Let That Boy Boogie-Woogie
“Life would be impossible if everything was remembered. The secret is knowing how to choose what should be forgotten.”-Roger Martin du Gard
Today is the birthday of one of the great recording artists of the 20th century, John Lee Hooker. The master of the oh-so-cool trenchant riff, that infectious swing that helped define the blues…and helped influence folk, rock ‘n’ roll. John Lee Hooker, stoically sitting, armed with his stringed machine barely motioning his lips when talking through his classic compositions. During his career which spanned from the late ‘40s through the early 21st century, John Lee Hooker (a name that just feels great to say in its entirety) released dozens of records on the greatest labels, introduced the world to his sounds, and the music of countless others, through touring and touring and touring, being both accessible to his audience yet still dangerous, with that foreboding gaze he branded as he performed night after night…always bringing a little mystery to the night.
John Lee Hooker’s style was unique…being born in the Mississippi delta, with that famous delta blues style everywhere around him, yet only allowed to listen to spiritual music. He grew up being deeply influenced by his stepfather, William Moore, who played with a more primitive-bent than usually found in the delta: a droned out style closer to that of the Hill Country. Listen to John Lee Hooker’s classic recording Boogie Chillen’ and hear something that doesn’t fit with the the deliberate picking of the delta or the infinite boogie of the Hill Country. It is a sound that is all his own, that he electrified in Detroit, after landing a job at the Ford Motor Company, and that he took with him to Chicago and then the world. He was one of the greatest.
In honor of his birthday, lets look and listen to a few of his records that highlight his great and prolific recording career (this list is in no way supposed to be a complete one):
Boogie Chillen’ (1948, Modern Records): It all starts here, and what a beginning. John Lee Hooker’s first release and one of his most well-known recordings. Talking about that one-of-a-kind style? He showcases it here, with its grit and drive, introducing it and himself to the blues world (photo by Josh Rosenthal, who just last week scored a pristine copy). Boogie Chillen’ is the b-side to Sally May…who said the A-side is always the best side.
House Of The Blues (Chess, 1959): John Lee Hooker joined the Chess family in the 1950s and this release is a compilation of the great Chess singles he released. That being said: it really plays well as a whole…and is a great statement on John Lee Hooker’s early period.
It Serve You Right To Suffer (Impulse, 1966): This is my most-often go-to John Lee Hooker release, and his only one on Jazz label Impulse Records. Produced by Impulse’s Bob Thiele who put together a band of jazzbos to back him, like Barry Galbraith on bass, who played with Miles Davis and Coleman Hawkins, and Panama Francis on drums (who trapped for Roy Eldridge and Tab Smith): It Serve You Right To Suffer shows John Lee Hooker digging deep into his repertoire while recording a record that is rich with the hard drive of his rhythm.
Burnin’ (Vee Jay, 1962): John Lee Hooker’s tenure on Vee Jay included one of his most beloved songs, Boom Boom, that he reprised so brilliantly in The Blues Brothers film. With the Funk Brothers backing him up, Burnin’ is a crowning achievement for the electrified Hooker.
Endless Boogie (ABC, 1971): I came to this release late…hearing it first while record shopping in Las Vegas. The title says it all: Endless Boogie is ALL ABOUT the long long jams, with Hooker in lock step with a group of killer studio musicians (including Steve Miller) to create sometimes side-long recordings with the boss improvising atop the infectious riffs. This is the record that offers the get-lost-in-the-Hooker experience. Tune in, groove out.
What is your favorite John Lee Hooker record?
The Sideshow Magician Who Inspired Ray Bradbury—Then Vanished
Who was Mr. Electro!?!?!!? The kind of question you never knew to ask but deep down you wanted to find out. This is a great article.
From the archives: Brice Marden and Chris Ofili in conversation
With the passing of Brice Marden, Artforum has republished an old interview with him and fellow artist Chris Ofili that goes deep into artistic process, storytelling, other great artists and poets and their influence…
COMPLETE DAVID EVANS COLLECTION
Adam Lore (of the great 50 Miles of Elbow Room) told me about this site. David Evans is one of the great Mississippi musicologists…and this collection….including hours and hours of recordings from the 60s and 70s…is a Holy Grail of blues, roots and gospel music. Be warned: this is a big big rabbit hole….and so good!
August
By: Dorothy Parker
When my eyes are weeds,
And my lips are petals, spinning
Down the wind that has beginning
Where the crumpled beeches start
In a fringe of salty reeds;
When my arms are elder-bushes,
And the rangy lilac pushes
Upward, upward through my heart;
Summer, do your worst!
Light your tinsel moon, and call on
Your performing stars to fall on
Headlong through your paper sky;
Nevermore shall I be cursed
By a flushed and amorous slattern,
With her dusty laces' pattern
Trailing, as she straggles by. 
Today marks the 75th anniversary of the passing of Roger Martin du Gard. He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1937 (by all accounts, a surprise) and whose legacy is not woven (at least as far as I can tell) into the text books of college lit majors or mentioned, even in passing, within journalistic affairs. Has anyone out there read his novels? His multi-volume masterwork The Thibaults?
Hooker 'N Heat. Because until then I had never heard of of John Lee Hooker.
In the mid-80's, I got to see John Lee Hooker at an outdoor show in Memphis. I was in my early 20's and not really into a lot of the popular music of the time. I was more interested in the roots than the branches so it was a big thrill for me to see him. I walked around a corner of the stage where he was going to play, and there he was sitting in a Ford van, door open, drinking a beer. I froze. All I could think of to say was, "The Hook!" He gave me a glare, then smiled and growled, "Yeah, boy." It was truly one of those come-to-Jesus moments.