JOHN LEE HOOKERSinger, guitarist and songwriter John Lee Hooker recorded morethan 100 albums before his death on 21 June, 2001.Although he produced a sound similar to that of early Delta blues,Mr Hooker’s music was rhythmically free, influenced by boogie-woogie music and hislyrics half-spoken.His high regard within the music world was ever-apparent,with collaborations with artists such as Van Morrison and Canned Heat raisinghis credibility higher and higher.But his own ability to honour Deep-south blues, while pushing theboundaries of genres, is what has captivated fellow musicians and listeners alikethroughout the decades,Born on 22 August, 1917, near Clarksdale Mississippi, he camefrom a musical family, being a cousin of fellow bluesman Earl Hooker and astepson of local musician William Moore, from whom he heard the droning styleof one-chord blues that would form a major part of his own style.When his birth father died, he ran away from home at the ageof 15 and – after a period of working in factories in various cities – beganworking at Ford Motor Company in Detroit in the early 1940s, where he began performing in the city’s abundance of blackmusic clubsMr Hooker hit his lucky break when he was heard by record store ownerElmer Barbee, who introduced him to Bernard Bresman, the owner of Sensationrecords.During 1948, he released Boogie Chillen, which became a number-onejukebox hit and his first million-selling piece and was fast followed byfurther hits such as I’m In The Mood, Crawling Kingsnake and Hobo Blues.When the swinging sixties began, he became an ever-greaterpresence on the music scene, as he gained popularity in England and won the admiration ofother artists who were keen to work with him and were heavily influenced by hisdistinctive style.Having had his fill of recording for the time being, he spent asubstantial part of the 1970s and 1980s on tour throughout the US and Europe and reached out to even more audiences with an appearance in the Blues Brothersfilm.But he had far from had his day and in 1989 collaborated witha number of other artists to release The Healer, which sold more than a millioncopies and kickstarted the most successful period of his career.He went on to release widely acclaimed albums such as Mr. Lucky,Boom Boom, Chill Out, Don’t Look Back and Best of Friends before moving to theSan Franciso Bay area and opening a nightclub called John Lee Hooker’s BoomBoom Room.Mr Hooker died at the age of 83 just before he was due to go on atour of Europe in 2001 and after what would be, fittingly, his last song – AliD’Oro – a collaboration with Italian singer Zucchero in which Mr Hooker sang thechorus “I lay down with an angel”.Although he boasted many acknowledgements including a star on Hollywood ’s Walk of Fame, severalGrammy Awards and a foundation set up by his family in his memory, probably hisbiggest compliment is his enduring influence on fellow artists.Despite having eight children and 19 grandchildren of his own, he once said: “ You know, I feel like I'm the father of awhole lot of people. I'm not their real dad, but I am their (musical) dad. Theyknow that and so do I.”
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