I'd like to honor the memory of John Lee Hooker, a true giant of the blues.
Like Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Charley Patton, and Willie Dixon before him,
Hooker played a major role in shaping the blues as we know it today. Hooker
died in his sleep at home near San Francisco on June 21st at age 83.
Hooker was born in the Mississippi Delta in Clarksdale in 1917. Clarksdale is now
home to the Delta Blues Museum, part of a planned community development to
increase tourism in the Delta. The museum is at the end of John Lee Hooker Lane
in Blues Alley, and is a living tribute to the blues as a key part of the
renovation of Clarksdale's Historic Blues District.
John Lee helped define electric blues after he moved from the Mississippi Delta
to Detroit in the 1940s. Recordings like "Boogie Chillen," "Boom Boom," and
"I'm in the Mood" are timeless. Hooker's simple, yet forceful, blues used
very few chords but spoke volumes. From a career that began in the studios of
Chicago and Detroit, to the popular blues festival circuit in the new
millennium, John Lee will long be remembered in the same breath as other late,
great bluesmen like Muddy, Robert, Charley, and Willie.
While on the road for my day job, I caught Lil' Ed and the Blues Imperials at
John Lee Hooker's Boom Boom Room in San Francisco. This nightclub at the corner
of Fillmore and Geary features framed prints of John Lee, Muddy, B.B. King and
other blues greats. As always, Lil Ed's set was filled with pure,
unadulterated, plugged-in Chicago blues. Hooker would have been mighty proud of
Lil' Ed and his Imperials that night. As Lil' Ed launched into some trademark
Hooker boogie-woogie, I wished John Lee would've stepped out of the wings to
join Lil' Ed onstage at his Boom Boom Room that night. Now that Hooker's gone,
I regret missing John Lee's recent shows at the Puyallup Fair or Seattle's
Summer Nights at the Pier concert series. He was scheduled to return to Pier 62
on Seattle's waterfront next month on the 24th.
In the 1990s, Hooker introduced younger blues artists, and blues fans, to a
treasure trove of raw and powerful blues. Hooker updated many of his classics
with a line-up of rock and roll players like the Rolling Stones, Bonnie Raitt,
Los Lobos, Jimmie Vaughn, Eric Clapton, and Carlos Santana, among many others.
John Lee and Bonnie smoldered on "I'm in the Mood" on 1998s Best of Friends,
and this disc also brought a whole new generation of blues fans up to speed with
new versions of "Boom Boom."
For a taste of John Lee Hooker's early contributions to the blues, I'd highly
recommend the Chess Records' 50th Anniversary Collection,
released in 1997. This disc captures Hooker just four years after he laid down
"Boogie Chillen," perhaps his most popular number.
[Pictured: Corky Siegel]
Shortly after Hooker's passing, I had a virtual conversation (read: e-mail
exchange) with Corky Siegel, one of the founders of the Siegel-Schwall Band, a
legendary Chicago blues band that was part of the 60's blues renaissance that
helped get Paul Butterfield and Elvin Bishop some well-deserved props from the
blues community. Siegel played - and he still does play - some of the best blues
harp this side of George Smith or Jerry Portnoy. Jim Schwall played guitar and
mandolin, and together, their early releases are enjoying re-releases of their
work on vinyl on Vanguard and RCA/Wooden Nickel. Wounded Bird Records has re-
released such classic LPs as 953 West, R.I.P., and Sleepy Hollow, while
Alligator captured their 1987 Siegel-Schwall Reunion Concert. The band's rhythm
section consisted of Rollow Radford on bass and the late Shelly Plotkin on
drums, and they've provided the foundation for such great songs as "Hey Billie
Jean" and the traditional blues of "Corrina."
Since Siegel-Schwall, Corky's gone on to Chamber Blues, an innovative mix of
chamber music and the blues, courtesy of his friend, Seiji Ozawa. Corky's also
working on a Siegel-Schwall reunion concert next November, and it will also
involve his Chamber Blues work. When he responded to my e-mail, I had the same
chills run up and down my spine the night my friends snuck me into the Quiet
Knight to see the Siegel-Schwall Blues Band, at 953 West Belmont in the 70s.
Don't tell anybody: I was underage.
"John Lee Hooker was a master of self-expression and emotion," said Siegel. "It
doesn't matter whether he plays the blues or whether he plays classical, or
whether he plays polka -- he is a master of emotion and self-expression. The
blues tradition allows full-tilt self-expression in it's performance style.
Other genre can learn from the blues. Other genre limit the potential self-
expression because of traditions that boil down to nothing but
social/political/fashionological constraints -- they really have nothing to do
with music -- not a good trade off. I would not trade fun for correctness, I
would not trade emotion for perfection, I would not trade expression for
tradition, I wouldn't trade appropriateness for inspiration, I wouldn't trade
joy for cool. Most genre can get caught up in restricting the artist by it's
social traditions -- like much classical music but it happens to different
degrees in other forms, also. Blues has a lot to teach other music
genres! John Lee is a great teacher."
New Releases From Down Louisiana Way
It's not often that my day job intersects with my moonlighting here at Cosmik
Debris, but when it does, the results are often magical. In addition to my
feature this month on rapper Shyan Selah and Seattle's Youth Opportunity
movement, I was very, very fortunate to hear some great blues in the heart of
Acadiana on a recent business trip to nearby Biloxi, Mississippi. Every Friday
morning, Louisiana Public Radio affiliate KRVS-FM opens its Blues Box with host
Roy Breaux. As I drove the Atchafalaya Swamp Highway from the Big Easy to
Lafayette and back one early Friday morning, Breaux' playlist was truly a bright
spot in my cloudy day. Not only did this show feature some early giants of the
blues like Victoria Spivey or Big Bill Broonzy, but also I liked the way Roy
interspersed new music from locals like The Hoodoo Kings and Kenny Neal.
The Blues Box on KRVS from the University of Louisiana has got to be one of
the best blues shows around, and you don't need to drive down Interstate 10 to
get it: it's available online at
krvs.usl.edu.
The Hoodoo Kings are Eddie Bo, Raful Neal and Rockin' Tabby Thomas. This trio
of Louisiana musical royalty has released a baker's dozen of great music on
their self-titled Telarc disc. If you recognized these guys, you're in good
company. Raful's son, Kenny Neal, is a bluesman extraordinaire in his own
right, and Tabby's son, Chris Thomas King, is one of the best players
of his generation. The Hoodoo Kings rock through the swamp blues of "Monkey
Business," complete with the straightahead rhythm section of Darren Thiboutot on
drums and Dan Corbett on bass. They light up Bob Dylan's "If I Don't Be There
By Morning" and get mighty funky on "Hard Times" and "Luberta." They also do
right by their Louisiana neighbor, Clifton Chenier, with his "If I Ever Get
Lucky." The Hoodoo Kings are a party in a CD case, thanks to Eddie,
Raful and Rockin' Tabby.
Kenny Neal's One Step Closer is another treasure that I discovered down
Louisiana way. His fourth Telarc release has some textbook Louisiana blues. It
features a dozen great cuts from one of Baton Rouge's most popular bluesmen. I
first heard Neal listening to Louisiana Public Radio on the Atchafalya Swamp
Freeway. His versions of Sonny Landreth's "Congo Square" and Bob Dylan's "Walk
Out in the Rain" are first-class. Like great gumbo or spicy jambalaya, Kenny
Neal is the real deal, Louisiana-style.
If you'll excuse me, I'm going go and turn up some John Lee Hooker, in honor of
his memory. He said it best: "Boom boom boom boom!"
Rest in Peace, John Lee.
