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.
Big Less Tight Skirt
John Lee Hooker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You know they're so tight they can hardly wiggle
Ha, and big legs too you know)
Everywhere I go, there's a mini skirt there
Everywhere I go, there's a mini skirt there
Tight skirts, tight skirts, everywhere
Oh yeah
I go walkin' in the park, there's a mini skirt there
Mini skirt, tight skirts, everywhere
Yeah yeah, mini skirt, mini skirt, way up above the knee
Way up, above the knee, yeah yeah, yeah yeah, above
I go to strollin' in the park, I see mini skirts out there
I go out in the park, I see mini skirts out there
Mini skirts, mini skirts, everywhere
Yeah, look-a here now
I go walking down the avenue, I see out there, mini skirts
Way up 'bove the knee
Mini skirts, mini skirts, everywhere
Yeah, I'm talkin' 'bout, mini skirt
And tight, skirt,
And big legs
Strollin' down the avenue
I can't stand it
"Big Less Tight Skirt" is a classic blues song by John Lee Hooker that celebrates the beauty of the female form, particularly the mini skirts and tight dresses that were popular in the 1960s. The song is a lively, up-tempo number that features Hooker's signature boogie rhythm and his distinctive growling vocals. The lyrics are a playful and suggestive ode to the allure of the mini skirt, with Hooker describing how he sees them everywhere he goes, from the park to the streets of the city.
The song is significant not just for its catchy melody and infectious rhythm, but for what it represents in the context of its time. The 1960s were a time of great social and cultural change, and the rise of the mini skirt was one of the most visible symbols of this transformation. By celebrating the mini skirt and the women who wore them, Hooker was tapping into a broader cultural trend that was challenging traditional gender roles and pushing the boundaries of what was considered socially acceptable.
Overall, "Big Less Tight Skirt" is an entertaining and upbeat blues number that captures the spirit of a very specific moment in time. It is one of Hooker's most enduring songs, and a testament to his ability to capture the zeitgeist and distill it into a few simple but powerful lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
Mini skirts and tight dresses,
John Lee Hooker observes that there are many people wearing mini skirts and tight dresses.
You know they're so tight they can hardly wiggle
The clothing is so tight that the people wearing them are unable to move freely.
Ha, and big legs too you know)
In addition to the tight skirts, Hooker comments on the prevalence of women with big legs.
Everywhere I go, there's a mini skirt there
Hooker notices that mini skirts are present in many places he goes.
Tight skirts, tight skirts, everywhere
The prevalence of tight skirts is emphasized.
Oh yeah
An expression of agreement and enthusiasm.
I go walkin' in the park, there's a mini skirt there
Even in a park setting, mini skirts are still present.
Mini skirt, tight skirts, everywhere
A repetition of the observation that tight skirts are prevalent.
Yeah yeah, mini skirt, mini skirt, way up above the knee
Hooker notes that the mini skirts are particularly short and extend above the knee.
Way up, above the knee, yeah yeah, yeah yeah, above
The repetition of 'above the knee' emphasizes how short the mini skirts are.
I go to strollin' in the park, I see mini skirts out there
Again, Hooker observes mini skirts in the park.
Mini skirts, mini skirts, everywhere
A repeated observation of the prevalence of mini skirts.
Yeah, look-a here now
Hooker is drawing attention to his observation.
I go walking down the avenue, I see out there, mini skirts
Hooker sees mini skirts while walking on the street.
Mini skirts, mini skirts, everywhere
A repetition of the theme that mini skirts are prevalent.
Yeah, I'm talkin' 'bout, mini skirt
Hooker wants to emphasize that he is specifically talking about mini skirts.
And tight, skirt,
Hooker describes the close-fitting nature of the skirts.
And big legs
Hooker once again mentions the prevalence of women with big legs, which contrasts with the tight skirts.
Strollin' down the avenue
A description of Hooker's progress down the street.
I can't stand it
This could be interpreted as Hooker expressing admiration or desire, or it could be a sarcastic comment on the overwhelming presence of mini skirts and tight clothing.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: JOHN LEE HOOKER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Desertcat
It reels and it rocks. Love it! Best version of this song, too.
Shannon Tharpa Doyle
Great version- yes- but I’ve got a bad addiction to the old one with the superb bass drums backup and Johnny just brilliant and spot on in his singular playing- and one of the best minimalist breaks ever.
Having said that, this is great too. I assume that’s Ry Cooder?
RV Kinz
I was looking for the Cooder version...yeaaa ..nice!!!!
Geoffrey Cushing-Murray
This is the Cooder version
Ron Anguiano
Athena, where are you? (chomp slurp, chomp)
dato mgeladze
such a shame 7k wievs,when gay bieber has 700 million
mdirtydogg
dato mgeladze Very well said.
Robert Harper
mdirtydogg Except the "gay" part ...