John Lee Hooker

John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often incorporated other elements, including talking blues and early North Mississippi Hill country blues. He developed his own driving-rhythm boogie style, distinct from the 1930s–1940s piano-derived boogie-woogie.
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). Several of his later albums, including The Healer (1989), Mr. Lucky (1991), Chill Out (1995), and Don't Look Back (1997), were album chart successes in the U.S. and U.K. 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).
== Links to Peel ==
John Lee Hooker didn't seem to be one of Peel's favourites during the blues boom of the late 1960s, even if he did collaborate with Canned Heat on one LP and the backing band he used on his UK tours became Peel session artists and Sounds Of The Seventies favourites the Groundhogs. But in later decades, the DJ often featured Hooker's music on his shows, mostly from reissue albums of the singer's early work rather than the best-selling new LPs mentioned above. In 1992, Peel played Hooker’s 1960 single, No Shoes, which he was enjoying as part of a 6-CD Hooker retrospective from Charly R&B called The Vee-Jay Years 1955-1964, which Peel (like many blues critics) regarded as the singer's best period. Before playing No Shoes on his 29 May 1992 show he said:
"You can fill stadiums with all the equipment you can get and all of the dancing folk and backing singers and whatever you like, and you’re still not going to get anything that sounds as good as this."
In 1999, he nominated No Shoes as one of his Peelenium tracks for 1960 on his show.
== Shows Played ==
;1969
*26 March 1969: Crawling King Snake (LP - John Lee Hooker) Everest Records Archive Of Folk & Jazz Music
;1971
*08 May 1971 (& Canned Heat): Burning Hell (album - Hooker 'N Heat) Liberty LSP 103/4
*24 November 1971 (& Coast To Coast Blues Band): Just Like A Woman (LP – Any Where, Any Time, Any Place)
;1973
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*22 March 1973: No Place To Stay
*24 May 1973: Stomp Boogie
;1979
*Peel Late May 1979: I'm A Stranger (album - Travelin') Vee Jay LP 1023
*13 June 1979: I Wanna Walk (LP - Travelin') Vee Jay
*02 October 1979: John L's House Rent Boogie (7" - Howlin' Wolf / John L's House Rent Boogie) Modern Oldies
*23 October 1979: Weeping Willow (single)
*Peel Late October Early November 1979: Boogie Chillen' (7") Modern Oldies 45xMX4
;1980
*23 January 1980: I'm Going Upstairs (LP - The Folklore Of John Lee Hooker) Joy
*28 April 1980: unknown
*01 May 1980: Every Night
*03 May 1980 (BFBS): Hobo Blues
*26 June 1980: Can You Hear Me?
*13 October 1980: Crawling King Snake (album - This Is Hip) Charly
*28 October 1980: Dimples (LP - This Is Hip) Charly
;1981
*14 April 1981: I'm So Excited (album - Everybody Rockin') Oxford
*14 May 1981: Everybody Rockin' (Album: Everybody Rockin') (Oxford)
;1983
*Peel Late March to Early May 1983: Dimples
;1984
*Peel June To August 1984: Crawlin' King Snake
*26 August 1984 (BFBS): No Shoes (album - Solid Sender) Charly R&B CRB 1081
*Peel August September 1984: Run On (LP - Solid Sender) Charly R&B
;1985
*19 February 1985: Wobbling Baby
*24 February 1985 (BFBS): Drifting Blues
*03 June 1985: Tupelo (album - The Folk Blues Of John Lee Hooker) Riverside
;1986
*29 October 1986: Mad Man Blues (LP - Plays & Sings The Blues) Chess
*18 December 1986 (Andy Kershaw): Burning Hell (LP - Burning Hell) Riverside
;1987
*12 January 1987: How Can You Do It
*19 January 1987: No Place To Stay (LP - Johnny Lee Volume One) Greene Bottle
*06 February 1987 (BFBS): I Worked For Her Everyday
*10 February 1987: No Shoes
*11 February 1987: Solid Sender (LP - Solid Sender) Charly R&B
*Bill Brewster Mixtape 4: Boom Boom
;1988
*thumb|330x330px11 January 1988: Rock House Boogie
*25 July 1988: Stomp Boogie
*05 October 1988: No Shoe (LP - Solid Sender) Charly
*19 October 1988: I'm A Stranger (LP - Solid Sender) Charly R&B
*14 December 1988: Run On (LP - Travelin') Vee Jay
;1989
*08 November 1989: I'm Going Upstairs
*05 December 1989: No Shoes
;1990
*15 March 1990: Hey, 'S The House Rent Boogie! (album - The Detroit Lion) Demon
*03 April 1990: Four Women In My Life (album - The Detroit Lion) Demon
*18 April 1990: Do My Baby Think Of Me? (CD - The Detroit Lion) Demon
*28 April 1990 (BFBS): 'Four Women In My Life (CD-The Detroit Lion)' (Demon)
*19 May 1990 (BFBS): 'Four Women In My Life (CD-The Detroit Lion)' (Demon)
;1991
*20 July 1991: Sunny Land (album - Travelin') Vee Jay
*05 August 1991 (Ö3): 'Sunny Land (LP-Sings John Lee Hooker)' (Chess)
;1992
*29 May 1992: No Shoes
*07 June 1992 (BFBS): Solid Sender (LP - Travelin') (Joy Records)
;1994
*11 March 1994: Boogie Chillen (CD - Original Folk Blues) (Ace)
*19 March 1994 (BFBS): Boogie Chillen (CD - Original Folk Blues) (Ace)
*02 April 1994: Queen Bee (CD - Original Folk Blues) Ace
;1995
*11 March 1995: Hoogie Boogie (Various Artists Cassette - Abattoir Dogs) Vox Magazine
;1996
*08 December 1996: No Shoes (LP - Solid Sender) Charly
;1997
*09 April 1997: No Shoes
;1999
*12 October 1999: 'No Shoes (7"-Solid Sender)' (Vee-Jay) Peelenium 1960
;2001
*04 January 2001: Canal Street Blues (LP - Solid Sender) Charly
*07 January 2001 (BFBS): 'I'm A Stranger (LP-Travelin')' (Vee Jay)
*01 May 2001: Sally Mae (CD - House Rent Boogie) Ace
*15 May 2001: Numbers Blues (CD – House Rent Boogie) Ace
*24 May 2001 (Radio Eins): Numbers Blues (CD – House Rent Boogie) Ace
*03 June 2001 (BBC World Service): Numbers Blues (alt tke) (album - House Rent Boogie) Ace
*20 June 2001: Roll N Roll (CD - House Rent Boogie) Ace
*26 June 2001: Numbers Blues (CD - House Rent Boogie) Ace
*28 June 2001 (Radio Eins): Numbers Blues (CD - House Rent Boogie) Ace
*June 2001 (FSK): Sally Mae (CD - House Rent Boogie) Ace
*05 July 2001 (Radio Eins): How Can You Do It (CD - House Rent Boogie) Ace
*26 July 2001 (Radio Eins): It's Stormin' And Rainin' (CD - House Rent Boogie) Ace
;2002
*07 February 2002: Boogie Chillen
*27 August 2002: Tupelo (LP - Live at Newport) Vanguard
*10 September 2002: No Shoes (LP - Solid Sender) Charly
*19 September 2002 (Radio Mafia): No Shoes (LP - Solid Sender) Charly
*19 September 2002 (Radio Eins): No Shoes (album - Solid Sender) Charly
;2003
*27 March 2003: I'm Going Upstairs (LP - The Folklore of John Lee Hooker) Joy Records
*25 November 2003: Boogie Chillen’ (LP, Comp: Century of the Blues) Chrome Dreams
== See Also ==
*Disc & Music Echo: Peel Columns
*Sounds
== External Links ==
*Wikipedia
*Discogs
*Official Website
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