Hooker, John Lee

Hooker, John Lee, 1917–2001, American blues singer and guitarist, b. near Clarksdale, Miss. From a cotton-sharecropping family, he learned the blues from his stepfather and various visiting Delta bluesmen, constructing his first instrument from strings made of rubber inner tube nailed to a barn. He left home at 14, sang with gospel groups, and ultimately moved (1943) to Detroit. Hooker made his first recording, the rhythm-and-blues hit "Boogie Chillun" in 1948. Accompanying himself on electric guitar, he recorded more than 100 albums, mainly of slow blues or fast boogies, and toured throughout the United States. After Hooker was "discovered" by the white blues-rockers of the 1960s, he recorded with several rock musicians and influenced a generation of players and singers. Hooker again reached a wide public with his albums The Healer (1989) and Don't Look Back (1997). He won three Grammy awards and was inducted (1991) into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Bibliography

See biography by C. S. Murray (2000).

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Hooker, John Lee (1917–  ) musician; born in Clarksdale, Miss. A blues singer and guitarist, he began his career in Detroit in 1948 with the release of "Boogie Chillun," the biggest of his several hit records and a staple of both the blues and rock repertoires. He toured continually, and among "deep blues" artists, enjoyed an unusually successful career, appearing in concerts and on recordings with many of the leading figures in rock. He was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.