ON SONGWRITING
John Lee Hooker by Ken Settle
I f , as the saying goes , “ The blues had a baby and they called it rock and roll ,” then John Lee Hooker was lucky he was never slapped with a massive paternity suit . Bands like the Rolling Stones , Z . Z . Top , and J . Geils all looked up to Hooker as a musical father figure at some point in their careers . The Animals had a major hit with his tune “ Boom Boom ,” while Canned Heat , George Thorogood , and the Blues Brothers all borrowed generously from his sizzling guitar style . John Lee Hooker continued to burn his boogie across the stages of America and Europe until his death in 2001 at the age of 83 . In the 90s he even fulfilled one of his fondest goals by recording some personal favorites ,
“ I Cover the Waterfront ” on 1991 ’ s Mr . Lucky ( in a duet with Van Morrison ), and the Brook Benton classic “ Kiddio ” on 1995 ’ s Chill Out . In ’ 89 and ’ 91 , some of rock ’ s best blues singers and players paid tribute to Hooker , recording duets with the great man on The Healer ( Bonnie Raitt , Carlos Santana , Los Lobos , Canned Heat ) and Mr . Lucky ( Albert Collins , John Hammond Jr ., Keith Richards , Johnny Winter , and Ry Cooder ).
“ I ’ m doing the same thing as I used to , but it ’ s more modern ,” Hooker told me in 1985 . “ I ’ m playing the same basic beat , but I build different instruments around it . I can do lots of different styles if I want to . I can play ballads , country and western , but I don ’ t do it . If I start to do that I would lose my blues audience . I would lose my fans . They know me from playing the blues and the boogie . When I sit at home I can play beautiful ballads like ‘ I Cover the Waterfront .’ I can do Brook Benton ’ s style really good . I like ‘ A Rainy Night in Georgia .’ I love ‘ I Left My Heart in San
“ Boom Boom ” by John Lee Hooker
JANUARY / FEBRUARY |
DIGITAL EDITION |
GUITAR TRICKS INSIDER |
47 |