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. Those who'd learned from John Lee Hooker and appreciated his music's basic truths joined him with love and sensitivity on his last, best-selling records. The career that had begun at Detroit house rent parties ended fifty years later with platinum records and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Unlike so many bluesmen of old, John Lee Hooker died with wealth and acclaim in equal measure. It's something I can't figure out, he said in Europe in 1964, but I'm just trying to reach out to all kinds of publics. No one ever did a better job of making subtle changes to their basic mix to reach generation after generation, and the beauty of this collection is that we see those changes unfurling before us.

Details

Formats and Editions

More Info: