John Lee Hooker Story

He was beloved worldwide as the king of the endless boogie, a genuine blues superstar whose droning, hypnotic one-chord grooves were at once both ultra-primitive and timeless. But John Lee Hooker recorded in a great many more styles than that over a career that stretched across more than half a century. "The Hook" was a Mississippi native who became the top gent on the Detroit blues circuit in the years following World War II. The seeds for his eerily mournful guitar sound were planted by his stepfather, Will Moore, while Hooker was in his teens. Hooker had been singing spirituals before that, but the blues took hold and simply wouldn't let go. Overnight visitors left their mark on the youth, too: legends like Blind Lemon Jefferson, Charley Patton, and Blind Blake, who all knew Moore. Hooker heard Memphis calling while…

John Lee Hooker - That's My Story & House Of The Blues (1959-1960) {Soul Jam Records 600826 rel 2013}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 407 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 182 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 54 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24bit remastered
© 1959-60, 2013 Riverside / Soul Jam Records | 600826
Blues / Electric Blues / Delta Blues / Acoustic Blues / Detroit Blues / Blues Revival

Although Orrin Keepnews' Riverside Records was primarily a jazz label, the company dabbled in blues in the 1960s – and one of the bluesmen who recorded for Riverside was John Lee Hooker. Recorded in 1960, this Keepnews-produced session came at a time when Hooker was signed to Vee-Jay. The last thing Keepnews wanted to do was emulate Hooker's electric-oriented, very amplified Vee-Jay output, which fared well among rock and R&B audiences. Keepnews had an acoustic country blues vision for the bluesman, and That's My Story favors a raw, stripped-down, bare-bones approach – no electric guitar, no distortion, no singles aimed at rock & rollers.

Burning Hell was recorded in 1959 in Detroit, MI, but wasn’t released until 1964. Even then, it was only available in the UK. The album features Hooker solo as he plays originals and classics. AllMusic states that, on this album, “Hooker shows himself to be an excellent interpreter who could have held his own with Delta bluesmen of any era.” It is now available for the first time in hi-res audio.

John Lee Hooker's 1948-1952 recordings made in Detroit, Michigan by Bernard Besman. Includes 19 previously unissued versions.

This DVD was recorded in the summer of 1974 in the town of Gardner, Massachusetts, supposedly there were six-thousand people there, which is hard to tell from the audience shots provided. In fact it’s hard to tell a lot of things considering the poor overall camera work which, by the way is in black and white. Remember this is 1974, not 1954! The festival name provides the first clue as to what to expect “Down In the Dumps.” And I cannot make that up and I am not lying.