One of the last living links to the pre-war blues of the Mississippi Delta, John Lee Hooker's electrifying releases of the '50s one-chord wonders, repetitious with idiosyncratic tempos-have carried him through fallow periods into a celebrated old age. Hooker was born in Clarksdale, Miss., on June 17, 1920, and grew up singing spirituals until in his teens. He soon fell under the influence of his stepfather Will Moore and Moore's acquaintances: Blind Lemon Jefferson, Charley Patton and Blind Blake. Hooker passed through Memphis on his way to Cincinnati in '36, but it wasn't until his arrival in Detroit in '43 that he found commercial acceptance. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area in semi-retirement, but you can still catch an occasional gig.

 
 

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Bluesman John Lee Hooker Dies at 83
By KIM CURTIS, Associated Press Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Bluesman John Lee Hooker, whose foot stompin' and gravelly voice on songs like ``Boom Boom'' and ``Boogie Chillen'' electrified audiences and inspired generations of musicians, died Thursday. He was 83.

Hooker died of natural causes as he slept at his home in Los Altos, south of San Francisco, said agent Mike Kappus and manager Rick Bates.

The veteran blues singer from the Mississippi Delta estimated he recorded more than 100 albums over nearly seven decades. He won a Grammy Award for a version of ``I'm In The Mood,'' was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award at last year's Grammys (news - web sites).

Through it all, Hooker's music remained hypnotic and unchanged - his rich and sonorous voice, full of ancient hurt, coupled with a brooding, rhythmic guitar. He sang of loneliness and confusion. Neither polished nor urbane, his music was raw, primal emotion.