John Lee Hooker (Coahoma County, Mississippi, August 22, 1917 – Los Altos,… Read Full Bio ↴John Lee Hooker (Coahoma County, Mississippi, August 22, 1917 – Los Altos, California, June 21, 2001) was a highly influential American blues singer, guitarist and songwriter.

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.

Smoke Stack Lightning
John Lee Hooker Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

UH-UH
UH-UH
UH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH
You-you-you-UH-UH-UH
YEE

yeah
HEY SMOKESTACK LIGHTNIN'

AH CAN'T YA HEAR ME CALLIN'
CAN'T YA HEAR ME CALL-CALLIN' YOUR NAME

SOMEBODY CALL YO' MAMA
SOMEBODY CALL YA DAD
SOMEBODY CALL YOUR MAMA
YOU'RE DADDY'S LITTLE BABY

why-why-why-YEAH YOU'RE DADDY'S LITTLE BALL AN' CHAIN
YOU AN' I'S GOIN' OVER THERE
YOU AN' I'S GOIN' OVER THERE
YOU AN' I
Whoa whoa whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa
Cha cha
HUH
Cha cha cha
Hey Kimball turn that down

she ain't really gone
I'm a-callin' her name
WHOO-OO OO OO
WHOO-OO OO OO
WHOO-OO OO OO
Oh yeah
WHOO-OO OO OO
Aaw well well
Well smokestack
Well smokestack
Well well smokestack
Well well smokestack

YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAAAH
WELL SMOKESTACK LIGHTNIN'
CAN'T YA HEAR ME CALLIN'
AH CAN'T YA HEAR ME CALL-CALLIN' YOUR NAME
WELL SMOKESTACK LIGHTNIN'
AH CAN'T YA HEAR ME CALLIN'
See-see-CAN'T YA HEAR ME CALL-CALL-CALLIN' YOUR NAME

YEAH AH WHOO-OO YEAH AH WHOO-OO
YEAH AH WHOO-OO
YEAH AH WHOO-OO YEAH AH WHOO-OO
YEAH AH WHOO-OO
YEAH AH WHOO-OO YEAH AH WHOO-OO
YEAH AH WHOO-OO
YEAH AH WHOO-OO YEAH AH WHOO-OO
YEAH AH WHOO-OO
YEAH AH WHOO-OO
Yeah yeah
Ha ha ha ha ha

Did you get that?
Whoo Joanie, I want that for Christmas! Ha-ha
Is that on the tape?
Ready Tom?
Wait

It's on
Oh

Overall Meaning

The song "Smoke Stack Lightning" by John Lee Hooker is an intense and rhythm-driven track that centers around the singer's longing for a love interest, who is represented as the titular "smoke stack." Throughout the song, Hooker calls out to her repeatedly, asking if she can hear him calling her name. He also implores someone to "call yo' mama" and "call ya dad," perhaps indicating a desperation for help in his quest for this woman's affection.

The song's lyrics are simple but effective in creating a mood of urgency and passion. Hooker's voice is gritty and powerful, adding to the overall sense of raw emotion conveyed in the song. The repetitive "uh-uh" and "whoo-oo" sounds throughout the song also contribute to its hypnotic quality.

Overall, "Smoke Stack Lightning" is a powerful blues track that showcases John Lee Hooker's skill as a vocalist and storyteller. It's a song that captures the intense emotions of desire and longing in a gritty, raw way that is sure to captivate listeners.

Line by Line Meaning

UH-UH
Repetitive vocalization indicating disapproval or disagreement.

UH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH
Repetitive vocalization expressing excitement, anticipation, or awe.

You-you-you-UH-UH-UH
Repetitive vocalization directed towards someone or something.

YEE
Exclamation of excitement or enthusiasm.

HEY SMOKESTACK LIGHTNIN'
An address to the subject of the song, Smoke Stack Lightning.

AH CAN'T YA HEAR ME CALLIN'
Expressing a desire to be heard or noticed by Smoke Stack Lightning.

CAN'T YA HEAR ME CALL-CALLIN' YOUR NAME
Repeating and emphasizing the desire to be heard by Smoke Stack Lightning.

SOMEBODY CALL YO' MAMA
A request for help in finding someone or something.

SOMEBODY CALL YA DAD
A request for help in finding someone or something.

SOMEBODY CALL YOUR MAMA
A request for help in finding someone or something.

YOU'RE DADDY'S LITTLE BABY
A statement acknowledging the addressee's youth or vulnerability.

why-why-why-YEAH YOU'RE DADDY'S LITTLE BALL AN' CHAIN
Further emphasizing the addressee's youth or vulnerability.

YOU AN' I'S GOIN' OVER THERE
Suggesting a plan or destination.

YOU AN' I'S GOIN' OVER THERE
Repeating and confirming the suggestion of a plan or destination.

YOU AN' I
Referring to the addressee and the artist together.

Whoa whoa whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa
Vocalizations expressing wonder or surprise.

Cha cha
Vocalizations with unclear meaning.

HUH
Vocalization expressing surprise, confusion or clarification.

Cha cha cha
Vocalizations with unclear meaning.

Hey Kimball turn that down
A request or instruction to lower the volume of something.

she ain't really gone
Suggesting that someone or something is still present.

I'm a-callin' her name
Reiterating a desire for someone to be heard or noticed.

WHOO-OO OO OO
Vocalization expressing excitement, elation or passion.

WHOO-OO OO OO
Continuation of the previous vocalization.

Oh yeah
Vocalization expressing agreement or enthusiasm.

WHOO-OO OO OO
Continuation of the previous vocalization.

Aaw well well
Vocalization expressing regret or disappointment.

Well smokestack
Reiterating the subject of the song.

Well well smokestack
Reiterating the subject of the song.

YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAAAH
Repetitive vocalization expressing excitement, enthusiasm or agreement.

WELL SMOKESTACK LIGHTNIN'
An address to the subject of the song, Smoke Stack Lightning.

CAN'T YA HEAR ME CALLIN'
Repeating the desire to be heard or noticed by Smoke Stack Lightning.

AH CAN'T YA HEAR ME CALL-CALLIN' YOUR NAME
Repeating and emphasizing the desire to be heard or noticed by Smoke Stack Lightning.

See-see-CAN'T YA HEAR ME CALL-CALL-CALLIN' YOUR NAME
Extending the repetition and emphasis of the desire to be heard or noticed by Smoke Stack Lightning.

YEAH AH WHOO-OO YEAH AH WHOO-OO
Repetitive vocalization expressing excitement or passion.