John Lee Hooker
Sign in to saveAmerican blues musician (1912 or 1917–2001)
AI overview
John Lee Hooker was an American blues musician who had a long career spanning much of the 20th century, from the early 1900s until his death in 2001. He is an important figure in blues history, helping to shape and popularize the genre during a time when it became a major influence on modern music.
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Person · Open Library
- Born
- 1917-08-22
- Died
- 2001-06-21
- Works
- 13
Top works
- One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer Three Tales of John Lee Hooker Deluxe Edition
- John Lee Hooker
- State of the Blues
- One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer
- Boogie Chillun
via Open Library + Wikidata
Film & TV
Acting · Tutwiler, Mississippi, USA
John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often incorporated other elements, including talking blues and early North Mississippi Hill country blues.
Known for
- Newport and the Great Folk Dream — Self (archive footage)2025
- John Lee Hooker - Live At Montreux 1990 — Himself2020
- John Lee Hooker: The Boogie Man — Self2019
- Monochrome: Black, White & Blue — Self (Archival)2017
- Play It Loud: The Story of Marshall — Self2014
Article
John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues that he developed in Detroit. Hooker often incorporated other elements, including talking blues and early North Mississippi hill country blues. He developed his own driving-rhythm boogie style, distinct from the 1930s–1940s piano-derived boogie-woogie. Hooker was ranked 35 in Rolling Stone's 2015 list of 100 greatest guitarists, and has been cited as one of the greatest male blues vocalists of all time.
Some of his best known songs include "Boogie Chillen'" (1948), "Crawling King Snake" (1949), "Dimples" (1956), "Boom Boom" (1962), and "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" (1966). Several of his later albums, including The Healer (1989), Mr. Lucky (1991), Chill Out (1995), and Don't Look Back (1997), were album chart successes in the U.S. and UK. The Healer (for the song "I'm in the Mood") and Chill Out (for the album) both earned him Grammy wins, as well as Don't Look Back, which went on to earn him a double-Grammy win for Best Traditional Blues Recording and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals (with Van Morrison).
Gallery (3)
Connections
Categories
1910s births2001 deaths20th-century African-American male singers20th-century American guitarists20th-century American male singers20th-century American singersAfrican-American guitaristsAfrican-American male singer-songwritersAge controversies in musicAmerican blues guitaristsAmerican blues singer-songwritersAmerican male guitarists