File:John_Lee_Hooker_two.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
John Lee Hooker
Sign in to saveAmerican blues musician (1912 or 1917–2001)
OverviewAI-generated
John Lee Hooker (1912–2001) was an American guitarist, singer, singer-songwriter, and composer. Born in Tutwiler, Mississippi, he began his professional work in 1942. His musical style encompassed blues, rhythm and blues, Afro-Cuban jazz, and blues rock. Hooker performed on guitar, voice, bass, and drum kit. He was affiliated with Chess Records and Modern Records.
His notable works include *One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer*, *State of the Blues*, and *Boogie Chillun*. Hooker was influenced by Blind Lemon Jefferson. He received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He died in Los Altos due to disease.
Synthesized by Vinony from 42 facts across 8 sources: Wikidata, Crossref, Open Library, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, TMDb, Vinony collections, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Person · Open Library
- 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
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
- The 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concerts — Self (archive footage)2009
- Blues at the BBC — Self2009
- Motor City's Burning: Detroit from Motown to the Stooges — Self2008
- Rolling With the Blues — Self (archive footage)2007
- Bits and Pieces About... John Lee Hooker — Himself2006
via TMDB
Music · MusicBrainz
- Type
- Person
- Gender
- Male
- Origin
- United States
- Active from
- 1917
- Active to
- 2001
Discography
- Sally Mae / Boogie Chillen’1948
- Black Man Blues / Stomp Boogie1949
- Canal Street Blues / Huckle Up Baby1949
- Crawlin’ King Snake / Driftin’ From Door to Door1949
- Hobo Blues / Hoogie Boogie1949
- No Friend Around / Wednesday Evening1950
- Playin' the Races / Howlin' Wolf1950
- Wandering Blues / House Rent Boogie1950
- Ground Hog Blues / Louise1951
- I’m in the Mood / How Can You Do It1951
via MusicBrainz · CC0
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 1,087,415
- Total plays
- 15,136,607
Tags
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). <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/J
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Lee
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- Clarksdale
- Place of death
- Los Altos
- Occupation
- recording artist
- Genre
- Afro-Cuban jazz
- Instrument
- drum kit
- Record label
- Modern Records
- Official website
- www.johnleehooker.com
- Image
- John Lee Hooker two.jpg
Show 12 more facts
- Commons category
- John Lee Hooker
- date of birth
- 1917-08-22
- date of death
- 2001-06-21
- ethnic group
- African Americans
- birth name
- John Lee Hooker
- influenced by
- Blind Lemon Jefferson
- cause of death
- disease
- start of work period
- 1942-00-00
- social media followers
- 180000
- on focus list of Wikimedia project
- Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4
- medical condition
- stuttering
- manner of death
- natural causes
via Wikidata · CC0
~11 min read
Encyclopedic overview
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).
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “John Lee Hooker” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.