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.
Strike Blues
John Lee Hooker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What in the world gonna become of me?
I don't know, I don't know, baby.
Lord, Lord, Lord.
What in the world gonna 'come of me?
These hard times, hard times, baby
'Bout to get the best of me.
You know Ford Chrysler, God knows, been under.
Was one thing, now people.
Lord, I sho' can't understand, oooh.
What in the world gon' become-a me?
This doggone strike.
Soon it's gon' become over, people.
God knows my life can't last any longer.
I go to the welfare.
This is what the welfare said:
'Look-a-here now, man.'
'One type-a, a-beans an one can-a tripe.'
I said, 'NO'!
God know, that will never do.
If Ford Chrysler will end this strike.
God knows, God knows.
I don't know what I'm gonna do, um.
The lyrics to John Lee Hooker's "Strike Blues" speak to the struggle and uncertainty faced by the working class during a time of hardship. The song is written from the perspective of a man who has been affected by a strike, likely at an automobile factory such as Ford or Chrysler. He laments his situation and the unknown future that he faces. He expresses his desperation, stating that these hard times are about to get the best of him. He cannot understand why the strike has gone on for so long and wonders what he will do if it continues.
This song is a powerful commentary on the impact that a strike can have on workers and their families. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of the hardships faced by those who are left without work during a time of economic turmoil. The reference to welfare reinforces the notion that many workers were forced to turn to government assistance to make ends meet. Hooker's delivery is raw and emotional, conveying the pain and fear felt by those who were affected by the strike.
Overall, "Strike Blues" is a poignant expression of the struggles faced by working-class Americans during a time of economic turmoil. It is a reminder of the importance of fighting for workers' rights and the devastating consequences that can result when those rights are ignored.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh Lord, oh Lord, baby.
Expressing strong feelings of fear and concern about the future.
What in the world gonna become of me?
Expressing feelings of uncertainty and helplessness about the future.
I don't know, I don't know, baby.
Reiterating the singer's feelings of uncertainty and helplessness.
Lord, Lord, Lord.
Expressing a plea for divine intervention or mercy.
What in the world gonna 'come of me?
Reiterating the artist's feelings of uncertainty and helplessness.
These hard times, hard times, baby
Acknowledging the difficult circumstances the singer is facing.
'Bout to get the best of me.
Implying that the singer is struggling to cope with the difficulties.
You know Ford Chrysler, God knows, been under.
Referring to the automotive industry's struggles.
For ninety days, already.
Specifically stating how long the strike has been going on.
Was one thing, now people.
Suggesting a change in circumstances.
Lord, I sho' can't understand, oooh.
Expressing confusion or frustration with the situation.
What in the world gon' become-a me?
Reiterating the artist's feelings of uncertainty and helplessness.
This doggone strike.
Expressing irritation or anger towards the strike.
Soon it's gon' become over, people.
Expressing hope that the strike will end soon.
God knows my life can't last any longer.
Expressing the singer's fear that they won't be able to survive much longer under the current circumstances.
I go to the welfare.
Describing the artist's need to seek assistance due to their difficult circumstances.
This is what the welfare said:
Introducing what the artist was told by welfare authorities.
'Look-a-here now, man.'
Quoting what the welfare authorities said to the singer.
'One type-a, a-beans an one can-a tripe.'
Describing the meager relief aid provided by the welfare authorities.
I said, 'NO'!
Expressing the artist's refusal to accept such meager aid.
God know, that will never do.
Expressing the artist's belief that such meager aid won't be enough to help them survive their difficult circumstances.
If Ford Chrysler will end this strike.
Implying that if the strike ends, the artist's situation will improve.
God knows, God knows.
Reiterating the hope that the strike will end soon and the singer's situation will improve.
I don't know what I'm gonna do, um.
Reiterating the artist's feelings of uncertainty and helplessness about the future.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BESMAN, HOOKER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind