he knew how to do best. He toured the United States and Europe tirelessly, pausing only in 1987 to make one reasonably undistinguished album called "Jealous". That being said, in 1989, with the help of producer Roy Rogers, Hooker recorded a Grammy Award-Winning album, The Healer, on Chameleon Records that included the guest artists Robert Cray, Bonnie Raitt, Carlos Santana, Charlie Musselwhite, and others. This recording took off like a rocket ship. According to Music Collaborations on History Timelines, the 1980s saw a rise of iconic collaborations that would go on to become legendary in the music industry. This proves true for John Lee Hooker for most of his recordings. The song "The Healer" was written by Hooker, Carlos Santana, Roy Rogers, and Chester Thompson. Carlos said to John Lee Hooker that his music, his words, and his voice had healing qualities for people. This song was responsible for the album being called The Healer.

George Thorogood chose Hooker's song "Sally Mae" for The Healer, a song that John Lee Hooker recorded before George was born. One of Thorogood's own hits was a revised version of Hooker's "Boogie Chillen" called "New Boogie Chillen" on his Bad to the Bone album. Thorogood's new version has been called a sonically heavier and faster version of Hooker's original. Thorogood also had a hit with John Lee's "One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer". 

When The Healer was released, John Lee Hooker was 73 years old. This album peaked at 62 on the Billboard 200, and In the Mood with Bonnie Raitt won the Grammy Award for the Best Traditional Blues Performance. It was Hooker's first Grammy, and it was the album that placed highest on the Billboard Charts in his 40-year career.

 In 1990, John Lee Hooker was in the movie Hot Spot, directed by Dennis Hopper from Easy Rider and Blue Velvet fame, and it included the stars Don Johnson, Virginia Madsen, and Jennifer Connelly. This American romantic thriller was based on the 1953 novel Hell Hath No Fury by Charles Williams. Hooker's role was to play guitar and sing on the soundtrack. He performed a blues duet with Miles Davis, the only time the two met and played together. Miles Davis told John Lee, he was the funkiest man alive, and he was up to his neck in mud. Hooker was greatly pleased and took this as the ultimate compliment. It was said that Dennis Hopper's dream was to get his favorite blues artist, John Lee Hooker, and his favorite jazz artist, Miles Davis to perform together. The film score also included Taj Mahal and Roy Rogers on guitars, bassist, Tim Drummond and drummer Earl Palmer. The Miles Davis and John Lee Hooker duet was called "Bank Robbery".

In 1991, John Lee Hooker released another collaboration project on the Point Blank record label called Mr. Lucky. The players were a wonderful group of artists included Albert Collins, Van Morrison, Robert Cray, Johnny Winter, and John Hammond Jr. In later sessions for the album, Johnnie Johnson from the Chuck Berry Band fame, was brought in to play piano on "I Want to Hug You". Keith Richards came in to record "Crawlin' King Snake", one of my favorite John Lee Hooker songs, that has all the dark swamp boogie you can stand. Also, Carlos Santana was brought in to play on "Stripped Me Naked" based on a true story about Hooker's divorce. 

 This is a song inspired by John Lee Hooker on my latest release, What's Buggin You? The song is called "Lone Star Boogie", featuring Eve Monsees, Jason Crisp, and Mike Buck.

 "Boom Boom" was recorded in 1992 on Point Blank Records and featured performances by John Hammond, Jr. Albert Collins, Jimmie Vaughan, the great Charlie Musselwhite, and Robert Cray. Hooker's goal was to revive some of the songs from his earlier days in his career. He hit pay dirt right off the bat with the incredible Jimmie Vaughan's mean guitar on the title cut, "Boom Boom", that was nominated for a Grammy in 1993. Other highlights include "Same Old Blues Again" with Robert Cray, "Boogie at Russian Hill" with Iceman Albert Collins, and a great duet with John Lee Hooker and Charlie Musselwhite. This is one of my favorites from John Lee Hooker's later career.

The 1995 release, Chill Out, featured Charles Brown, Van Morrison, Carlos Santana, and Booker T. Jones, and was produced by Roy Rogers, John Lee Hooker, and Carlos Santana on Point Blank Records. This record was awarded a WC Handy Award for the Best Traditional Blues Album of the Year. It reached number three on the U. S. blues chart. That's an accomplishment. 

In 1997, the album Don't Look Back was released. It was co-produced by Van Morrison and Mike Kappus who was Hooker's manager. Morrison performed four duets with John Lee on this release. The album won a Grammy for the Best Traditional Blues Album in 1998. The title duet with Van Morrison also won a Grammy Award for the Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. John Lee Hooker and Van Morrison first met in London in 1964 and guested on each other's albums over the years. 

I was fortunate enough to play with my band Omar and the Howlers in the late eighties at an outdoor concert with John Lee Hooker's band, the Coast to Coast Blues Band in Santa Barbara, California. It was a great show, and I got to see John Lee in action. Wonderful. 

 John Lee Hooker's major accomplishments include induction in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991, and a recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was inducted into the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame. He won six Grammys altogether. The 1962 version of "Boom Boom" was inducted into the 2016 Grammy Hall of Fame.

John Lee Hooker died in his sleep in Los Altos, California, on June the 21st, 2001. He was either 83 or 88 years old. You choose. He was survived by 8 children, 19 grandchildren, and many, many great grandchildren. Carlos Santana, after hearing about John Lee's death, reportedly said, "There are no superlatives to describe the profound impact John Lee left in our hearts. When I was a child, he was the first circus I wanted to run away with." Wow, I love that.

John Lee Hooker's grave is located at Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland, California. At the funeral service, Reverend John Lee Hooker, Jr. pointed at the rosewood coffin and said, "Here lies John Lee Hooker, King of the Boogie". Bonnie Raitt, Ry Cooder, and Buddy Guy were in attendance.

Omar's picks for this episode about John Lee Hooker include the Legendary Modern Recordings from 1945 to 1954, The Ultimate Collection, 1948 to 1990, Alone on Rhino Records, the first concert and the second concert. Those are the ones with John Lee playing by himself at Hunter College in New York, and they're fabulous. I love them.

 This is a song co-written with Steve Callif on my 2014 release called Boogie Man. This song is a tribute to John Lee Hooker. 

That was "Boogie Man", the title cut from my release by the same name. I'm on vocals, Chris Duarte on guitar, Malcolm 'Papa Mali' Welbourne on guitar, George Rains on drums, and George Reiff on bass.

Thank you for joining me. I appreciate it. Tune in next time for my next episode.