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.
We'll Meet Again
John Lee Hooker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But I know we'll meet again some sunny day
Keep smiling true just like you always do
Till the blue skies make the dark clouds fade away
Some sunny day
We'll meet again--don't know where, don't know when
We'll meet again--don't know where, don't know when
But I know we'll meet again some sunny day
Keep smiling true just like you always do
Till the blue skies make the dark clouds fade away
Some sunny day
John Lee Hooker's "We'll Meet Again" is an optimistic, yet bittersweet melancholic song that reflects on the uncertainty and hope of reuniting with a loved one. The song expresses the strong belief that two people whose paths have parted will be brought together again, even though they do not know when or where, possibly in a time of rekindled love, symbolized by the "sunny day". The song covers themes of loss, separation, and a lifelong love that perseveres.
The line "Don't know where, don't know when" resonates strongly with many people, as it acknowledges the unpredictability of life, and the fact that we are unable to completely control our own destiny. However, the phrase "But I know we'll meet again" brings some comfort because it conveys a sense of faith and trust in the future. Additionally, the line "Keep smiling true just like you always do" is symbolic of resilience and perseverance, as even in dark times, it is important to try to remain positive.
Line by Line Meaning
We'll meet again--don't know where, don't know when
The singer is uncertain about the time and place of the planned meeting.
But I know we'll meet again some sunny day
Despite not knowing the specifics, the singer is confident that they will reunite on a future day full of hope and warmth.
Keep smiling true just like you always do
The singer encourages their companions to continue being genuine and unyielding in their emotions.
Till the blue skies make the dark clouds fade away
The artist suggests to hold onto hope until the situation improves.
We'll meet again--don't know where, don't know when
The uncertainty of the reunion is emphasized again in the repetition of the phrase.
But I know we'll meet again some sunny day
The singer repeats their unwavering faith in the meeting.
We'll meet again--don't know where, don't know when
The phrase is repeated once more to convey a sense of longing.
Keep smiling true just like you always do
The reinforcement of the phrase urges the companions to stay strong and stay faithful.
Till the blue skies make the dark clouds fade away
The artist repeats the message of hope to ensure that their companions keep holding onto optimism.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: DEACON JONES, G.K. FOWLER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
flashgordon
I was under the impression John Lee stopped playing his own style blues after the Hooker and Heat album; but, after going through the last three John Lee Hooker albums, from "Face to Face, to "Don't look back" and now "Chlll Out" . . . man, I can't wait to get down to the Healer!
John Lee seemed to be very active in the 1990s through "Face to Face." 80's appear to be a down time. His 90's were every bit as good as his 60's, 50's, and 40's! I'll see about his 70's.
francesco marchesi
this song..................... what a love charm
Debbie
Looking for a song, You know, & I know, we're going to get together someday
Please help
Jamie Broughton
We'll meet again by Vera Lynn
Individua 77
Real deal
livingthroughtheblue
Deacon Jones!