John Lee Hooker could be said to embody his own unique genre of the blues, often incorporating the boogie-woogie piano style and a driving rhythm into his masterful and idiosyncratic blues guitar and singing. His best known songs include "Boogie Chillen" (1948) and "Boom Boom" (1962).
There is some debate as to the year of John Lee Hooker's birth, 1915, 1917, 1920, and 1923 have all been cited, 1917 (the date on his grave marker in Oakland, California) is the one most commonly cited although Hooker himself claimed, at times, 1920.
Hooker was the youngest of the eleven children of William Hooker (1871–1923), a sharecropper and a Baptist preacher, and Minnie Ramsey (1875–?).
Hooker and his siblings were home-schooled. They were permitted to listen only to religious songs, with his earliest musical exposure being the spirituals sung in church.
In 1921, his parents separated. The next year, his mother married William Moore, a blues singer who provided John's first introduction to the guitar (and whom John would later credit for his distinctive playing style). The year after that (1923), John's natural father died; and at age 15, John ran away from home, never to see his mother and stepfather again.
He was a cousin of Earl Hooker,
Throughout the 1930s, Hooker lived in Memphis where he worked on Beale Street and occasionally performed at house parties. He worked in factories in various cities during World War II, drifting until he found himself in Detroit in 1948 working at Ford Motor Company. He felt right at home near the blues venues and saloons on Hastings Street, the heart of black entertainment on Detroit's east side. In a city noted for its piano players, guitar players were scarce. Performing in Detroit clubs, his popularity grew quickly, and seeking a louder instrument than his crude acoustic guitar, he bought his first electric guitar.
Though he stuttered slightly in his normal speech, he performed in a half-spoken style that became his trademark. Rhythmically, his music was free, a property common with early acoustic Delta blues musicians. His vocal phrasing was less closely tied to specific bars than most blues singers'. This casual, rambling style had been gradually diminishing with the onset of electric blues bands from Chicago but, even when not playing solo, Hooker retained it in his sound.
Hooker's recording career began in 1948 with the hit single, "Boogie Chillen" cut in a studio near Wayne State University.
Despite being illiterate, he was a prolific lyricist. In addition to adapting the occasionally traditional blues lyric (such as "if I was chief of police, I would run her right out of town"), he freely invented many of his songs from scratch. Recording studios in the 50s rarely paid black musicians more than a pittance, so Hooker would spend the night wandering from studio to studio, coming up with new songs or variations on his songs for each studio. Due to his recording contract, he would record these songs under obvious pseudonyms such as "John Lee Booker," "Johnny Hooker", or "John Cooker".
His early solo songs were recorded under Bernie Besman.
John Lee Hooker rarely played on a standard beat, changing tempo to fit the needs of the song. This made it nearly impossible to add backing tracks. As a result, Besman would record Hooker, in addition to playing guitar and singing, stomping along with the music on a wooden palette.
John Lee Hooker's guitar playing is closely aligned with piano Boogie Woogie. He would play the walking bass pattern with his thumb, stopping to emphasize the end of a line with a series of trills, done by rapid hammer-ons and pull-offs. The songs that most epitomize his early sound are "Boogie Chillen," about being 17 and wanting to go out to dance at the Boogie clubs, "Baby Please Don't Go," a more typical blues song, summed up by its title, and "Tupelo," a stunningly sad song about the flooding of Tupelo, Mississippi.
He maintained a solo career, popular with blues and folk music fans of the early 1960s and crossed over to white audiences, giving an early opportunity to the young Bob Dylan. As he got older, he added more and more people to his band, changing his live show from simply Hooker with his guitar to a large band, with Hooker singing.
In 1989 he joined with a number of musicians, including Keith Richards and Carlos Santana to record The Healer, which won a Grammy award — one of many awards.
He fell ill just before a tour of Europe in 2001 and died soon afterwards at the age of 83.
Hooker recorded over 100 albums and lived the last years of his life in San Francisco, California, where he licensed a nightclub to use the name Boom Boom Room, after one of his hits.
Among his many awards, John Lee Hooker has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 1991 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Two of his songs, "Boogie Chillen" and "Boom Boom" were named to the list of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
John Lee recorded several songs with Van Morrison, including "Never Get Out of These Blues Alive", "The Healing Game" and "I Cover the Waterfront". He also appeared on stage with Van Morrison several times, some of which was released on the live album "A Night in San Francisco".
John Lee also recorded in the sixties with british blues band The Groundhogs. These recordings are still available as a CD "John Lee Hooker with The Groundhogs". More importantly, Hooker recorded with the Blues-rock outfit Canned Heat, delivering the album 'Hooker N' Heat' in 1971. Hooker was influential and topical even in his lifetime, as evidenced in the MC5 cover of "Motor City's Burning" on their first album, recorded almost immediately after the riots which are the song's topic.
Ain't No Big Thing
John Lee Hooker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Can’t tell you what to do
You, you, ain't no big thing
Ain't no big thing, baby
I can replace you right away
Every man in town
Tryin’ 'a find a good woman
Be, replaced right away, yea you can
You, you, you, you, you, you
Can be replaced, right away
Every man, every man, is tryin' 'a find
A good woman
Yea, yea, when I first met you
You did and lived shameful yes you didn't
Hey when I first met you baby, you
You live shameful i brought you up here
Can't tell you what to do no more
I can't tell you, what to do no more
Do no more no I can't
Big city, and bright lights
Have gone to your head
Hey, big city, and bright lights, have gone
To your head
Now I can’t tell you, what to do no more
No more, no more, no more yea, yea
You, you, you you, you, you, you, you
Got dog you, you, you, you
You, baby, you you, you, you, you
Have mercy
I’m gon' take you back back to lowland baby
Where I brought you from
Yea, I’m gon' turn you back
Turn you back, to lowland, lowland
Where I brought you from, brought you from
And I can't tell you, what to do
What to do, no more, no more, no more
Have mercy
Have mercy well, well
Well, well, well well well
You, you, you, you you, you, you
You, you ain't no big thing, baby
I can’t tell you, what to do no more mm hm
The lyrics of John Lee Hooker's song "Ain't No Big Thing" convey a sense of frustration and disappointment in a relationship that has gone sour. The singer addresses their partner, stating that they are not as significant or important as they may think they are. They assert that they cannot control or dictate the actions of their partner any longer. The repetition of the phrase "ain't no big thing" emphasizes the insignificance of the relationship and the ease with which the singer believes they can replace their partner.
The lyrics also touch upon the idea that there are many men in town who are searching for a good woman, implying that the partner is replaceable and not unique or special. The singer expresses a sense of hurt or betrayal, mentioning that when they first met their partner, they behaved shamefully, but the singer still brought them into their life. However, now the singer realizes they cannot continue to exert control or influence over their partner's actions.
Line by Line Meaning
You ain't no big thing, baby
You hold no significant value in my life, baby
Can’t tell you what to do
I have lost the ability to control your actions
You, you, ain't no big thing
You, you are not an important presence
Ain't no big thing, baby
You are not a significant entity, baby
I can replace you right away
I can easily find a substitute for you immediately
Every man in town
All men in this town
Tryin’ 'a find a good woman
Are attempting to discover a respectable woman
You, you, you, you, can
You, you, you, you, have the capability to
Be, replaced right away, yea you can
Be substituted promptly, yes, you possess that ability
You, you, you, you, you, you
You, you, you, you, you, you
Can be replaced, right away
Can be substituted immediately
Every man, every man, is tryin' 'a find
All men, all men, are attempting to discover
A good woman
A respectable woman
Yea, yea, when I first met you
Yes, yes, when I initially encountered you
You did and lived shameful yes you didn't
You acted and behaved disgracefully, yes, you did
Hey when I first met you baby, you
Hey, when I initially encountered you, baby, you
You live shameful i brought you up here
You have been living shamefully, I elevated you to this position
Can't tell you what to do no more
I am no longer able to instruct or guide your actions
I can't tell you, what to do no more
I have lost the ability to influence your choices
Do no more no I can't
I cannot command you any longer, no, I cannot
Big city, and bright lights
Metropolis, with its dazzling illumination
Have gone to your head
Have influenced and affected your thinking
Hey, big city, and bright lights, have gone
Hey, metropolis, and dazzling illumination, have influenced
To your head
To your train of thought
Now I can’t tell you, what to do no more
Now I am incapable of dictating your actions
No more, no more, no more yea, yea
No longer, no longer, not anymore, yes, yes
You, you, you you, you, you, you, you
You, you, you, you, you, you, you, you
Got dog you, you, you, you
Oh my goodness, you, you, you, you
You, baby, you you, you, you, you
You, baby, you, you, you, you
Have mercy
Show some compassion or forgiveness
I’m gon' take you back back to lowland baby
I will return you back to the humble beginnings, baby
Where I brought you from
Where I originated you from
Yea, I’m gon' turn you back
Yes, I will revert you back
Turn you back, to lowland, lowland
Revert you back, to a humble and modest place
Where I brought you from, brought you from
The place I originated you from, where I took you from
And I can't tell you, what to do
And I am unable to instruct or guide your actions
What to do, no more, no more, no more
What actions to take, no longer, no longer, not anymore
Have mercy
Show some compassion or forgiveness
Have mercy well, well
Show some compassion or forgiveness, well, well
Well, well, well well well
Well, well, well, well, well
You, you, you, you you, you, you
You, you, you, you, you, you, you
You, you ain't no big thing, baby
You, you hold no significant value, baby
I can’t tell you, what to do no more mm hm
I am no longer able to instruct or guide your actions, mm hm
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: John Hooker
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind