Home → Overview → Blues Artists → John Lee Hooker

John Lee Hooker (1917-2001)

The Coolest of All Bluesmen

John Lee Hooker was born on August 22, 1917 in Clarksdale, Mississippi. John Lee Hooker's earliest musical influence came from his stepfather, Will Moore. By the early 1940's John Lee Hooker had moved north and found work in the auto factories. At night, he entertained friends and neighbors by playing at house parties.Then John Lee Hooker met Bernard Besman, who was a producer, record distributor and owner of Sensation Records, Besman leased some of his early John Lee Hooker recordings to Modern Records. Among John Lee Hooker's first recordings in 1948, Boogie Chillun became a number one jukebox hit for Modern and his first million seller. This was soon followed by an even bigger hit with I'm In The Mood, Crawling Kingsnake and Hobo Blues. Another surge in John Lee Hooker's career took place with the release of more than 100 songs on Vee Jay Records during the 1950's and 1960's. Young British artist such as the Animals, John Mayall, and the Yardbirds introduced John Lee Hooker's sound to the new and eager audiences whose admiration and influence helped build John Lee Hooker to superstar status in the mid - 60's England. By 1970 John Lee Hooker had moved to California and worked on several projects with rock musicians, notably Van Morrison and Canned Heat. Canned Heat modeled their sound after John Lee Hooker's boogie and collaborated with him on several albums and tours. During the late 1970's and much of the 1980's, John Lee Hooker toured the U.S.A. and Europe steadily but grew disenchanted with recording, through his appearance in The Blues Brothers movie resulted in a heightened profile. Then, in 1989, The Healer was released to critical acclaim and sales in excess of a million copies. John Lee Hooker's career has been a series a highlights and special events since the release of The Healer. In 1990, many musical greats paid tribute to John Lee Hooker with a performance at Madison Square Garden. Joining him on some or all of these special occasions were artists such as Bonnie Raitt, Ry Cooder, Joe Cocker, Huey Newton, Carlos Santana, Robert Clay, Mick Fleetwood, Al Cooper, Johnny Winter, John Hammond, and the late Albert Collin and Willie Dixon. John Lee Hooker's 1991 induction into The Rock n' Roll Hall Of Fame was fitting for the man who has influenced countless fans and musicians. Honors continue, with recent inductions into Los Angeles' Rock Walk, The Bammies Walk Of Fame in San Francisco, and, in 1997, a star in The Hollywood Walk Of Fame. At the age of 80, John Lee Hooker received his third and fourth Grammy Awards, for Best Traditional Blues Recording Don't Look Back and for Best Pop Collaboration for the song Don't Look Back which Hooker recorded with his long time friend Van Morrison.
At the age of 83, John Lee Hooker died on June 21, 2001.

Home → Overview → Blues Artists → John Lee Hooker