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 Substitute
John Lee Hooker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The facts of life
'Cause I know all about it,
'Cause I been through it a many times
Ain't no substitute, there's no substitute,
Substitute for love
When your woman gone,
There's nothin' else can,
But there's no substitute, substitute for love
No, no
Love will make you gamble
Love will make you drink
Make you stay out all night long,
Lookin' for love
But there's no, no substitute,
Substitute, substitute for love
I want to tell you a story,
True, true, true story about love
Many times, many times, over 'n over, over in life,
So many people have tried, tried, to get a substitute
An' it just don't work, work on love
You may not be good looking,
You may not be so fine
But love, love, love love, love, love,
Is a burning thing
It's a burning thing
I know, I know, I know, I know,
I been down, down, in a ring of fire
Lookin' for a love,
I couldn't find, I couldn't find a substitute,
Uh, for love, for love, I cried, cried
I cried, cried but it just wasn't there,
Just wasn't there
The lyrics of John Lee Hooker's song "No Substitute" speak about the coveted emotion of love and its irreplaceable essence. Hooker tells the story of how love is a feeling that cannot be substituted by anything else, no matter how much one may try. In the song, Hooker's personal experiences give rise to a vivid portrayal of how love can make people do things they otherwise wouldn't. Drinking, gambling, and staying out all night are things Hooker did while looking for love. Hooker suggests that regardless of what one tries, nothing can replace the feeling of being in love
Moreover, Hooker accentuates the idea that love is a "burning thing." Even though one may lack physical beauty, one's love can conquer all. The lyrics suggest that love is an experience that often involves pain and heartache. The chorus of the song repeats the premise that there is not a single substitute for love.
In essence, Hooker's lyrics highlight the importance of love in human life. The song tells the story of how love is something that people can't do without, and how it is impossible to replace that feeling.
Line by Line Meaning
I want to tell you a true story
The singer is setting up the song as a personal tale of experience.
The facts of life
He intends to present the harsh reality of love and loss.
'Cause I know all about it,
He has firsthand knowledge and can impart wisdom.
'Cause I been through it a many times
He has suffered the pain of love's absence multiple times.
Ain't no substitute, there's no substitute,
Nothing can take the place of love; nothing else will do.
Substitute for love
The singer repeats the refrain to underscore this point.
When your woman gone,
The loss of a loved one creates a void.
There's nothin' else can,
Nothing else can fill that hole in your life.
Can take her place
No one can replace the depth of feeling the woman brought to his life.
But there's no substitute, substitute for love
The point is reiterated, that love is incomparable and unique.
Love will make you gamble
The risk of loss is part of love's territory.
Love will make you drink
The pain of love can drive one to seek solace in alcohol.
Make you stay out all night long,
Searching for love can consume all of one's time and energy.
Lookin' for love
The quest for love is a constant preoccupation.
But there's no, no substitute,
The refrain repeats, emphasizing the unique value of love.
Substitute, substitute for love
Love cannot be replaced; it has no parallel.
I want to tell you a story,
The singer reiterates his intention of imparting important wisdom.
True, true, true story about love
He emphasizes the authenticity and truthfulness of his message.
Many times, many times, over 'n over, over in life,
The singer has experienced love and loss repeatedly throughout his life.
So many people have tried, tried, to get a substitute
Others have tried in vain to find a substitute for love.
An' it just don't work, work on love
Love defies replacement; nothing else will suffice.
You may not be good looking,
External qualities are of no consequence when it comes to love.
You may not be so fine
The depth of character and connection are more significant than outward appearances.
But love, love, love love, love, love,
Repeating the word emphasizes its significance.
Is a burning thing
Love ignites passion, fire, and energy within a person.
I know, I know, I know, I know,
The singer has experienced this firsthand and knows it to be true.
I been down, down, in a ring of fire
The singer has been consumed by love's passion and pain.
Lookin' for a love,
The quest for love is all-encompassing.
I couldn't find, I couldn't find a substitute,
The singer searched in vain for anything to replace the love he lost.
Uh, for love, for love, I cried, cried
The deep emotional pain of losing love and its irreplaceability is underscored.
I cried, cried but it just wasn't there,
Despite the singer's attempts, nothing could fill the void left by lost love.
Just wasn't there
The song ends with the devastating realization that love cannot be replaced.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind