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.
Rainy Day
John Lee Hooker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Blues before sunrise, tears standing in my eyes
Blues before sunrise, with tears standing in my eyes
Such a harbored feeling, boys, I do despise
I have to leave, leave you baby, because you know you done me wrong
I have to leave you baby, because you know you done me wrong
I have to leave, leave you baby, I'm gonna leave you all alone
I'm gonna leave you baby, I'm gonna leave you all alone
I'm gonna pack up and leave you darling, because you know you done me wrong
Well now goodbye, goodbye baby, I'll see you on some rainy day
Well now goodbye baby, I'll see you on some rainy day
You can go ahead now little darling, 'cause I want you to have your way
The lyrics to "Rainy Day" by John Lee Hooker tell the story of a man who is feeling unhappy and betrayed in his relationship. The title of the song may symbolize the feeling of sadness that comes with a rainy day, as well as the uncertainty and gloominess that comes with the end of a relationship. The first line, "Blues before sunrise, tears standing in my eyes" sets the tone for the song, implying that the singer is feeling down and emotional. He describes a "harbored feeling" that he despises, suggesting that he is harboring feelings of anger or sadness that he wants to get rid of.
The chorus of the song repeats the idea that he needs to leave his partner because she has done him wrong. He plans to pack up and leave her, even though it means breaking up his "happy home." He repeats the phrase "I have to leave you baby" several times, emphasizing the urgency of the situation. He wants to leave her alone, and it's clear that he's not willing to forgive her for whatever she's done to him. The final lines of the song are bittersweet, as he wishes her farewell and acknowledges that they may see each other again, but only on some "rainy day."
Overall, the lyrics to "Rainy Day" tell a simple but powerful story of a man who is dealing with heartbreak and betrayal in his relationship. The imagery of a rainy day adds to the mood of the song, and the repetition of the chorus makes it clear that the singer's decision to leave his partner is final.
Line by Line Meaning
Blues before sunrise, tears standing in my eyes
The blues have hit me early in the morning, and I'm crying over my sorrows
Such a harbored feeling, boys, I do despise
I hate keeping these bottled-up emotions inside
I have to leave, leave you baby, because you know you done me wrong
You've mistreated me, so I have to move on from our relationship
I'm gonna pack up and leave you darling and break up my happy home
I'm going to leave you and disrupt the happiness we once had at home
I have to leave, leave you baby, I'm gonna leave you all alone
I must go, and you'll be left alone to deal with the consequences of your actions
I'm gonna pack up and leave you darling, because you know you done me wrong
Once again, I'm leaving you due to the way you've wronged me in the past
Well now goodbye, goodbye baby, I'll see you on some rainy day
Farewell for now, I'll see you again when times are tough
You can go ahead now little darling, 'cause I want you to have your way
You have the freedom to do as you please, even though it's caused me pain
Contributed by Elena T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Robert Cerat
This music is touching my soul. My head is going with the rythm, same for my foot and my soul smiles.
hold my prosthesis
The chills I get from this song outnumber the times I've listened to it
Dwight Maxwell
Can't stop listening to this song. It just might be the best piece of music I've ever heard. Robert Klein couldn't stop his leg and I can't stop my ears from listening.
Heather S Brock
This song hurts my soul & makes me grieve and makes me feel FABULOUS all at once - plus love that driving sexy beat - no one played like John Lee Hooker
Nuclear-Skull87
This is the kind of song that I listen to whenever I am undergoing anxiety, just because it's so relaxing.
Sheila Barron
Never wanted to hurt Him or Anybody Rest in Peace John Lee Hooker Missed Never Forgotten ♥️
Denise Ellis
Been listening to this Man since the 70s I Never get Bored of hearing This Beautiful Blues sound Espically on a Blue day Lifts Me right On Back Up .. 🎵🎸
bernars philippe
Sublime , une voix fabuleuse.
Robert Cerat
Ça touche l'âme.
Latifa benthami
The best ! Voix fabuleuse !