Who was/is John Lee Hooker ? - CDs, Vinyl LPs, DVD and more

John Lee Hooker

After nomadically label-hopping for the first seven years of his astonishingly prolific recording career, Mississippi Delta émigré John Lee Hooker settled into a relatively exclusive relationship with Chicago’s Vee-Jay Records in 1955. Things had changed dramatically on the R&B front since 1949; no longer would a haunting solo blues piece like the Hook’s Boogie Chillen (it’s on BCD 16921, Disc One) find its way to the top of the charts now that rock 'n' roll had captured the teenage demographic.

Still, there remained a solid southern market for blues, and John Lee was happy to help fill it on Vee-Jay through 1964 (granted, there were dalliances with a number of other labels during that span). His first Vee-Jay date, conducted in Chicago in October of ’55, found him in the company of labelmate Jimmy Reed, guitarist Eddie Taylor (a steadying presence for both Reed and Hooker whenever they entered the studio), bassist George Washington, and drummer Tom Whitehead, who had been playing sessions with the Boogie Man since 1953 and clearly knew the territory.

Reed was absent for Hooker’s Vee-Jay encore session, held March 27, 1956, but the rhythm section remained constant. Among the enduring gems laid down that day was the rollicking Dimples, a standard in John Lee’s repertoire from then on. He’s listed as writing it with Jimmy Bracken, the co-owner of Vee-Jay. Hooker was fretting an electric guitar instead of the acoustic he used on his first Detroit sessions (ironically, he’d have to retrieve it when the folk-blues trend hit).

Hooker’s Vee-Jay stint produced some of the most polished recordings he ever made, thanks to stellar musicianship by Taylor and his comrades, who seemed to cope with Hooker’s erratic timing better than just about anyone else he’d recorded with. At the end of 1958, John Lee would find his way back onto the R&B charts for the first time in more than seven years with I Love You Honey. He scored nationally again in 1960 with No Shoes. But as it turned out, the John Lee Hooker story was just getting underway.

Bill Dahl
Chicago, Illinois

PLUG IT IN! TURN IT UP!
Electric Blues 1939-2005. - The Definitive Collection!

 

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Live At Montreux 1983 & 1990 (2-LP, 180g Vinyl)
John Lee Hooker & The Coast To Coast Blues Band: Live At Montreux 1983 & 1990 (2-LP, 180g Vinyl) Art-Nr.: LPER5534

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(Eagle Records) 18 tracks John Lee Hooker, four-time Grammy® winner and recipient of the Grammy® Lifetime Achievement Award, will forever be celebrated as a legend of the blues genre. His legendary career continues to impact modern music...
$37.29
Documenting The Sensation Recordings 1948-52 (3-CD)
John Lee Hooker: Documenting The Sensation Recordings 1948-52... Art-Nr.: CDJLHBOX019

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(Ace) 71 tracks. The blues legend’s recordings for Bernard Besman’s Sensation label released together for the first time, with superior sound and sessionography. Ace acquired a lot of John Lee Hooker sides when we purchased the Sensation...
$39.55
Burnin' (CD)
John Lee Hooker: Burnin' (CD) Art-Nr.: CD424593

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(Craft Recordings) 23 tracks - 60Th Anniversary Expanded Edition Recorded in a single session with drums, bass, second guitar, piano, tenor sax and baritone sax, 1962's Burnin' represents a departure from earlier Hooker albums, on which...
$21.45
The Country Blues Of John Lee Hooker (LP, 180g Vinyl)
John Lee Hooker: The Country Blues Of John Lee Hooker (LP, 180g... Art-Nr.: LPCR00183

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(Craft Recordings) 13 Tracks - Re-release of the 1959 album on Riverside Records, for the 60th anniversary, on 180g vinyl, pressed in the factory of Memphis Record Pressing!
$42.95
It Serves You Right To Suffer (LP, 140g colored Vinyl, Ltd.)
John Lee Hooker: It Serves You Right To Suffer (LP, 140g colored... Art-Nr.: LP620893

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(Elemental Music) 8 tracks, special gatefold red 140g Vinyl limited Edition the songs a mix of new compositions and reworkings of tracks John Lee Hooker had previously recorded, and include a cover of Barrett Strong's 1959 Motown hit...
$48.61
Sings The Blues (180g vinyl)
John Lee Hooker: Sings The Blues (180g vinyl) Art-Nr.: SLP5425

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(2015/Sundazed) 16 tracks. Shake 'em up! R&B from the vaults of King/Federal Records! The embodiment of the blues! A primal architect of the genre’s structure, Hooker’s hypnotic guitar work and commanding vocals influenced everyone who...
$30.50
Don't Turn Me From Your Door (LP, 180g Vinyl)
John Lee Hooker: Don't Turn Me From Your Door (LP, 180g Vinyl) Art-Nr.: LPATCO33151

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(Speakers Corner) 12 tracks John Lee Hooker remains both a mystery and an object of study. While some, like the author Jacques Demêtre, see the man from the Mississippi as, from a musical point of view, "the roughest and most African of...
$37.29
Burnin' (LP)
John Lee Hooker: Burnin' (LP) Art-Nr.: LPCR00544

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(Craft Recordings) 11 tracks Recorded in a single session with drums, bass, second guitar, piano, tenor sax and baritone sax, 1962's Burnin' represents a departure from earlier Hooker albums, on which he often played with just a guitar...
$42.95
King Of The Boogie (5-CD Book, Limited Edition)
John Lee Hooker: King Of The Boogie (5-CD Book, Limited Edition) Art-Nr.: CDCR00015

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(2017/Craft Recordings-Concord) 100 Tracks - 54-page hardcover book in landscape format - Limited edition! - 2017 marks the 100th anniversary of the great John Lee Hooker. To celebrate this event in music history, Concord Music Group has...
$84.82
You Gotta Shake It Up And Go - I Lost My Job (7inch, 45rpm)
John Lee Hooker: You Gotta Shake It Up And Go - I Lost My Job... Art-Nr.: 45REP2211

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(Repro) 2 Tracks
$13.52
Roll & Tumble - Baby, Baby
John Lee Hooker: Roll & Tumble - Baby, Baby Art-Nr.: 45J856

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(1969) Jewel Repro! Classic Blues.
$9.62
Whiskey & Wimmen - John Lee Hooker's Finest (LP)
John Lee Hooker: Whiskey & Wimmen - John Lee Hooker's Finest (LP) Art-Nr.: LPVJ2060

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(2017/Vee Jay-Universal) 16 Tracks - Gatefold Cover - Liner notes by Bill Dahl! Original early sixties Vee-Jay recordings, including his classic hits 'Boom Boom', 'Boogie Chillen', 'Dimples', and 'I'm In The Mood'!
$29.37
Boogie Chillen' - Boogie Chillen' Take 2 (LP, 10inch, Ltd.)
John Lee Hooker: Boogie Chillen' - Boogie Chillen' Take 2 (LP,... Art-Nr.: LPB7006

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(Ace Records) 2 tracks, 500 pieces limited and numbered As streaming gains the upper hand, Ace returns to the future with a beautifully reproduced 10-inch disc spinning at 78 rpm in a brown bag with the correct sensation label 2¾" in a...
$29.37
Simply John Lee Hooker (3-CD Metall Box)
John Lee Hooker: Simply John Lee Hooker (3-CD Metall Box) Art-Nr.: CDSIMPTN026

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(Union Square Music) 54 tracks in metal box. Hooker is best known for duetting with a star-studded cast of friends on his comeback albums, "The Healer" and "Mr. Lucky." But on these three CDs - packed with fast-paced boogies and...
$11.26
Born in Mississippi, Raised up in Tennessee (LP)
John Lee Hooker: Born in Mississippi, Raised up in Tennessee (LP) Art-Nr.: LP620891

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(Elemental) 6 tracks A fascinating LP featuring Van Morrison, that mixes the rootsy blues of John Lee Hooker and some of the best studio musicians from ABC Records stable including; Clifford Coulter (piano), Sugarcane Harris (violin),...
$39.55
...And Seven Nights (LP, 180g Vinyl)
John Lee Hooker: ...And Seven Nights (LP, 180g Vinyl) Art-Nr.: LP538893241

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(BMG Rights) 11 tracks, 180g Vinyl John Lee Hooker's legendary 1960 album "...And Seven Nights," which he recorded in London with the British band The Groundhogs, is being reissued for the first time on 180-gram vinyl in 2023. The...
$30.50
Don't Turn Me From Your Door
John Lee Hooker: Don't Turn Me From Your Door Art-Nr.: LPFRI213315

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​2013 'Friday Music', 12 tracks. Original release: Atlantic 1963
$45.21
Alone (LP)
John Lee Hooker: Alone (LP) Art-Nr.: LPFP1148

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(2016/Fat Possum) 9 tracks John Lee Hooker's Alone, a 1976 solo live set by the Detroit blues titan captured at New York's Hunter College, will make it's appearance on two individual LPs. Volume 2 of 2 includes raw and revered...
$27.10
John Lee Hooker Sings the Blues (LP, 180g colored Vinyl)
John Lee Hooker: John Lee Hooker Sings the Blues (LP, 180g... Art-Nr.: LP8008

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(Blues Joint) 16 tracks, 180g virgin vinyl Widely recognized as one of the true giants of the blues, John Lee Hooker's rhythmic approach to guitar playing became an integral part of the blues sound. John Lee Hooker Sings The Blues,...
$28.24
Boogie Chillen' - Boogie Chillen' #2 (7inch, 45rpm, Ltd.)
John Lee Hooker: Boogie Chillen' - Boogie Chillen' #2 (7inch,... Art-Nr.: 45SEN41

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(Ace Records 2 tracks This year marks the 75th anniversary of the release of John Lee Hooker’s ‘Boogie Chillen’. Recorded in Detroit in September 1948 by Bernard Besman – who had his own Sensation label – it was licensed to Modern...
$20.31
Hooker 'n' Heat (2-CD)
John Hooker Lee & Canned Heat: Hooker 'n' Heat (2-CD) Art-Nr.: CDBGOCD694

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(1970 'Liberty') (86:04/17) JOHN LEE HOKKER - gtr/voc & CANNED HEAT: ALAN WILSON - gtr/hca, HENRY VESTINE - gtr, ANTONIO DE LA BARREDA - bass, FIRO DE LA PARRA - drums.
$20.09
Boogie Chillen - The Essential Recordings Of
John Lee Hooker: Boogie Chillen - The Essential Recordings Of Art-Nr.: CDIGO2122

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(1948/49) (62:50/20)
$6.51 $12.73
Anywhere - Anytime - Any Place
John Lee Hooker: Anywhere - Anytime - Any Place Art-Nr.: UAS5512

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(1948 - 52) ??
$18.05
Boogie With
John Lee Hooker: Boogie With Art-Nr.: LPHIQ026

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(2014/Ace) 14 tracks.
$21.45
Travelin' (CD)
John Lee Hooker: Travelin' (CD) Art-Nr.: CDSOA81220

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(State Of Art) 29 Tracks - Deluxe Ecopack, CD in printed inner sleeve - Original Vee Jay recordings 1949-1960, two legendary albums, plus 4 bonus tracks! Brilliant sound quality!
$15.79
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