| Blues Master John Lee Hooker Passes | |
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The Rosebud Agency is reporting the death of Blues Master John Lee Hooker. Hooker died in his sleep in San Francisco, California. He was 83 years old.
He had been recovering from a bout of bad health last year and had managed a return to performing. He reportedly had them on their feet last weekend. No details of the funeral have been released.
Hooker was possibly the most recorded Bluesman ever. He recorded under several names to escape the clutches of recording contracts. Boogie Chillen' was John Lee's first big hit. It reached number 1 on the 1949 charts. It was also his first recording.
Hooker style is easy to recognize. Usually one chord with a pulsing rhythmic groove chugging along, random vocal phrasing that the less-than-hip would call mistakes, and open-tuned guitar with a choppy percussive sound. His lyrics sound spontaneous and unrelated, but they are all Blues statements that tie the music together.
Hooker learned guitar down home in Mississippi. He saw country Blues legends Charley Patton, Leadbelly, and Blind Lemon Jefferson pass though his hometown.
Read John Lee's Profile.
