JLH Year-By-Year Recap
1917 Born on August 22, south of Clarksdale, Mississippi; son to William Hooker and Minnie Ramsey. 1928 Parents separate and mother remarries to William Moore. 1930 Starts to play guitar (a present from Tony Hollins - and later gets a new one from Moore). 1932 Moves to Memphis, Tennessee (after several earlier visits) to stay with an aunt´s. 1936 Settles in Cincinnati, Ohio - singing the gospel and the blues (after a short spell in Knoxville, Tenn.). 1943 Arrives in Detroit, Michigan, working as a janitor and playing the blues at night clubs with a small combo (and receiving yet another guitar - this time from T-Bone Walker). 1944 Meets Maude Mathis, whom he soon will marry (and be married to for 25 years - their first child, Diane, born on November 24, 1946 - and seven more to come). 1948 His first manager, Elmer Barbee, brings demos to record producer Bernie Besman around September and on November 3, the first Hooker single is issued (on the Bihari Brothers´ Hollywood stationed label Modern Records), titled "Boogie Chillen´" - which actually is the B-side of "Sally May". Around December Hooker starts "moon-lighting" for Detroit producer Joe Von Battle (the first pseudym record being "Black Man Blues", released as Texas Slim on King Records). Several more Battle pseudonym records will appear on the market during Hooker´s years with Modern Records. 1949 "Boogie Chillen´" hits the Race Records Juke Box Chart #1 in February. "Hobo Blues" b/w "Hoogie Boogie" (both hitting the Race Records Chart, #5 and #9), "Weeping Willow Boogie" and later "Crawling King Snake" (peaking at the new R&B Chart #6 in December) become Hooker´s Modern Records three follow-up 78s. In November and December Besman issues two singles on his own local Detroit label Sensation Records, "Burnin´ Hell" and "Huckle Up Baby" (the latter record peaks at the R&B Chart #15 in February, 1950). 1950 "House Rent Boogie", produced by Idessa Malone on Staff Records is issued in December as by Johnny Williams and in March, 1951 Modern releases the Besman produced record of that song ("John L´s House Rent Boogie"). 1951 Joe Von Battle produces several recordings direct for Chess Records in Detroit around April, issued as John Lee Booker during the latter part of the year ("Leave My Wife Alone"). The original "I´m In The Mood" is recorded with multi-vocal-tracks on August 7 by Besman and becomes a great hit (reaching US Pop #30 and hitting the R&B Juke Box Chart #1 - the hit lasts into 1952). In October Chess Records issue "Ground Hog Blues" c/w "Louise" as by John Lee Booker. 1952 Debuts as a radio DJ. Modern Records issue the "Ground Hog Blues" single on their label as by John L´ Hooker. In April "High Priced Woman" from Joe Von Battle´s Chess productions of April, 1951 is issued. During the Summer Bernie Besman moves to Los Angeles and the Biharis decide to produce Hooker themselves from now on (with Joe Bihari traveling to Detroit to cut records - still with Bernie´s engineer Joe Siracuse in the studios). Besman´s last Hooker production will be "It´s My Own Fault" (issued a couple of years later on Chess) and Modern Records´ first Bihari-productions will result in the single "Rock House Boogie" c/w "It´s Been A Long Time Baby". 1953 Continues his pirate recordings (now making several singles for Henry Stone on DeLuxe, prob. in Cincinnati). 1954 Makes recordings for Specialty Records (still in Detroit - and still engineered by Joe Siracuse, who had been the technician on Besman´s and Joe Bihari´s Modern recordings). 1955 Signs with the Chicago label Vee-Jay Records (owned by Vivian Carter and her brother Jimmy Bracken). 1956 The classic "Dimples" is recorded in Chicago for Vee-Jay in March. The first Crown album, "The Blues" hits the markets (including Hooker´s Detroit recorded classic Besman / Modern titles). 1957 Becomes an established Vee-Jay artist (although his label-mate Jimmy Reed is selling better). Jaques Demetre and Marcel Chauvard "introduce" Hooker to Europe´s record buyers. 1958 "I Love You Honey" on Vee-Jay Records hits the R&B Chart #29 in December (featuring Detroit-pianist Ivy Joe Hunter). 1959 The first Vee-Jay LP, "I´m John Lee Hooker", is issued and Vee-Jay Records "lease" Hooker for a couple of "country blues" acoustic albums to Riverside (actually Hooker´s first album sessions). 1960 Waxes his wonderful Vee-Jay album "Travelin´" in March. Hooker and Muddy Waters are the true blues artists on the second annual Newport Folk Festival in June. In July one of the singles from the "Travelin´" LP, "No Shoes", hits the R&B Hot Chart #21. 1961 Bob Dylan debuts in New York - opening for Hooker at Gerde´s Folk City. Hooker records his "Burnin´" LP, (with Detroit musicians including reeds - in Chicago) around Christmas for Vee-Jay (after a long period of "folk blues" waxing). 1962 "Boom Boom" (from "Burnin´") hits US Pop #60 in July (and the Hot R&B Chart #16). Atco Records issue the album "Don´t Turn Me From Your Door" (featuring Henry Stone tracks of 1953 and 1961, the latter ones recorded in Miami), where one really can trace Hooker´s gospel roots (and in 1969 Stax Records find more Stone tracks to issue on "That´s Where It´s At!"). Hooker tours Europe with the Original American Folk Blues Festival package (including T-Bone Walker and Memphis Slim). 1963 Again uses the soon-to-be-famous Detroit "Motown" musicians to back him on a couple of Vee-Jay albums (this time including reeds, rhythm - and brass). 1964 Tours Britain and a UK issue of "Dimples" reaches UK Pop #23 and he plays it on "Ready Steady Go" TV. Hooker also waxes an album with Tony McPhee´s Groundhogs in London in November (the album will later appear on several labels under several titles, although the most well-known are "... And Seven Nights" on Verve-Folkways" and later the brass-dubbed "(On) The Waterfront" on Wand). 1965 Tours The American Folk Blues Festival again and later that year signs with ABC Records in the US - the first LP being "It Serve You Right To Suffer" on the jazz-subsidiary Impulse Records, recorded in New York. 1966 Legendary T-Bone Walker and Johnny Otis producer Ralph Bass records Hooker for Chess in Chicago (and "The Real Folk Blues" is issued). 1967 The first ABC-Bluesway album by Hooker is issued, "Live at the Café au Go-Go" (featuring the Muddy Waters Blues Band in August, 1966). The British issue of "House of the Blues" (featuring 1951-52 Hooker Chess tracks) reaches UK Pop #34. 1968 The Bluesway album "Urban Blues" is issued, recorded in Chicago during September and November, 1967 by Al Smith. 1969 The Bluesway album "Simply The Truth" is issued (recorded in New York in October, 1968). Hooker tours Europe again (which he has done every year since 1962), this time recording French material (enough for three LPs). Back home in the U.S. he settles in California. 1970 Finds himself recording at the studios in Los Angeles in May with Canned Heat for Liberty (featuring the young harmonica-player Al Wilson - who dies shortly after), and headlines the Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival in August. 1971 In April the Liberty double-LP "Hooker ´N´ Heat" reaches US Pop #77, and another double-LP, "Endless Boogie" is issued on ABC. The editor of this web site publishes a John Lee Hooker albums guide. 1972 The ABC album "Never Get Out Of These Blues Alive" (including the title track duet with Van Morrison) reaches US Pop # 130. 1973 Polydor (leased from King in Nashville) issue "Slim´s Stomp", compiled by Dave Sax - based on the old King "Sings Blues" and Ember album (with that great photo by Valerie Wilmer). This new issue includes all of Johnnie´s Texas Slim recordings of 1948-1950 - and undubbed). ABC continue to issue records with Hooker´s "Coast To Coast Blues" band, featuring California rock greats. 1974 Ed Michel produces the underrated, and last ABC album, "Free Beeer And Chicken" (recorded in Sausolito and Los Angeles). 1976 Spends most if his days in the "live wilderness", but his old Detroit Besman recordings pop up everywhere (Modern - Kent / United / Custom, Specialty, United Artists, and GreeneBottle; including several never-before-issued tracks). His old Joe Von Battle recordings also surface (mainly bootlegs). 1978 Tomato Records issue a 1977 Palo Alto live-recorded double-LP, "The Cream". 1979 Appears with Lightnin´ Hopkins and Big Mama Thornton at New York´s Carnegie Hall. 1980 Inducted into the Blues Foundation´s Hall Of Fame. Featured as one of many fine cameo artists in the movie "The Blues Brothers". 1986 The Spielberg movie "The Color Purple" features Hooker´s music and Hooker records the "Jealous" album in Vancouver, Canada and Sausolito, California (reissued on Pointblank in the late ´90s). 1988 Roy Rogers produces several titles with guest artists in and around San Francisco during April and May - a record that in the year-to-come will make Hooker quite a rich man. 1989 In July Chameleon Records issue the album "The Healer" from the sessions the year before (featuring a.o. Carlos Santana). The album becomes a big seller, reaching US Pop #62 (staying on the albums survey for 38 weeks). In September Hooker is featured on Pete Townshead´s concept album "The Iron Man". 1990 "I´m In The Mood" (duet with Bonnie Raitt), from "The Healer", wins Best Traditional Blues Recording at the 32nd annual Grammy award´s ceremony in February. "The Healer" album (on Silvertone) hits UK Pop #63. Krazy Kat issue a double LP, comprising 33 very rare (including several unissued) Joe Von Battle and Elmer Barbee recordings from 1948-1953), compiled by Dave Sax and titled "Boogie Awhile". In October Benson & Hedges promote "A Tribute To John Lee Hooker" at Madison Square Garden, New York City. Hooker is featured as movie soundtrack singer (actually "hummer & moaner") in "The Hot Spot" (with music by Jack Nietsche). 1991 Inducted into the Rock ´N´ Roll Hall Of Fame in January, at the sixth annual dinner at Waldorf Astoria in New York. Pointblank´s "Mr. Lucky" album is issued - and really sells! 1992 The album "Boom Boom" is Hooker´s next seller (also on Pointblank). 1993 The San Francisco club, John Lee Hooker´s Boom Boom Room, is opened and Hooker cuts a duet with B.B. King - Muddy Waters´ old "You Shook Me". 1994 The 1955-1964 Vee-Jay recordings are by now reissued on all the labels you can imagine and in packages you may not even have dreamt of (mostly bootleg though and no royalty to the Hook). 1995 Hollywood RockWalk inducts John Lee in February. 1996 Gets Grammy award, Best Traditional Blues Album for "Chill Out". 1997 Celibrates 50 years of recording activities with around a hundred original albums to his credit. 1998 Gets Grammy awards for the "Don´t Look Back" album (produced by and featuring Van Morrison) - both Best Traditional Blues Album and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals; and rewaxes "Boogie Chillen" for the last time (to be issued on his "The Best Of Friends" album). 1999 Charles Shaar Murray´s biography on Hooker, "Boogie Man", is published. 2000 His earliest recordings become "public domain" - the best issues being Body & Soul´s two doubleCDs "The Complete John Lee Hooker in Chronological Order Vol 1" and "Vol 2" (covering 1948 and 1949). A year later Vol 3 - also a doubleCD - covers 1950, and in the year of 2002 Vol 4 (also a 2-set covering 1951) will be issued. 2001 Dies in his sleep at home in Palo Alto, California on June 21.
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