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.
I Ain't Got Nobody
John Lee Hooker Lyrics
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I've seen your glances been wondering what my chances would be
If I came to your table would I be able to say
The right words to hold you, the right words to take you away?
'Cause I ain't got nobody
And you look like somebody
Who needs somebody
You don't need to tell me what made you come in here tonight
I sure have missed you and seing you again is a pretty sight
Maybe I was wrong, who cares who is wrong or who is right?
Let's pretend it never happened, let me take you back home tonight
'Cause I ain't got nobody
And you look like somebody
Who needs somebody
Who wants somebody just like me
In John Lee Hooker's song "I Ain't Got Nobody," the singer finds himself intrigued by a woman he sees sitting alone, just like himself. He wonders if she's been watching him too and if he would have a chance with her if he were to approach her. He acknowledges that he doesn't have anyone in his life right now, but it seems to him that she's someone who needs somebody, specifically someone like him. He goes on to tell her he doesn't need to hear why she came to the bar that night, but seeing her again is a sight for sore eyes. He suggests that perhaps their previous interaction didn't go as planned (though he never explicitly mentions what exactly happened), but that they should pretend it never happened because he'd like to take her home with him. The song, ultimately, revolves around the idea that two people who are alone and feeling lost may just need each other to feel whole again.
The lyrics of "I Ain't Got Nobody" capture the feelings of loneliness and longing that can come with being single. They also touch on the idea that sometimes, despite past mistakes or perceived incompatibilities, people may find they are exactly what the other needs. Musically, the song is a prime example of Hooker's Delta blues style, featuring his signature guitar sound and vocals. Overall, "I Ain't Got Nobody" is a blues love song that captures the essence of what it feels like to want someone in your life.
Line by Line Meaning
I've been watching you sitting there alone Just like me
I have noticed you sitting alone, just like I am.
I've seen your glances been wondering what my chances would be
I have observed the way you look at me and wondered if you are open to the possibility of us getting together.
If I came to your table would I be able to say
If I approached you now, would I have the right words to catch your attention?
The right words to hold you, the right words to take you away?
The words which will make you feel important and special, and will convince you to come with me.
'Cause I ain't got nobody
Because I have nobody special in my life.
And you look like somebody
You seem like someone who might be open to a romantic relationship.
Who needs somebody
Someone who needs companionship and love.
Who wants somebody just like me
Someone who desires a partner with qualities like mine.
You don't need to tell me what made you come in here tonight
There is no need to explain your reason for being here to me.
I sure have missed you and seeing you again is a pretty sight
I have missed you and I am glad to see you again, as you look attractive to me.
Maybe I was wrong, who cares who is wrong or who is right?
Perhaps I was mistaken or made a mistake earlier, but now it doesn't matter who is at fault.
Let's pretend it never happened, let me take you back home tonight
Let us move on from the past and I will escort you back to your place of residence tonight.
Contributed by Isabella L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.