John Lee Hooker: Only the Best Blues Music Playlist
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The Best of John Lee Hooker’s Blues Music. If you’re a fan of the blues, then you’ll love this playlist of John Lee Hooker’s best songs.
John Lee Hooker’s Best Songs
If you’re a fan of the blues, then you’ve surely heard of John Lee Hooker. He’s one of the most iconic blues musicians of all time. His music is soulful, passionate, and full of emotion. If you’re looking for the best John Lee Hooker songs, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve compiled a list of Hooker’s best tracks, so you can sit back, relax, and enjoy the blues.
“Boom Boom”
“Boom Boom” is a song written by John Lee Hooker and recorded in 1962. It became one of his signature songs and was a hit, reaching number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song is an up-tempo 12-bar blues with a hook Hooker repeated several times. The lyrics are about a man’s sexual desire for a woman. Many artists have recorded versions of the song, including Eric Clapton, the Animals, Canned Heat, and George Thorogood.
“I’m Bad Like Jesse James”
“I’m Bad Like Jesse James” is a song by American blues musician John Lee Hooker. The song was released as a single in 1950 through Chess Records and became one of Hooker’s most successful songs, peaking at number four on Billboard’s Race Records chart.
“One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer”
“One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer” is a song written by Rudy Toombs and recorded by George Thorogood and the Destroyers in 1977. The song reached number 38 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The song is based on a booze-fueled story that Hooker often told on stage. In the story, Hooker wakes up after a night of heavy drinking to find that he has lost his keys. He then goes through a series of progressively worse hangovers as he tries to find his keys, eventually leading him to pass out in a gutter.
Hooker’s original version of the story was much longer, and often included references to other blues songs, such as “Muddy Waters Had My Baby”. Thorogood’s version shortened the story and focused on the humor of the situation.
Despite its title, Hooker’s original version of the song did not include the line “one bourbon, one scotch, one beer”. That line was added by Thorogood, who also changed the order of the alcoholic beverages in the title.
John Lee Hooker’s Best Albums
John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, in 1917. and died in 2001. He was a major figure in the development of the blues and is considered one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.
The Healer
The Healer is the fourteenth studio album by American blues musician John Lee Hooker, released in 1989. It was voted as one of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s by Musician magazine and included three charting singles: “I’m in the Mood”, “The Healer”, and “Baby I’m Gonna Miss You”. The Healer won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album.
In 2003, the album was ranked number 427 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Mr. Lucky
One of the most prolific and popular of the post-World War II bluesmen, John Lee Hooker created his own highly original style that was a profound, influential blend of rural Mississippi delta blues and urban Chicago electric blues. Although Hooker called it “the folk blues,” it was unlike anything that came before, and it helped to define and shape not just the sound of the postwar blues but also that of rock & roll — much of which would not have existed without his innovations.
Hooker ‘n Heat
Hooker ‘n Heat is a live album by blues singer and guitarist John Lee Hooker, released in May 1971 on Liberty Records. It peaked at number 35 on the Billboard 200 album chart and has been certified a gold record by the RIAA.
Recorded over two nights at the Fillmore West in San Francisco in early March 1971, the double album features Hooker backed by rock band Canned Heat. It includes renditions of some of Hooker’s most popular songs, including “Boom Boom”, “Dimples”, and “I’m in the Mood”. Hooker ‘n Heat was one of several live albums recorded by Hooker during his career; others include Live at Cafe Au Go-Go (1964), Live at Soledad Prison (1970), and Live at Sugarhill (1988).
The album was well received upon its release and is considered one of Hooker’s best albums. AllMusic critic Bill Janovitz praised the performances of both Hooker and Canned Heat, calling it “one of those magical pairings that just works perfectly”. Music critic Robert Christgau also praised the album, calling it “the most exciting concert recording I know”. In 2003, it was ranked number 276 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
John Lee Hooker’s Influence on Blues Music
John Lee Hooker was a legendary blues singer and guitar player who influenced the sound of blues music. His music is characterized by its simple, repetitive lyrics and hook-laden melodies. Hooker’s distinctive style of guitar playing influenced many other blues guitarists.
His unique style of playing guitar
Most notably, Hooker was known for his unique style of playing guitar. He often used a so-called “boogie beat” that involved unsyncopated rhythmic patterns with a backbeat accent on the second and fourth beats in a 4/4 measure. This distinctive style of guitar playing influenced many subsequent blues artists, including Muddy Waters, Carlos Santana, and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
His use of boogie-woogie rhythms
Hooker was one of the first to use the boogie-woogie rhythms that would come to define the genre. He often played in a relaxed, swinging style that was perfect for dancing. This “groove” style of playing was a major influence on later blues and rock musicians.
