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.
No Friend Around
John Lee Hooker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Way down in Jackson, Tennessee.
Want my body buried now, people.
Way down in Jackson, Tennessee.
Don't you know-ooh, T.B. is killin' me.
Don't you know, don't you know
T.B. is killin' me.
I didn't even have a friend aound.
On my bed of affliction
Didn't even have a friend around.
No, I didn't!
Yes, I lay down cryin', cryin' to the good Lord above.
I said, 'Lord, have mercy'
'Have mercy Lord, if you please.'
I said, 'Ain't gonna cry no more.'
Mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm, mmm-mmm-mmm.
In John Lee Hooker's song No Friend Around, the singer expresses their desire to be buried in Jackson, Tennessee, due to their struggle with tuberculosis. The lyrics suggest that this illness has taken a toll on the singer's body, and even though they are aware that they might not survive, they are at peace with their impending death. The lyrics "Don't you know, T.B. is killin' me" emphasize the severity of the singer's condition and their acceptance of it. Despite their pain and suffering, the singer acknowledges the power of God and seeks mercy and comfort in Him. The line "Didn't even have a friend around" suggests that the singer may feel isolated and alone in their struggle with illness. However, they find solace in their faith and overcome their sadness, as seen in the line "I said, ain't gonna cry no more."
Overall, the song is a reflection on the inevitability of death and the power of faith in providing comfort during difficult times. The lyrics depict the struggles of an individual facing a seemingly insurmountable illness, but also highlight the resilience and strength of the human spirit in the face of adversity.
Line by Line Meaning
Yes, I want my body buried
The singer expresses his desire to be buried.
Way down in Jackson, Tennessee
The singer specifies the location where he wants to be buried.
Want my body buried now, people
The singer emphasizes the immediacy of his request.
Don't you know, T.B. is killin' me
The artist reveals that he is suffering from tuberculosis and is near death.
Don't you know, don't you know
The repetition of the question emphasizes the severity of the situation.
Say, I was on my bed of affliction
The singer provides further details of his circumstance - he is bedridden and suffering greatly.
I didn't even have a friend around
The singer laments the fact that he is completely alone and friendless.
On my bed of affliction
The artist restates his situation, reinforcing his sadness and hopelessness.
Didn't even have a friend around, no, I didn't
The artist reiterates his isolation, emphasizing his complete lack of support.
Yes, I lay down cryin', cryin' to the good Lord above
The artist describes how he has turned to a higher power for comfort.
I said, Lord, have mercy
The singer pleads for mercy from God, showing his desperation.
Have mercy Lord, if you please
The artist begs for divine intervention, emphasizing his dire situation.
I said, ain't gonna cry no more
The singer expresses his desire to find peace and acceptance with the inevitability of his death.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BERNARD BESMAN, JOHN LEE HOOKER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind