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.
Boogie Chillen
John Lee Hooker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh, Lord
Well, my mama 'low me just to stay out all night long
I didn't care she 'low, I would boogie anyhow
When I first came to town, people, I was walkin' down Hastings Street
Everybody was talkin' about the Henry Swing Club
I decided I drop in there that night
They was really havin' a ball
Yes, I know
Boogie Chillen'
One night I was layin' down
I heard mama and papa talkin'
I heard papa tell mama let that boy boogie-woogie
It's in him and it got to come out
And I felt so good
Went on boogin' just the same
The lyrics of "Boogie Chillen" by John Lee Hooker describe the main character's love of boogie music and staying out all night to dance to it. He loves it so much that he doesn't care what his mother thinks - he's going to dance all night long. When he first comes to town, he hears about a club called the Henry Swing Club, and decides to check it out. When he gets there, he finds everyone having a great time, and the music is irresistible to him. The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "Boogie Chillen'" over and over, emphasizing the importance of the boogie music to the character's life.
The second verse of the song is interesting because it tells a little more about the character's family. He overhears his parents talking, and his father tells his mother to let the boy boogie-woogie because it's in him and he has to let it out. This shows that the love of music runs in the family, and that it's important to them both. The character himself feels so good from the music that he keeps dancing all night, despite what his parents may think. The message of this song is clear - music can make you feel alive and happy, and it's worth pursuing even if it's not what everyone else thinks you should be doing.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, my mama 'low me just to stay out all night long
My mother allows me to stay out all night and does not put any restriction on me.
Oh, Lord
An expression of mild surprise or shock..
I didn't care she 'low, I would boogie anyhow
I was not worried about my mother's permission, and I would still dance all night.
When I first came to town, people, I was walkin' down Hastings Street
When I first arrived in town, I walked down Hastings Street.
Everybody was talkin' about the Henry Swing Club
People all over the place were saying many things about the Henry Swing Club.
I decided I drop in there that night
I decided to go to the club that night.
When I got there, I say, "Yes, people"
I exclaimed joyfully when I arrived, "Yes, people!"
They was really havin' a ball
They were really enjoying themselves.
Yes, I know
I acknowledge that it was a good time for all.
Boogie Chillen'
A refrain of the song.
One night I was layin' down
One night, I was lying down to rest.
I heard mama and papa talkin'
I heard my parents talking.
I heard papa tell mama let that boy boogie-woogie
My father said to my mother, to permit me to dance the boogie-woogie.
It's in him and it got to come out
My father said it's in my nature to dance and I cannot avoid it.
And I felt so good
It made me feel good.
Went on boogin' just the same
I continued to dance the boogie-woogie just the same.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BESMAN, HOOKER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@nathanfulcher538
The book the War of Art brought me here.
The Joe Rogan Podcast brought me to the War of Art.
My Latvian friend and old colleague from the timber yard brought my attention to the Joe Rogan Podcast.
Walking out on my previous fast food job in a fit of rage brought me to the timber yard.
Is my boogie woogie ever gonna come out?
I have no rhythm.
But I know it's in me.
@dzakynan
Well my mama she didn't 'low me
Just to stay out all night long, oh Lord
Well my mama didn't 'low me
Just to stay out all night long
I didn't care what she didn't 'low
I would boogie-woogie anyhow
When I first came to town people
I was walkin' down Hastings Street
Everybody was talkin' about the Henry Swing Club
I decided I drop in there that night
When I got there, I say, "Yes, people"
They was really havin' a ball!
Yes, I know
Boogie Chillin
One night I was layin' down
I heard mama 'n papa talkin'
I heard papa tell mama
Let that boy boogie-woogie
It's in him, and it got to come out
And I felt so good
Went on boogie'n just the same
@IchbinMarc
My good friend Andreas Lingsch showed me this song and I can't stop listening to it
@kommentierenbiszudenohren3869
Hehe. Jeah!
@Silverdragon83X
Genau den Kommentar habe ich gesucht!
@krispy6796
My good friend mental slavery turned me on to this
@crazydrive18
Kann mir jemand erklären, was es mit diesem Andreas Lingsch in den Kommentaren auf sich hat?
@crazydrive18
@@Silverdragon83X vielleicht du? 😂
@Bob-cn4fj
This masterpiece was recently presented by the famous german show host Mr. Anderson Lingsch.
@kommentierenbiszudenohren3869
Rocket Beans TV
@kamuelalee
Fahrvergnügen
@belsenwasagaser3721
I don't know