Stomp Boogie

Blues superstar John Lee Hooker first developed his vocal and guitar style singing spirituals as a teenager in Clarksdale, Mississippi, but his stepfather was friends with touring pioneers such as Blind Lemon Jefferson and Charley Patton; and it was their influence that initiated a lifelong love of the blues. After spells trying his luck in Memphis and Cincinnati, he settled in Detroit in 1943 mixing a succession of day jobs with performances of his early minimalist boogie in the city's thriving clubs. He was first recorded in 1948 by local promoters Elmer Barbee and Bernie Besman, establishing his prototype - the over-amplified guitar, the moody boogies and stomping foot rhythms. Success came fairly quickly when some of his sides came out on the Modern label. Hooker cleverly employed a number of aliases to optimise the number of labels to which he was contracted, for example he was "Texas Slim" on King, "The Boogie Man" on Acorn and "John Lee Booker" on Chance and Chess. Many of those recordings are presented here, all with John Lee's typical swagger and deep-throated voice and shards of explosive guitar.

Hooker moved on to Vee-Jay in 1955, where he came up with the most commercially-minded of his early efforts, often employing a rhythm section and R&B-influenced arrangements. Players on the sessions included Jimmy Reed on harmonica, Eddie Taylor on second guitar and Joe Hunter (later with Motown) on piano. John recorded prolifically for Vee-Jay in the succeeding years through to 1964. The seventies and eighties saw a series of albums which were more rock-influenced, often with guest-stars such as Carlos Santana and Van Morrison helping out. Hooker semi-retired in the nineties, but carried on recording until his death in 2001.

Stomp Boogie combines 70 recordings from Hooker's early recording years cut locally in Detroit for a variety of labels including Sensation, King and Chess and also in Chicago for Vee-Jay. The tracks are presented in a 3 CD collection. Both collectors and fans of the later albums will appreciate the opportunity to acquire this selection from his forties and fifties classics. Hooker never significantly altered his style during his long career; these first recordings set the stage for all that came after, and he arguably never sounded fresher or better.