If you’re new to the genre and are looking for an easy entrance into the world of blues, you’re not going to get a better ticket than this recent issue from Vee Jay Records that celebrates his 100th birthday. John Lee Looker’s sound defined the Delta Blues, and most of those defining moments are captured on this one disc that covers his best material from 1954-65.
You might listen to these songs and think to yourself, “Hey, I’ve heard these licks before,” and you’d be right, as guys like Clapton, Page, Beck, Johnson, Lang and Bonamassa ripped them off and put them into their own lexicon. The difference is that Hooker invented the shifty lines on “I’m In The Mood” as well as patenting the vocal growl on the ’59 session, while his unaccompanied “Boogie Chillun’” is as ominous and eerie as any haunted house on Halloween. Both guitar and voice are foreboding on “Boom Boom” and “Dimples” while the team shuffles and snarls on “I Love You Honey.” Even Jim Morrison and the Doors were bitten by the Hooker bug by covering the classic “Crawlin’ Kingsnake.” Whether you’re learning the guitar or wanting to take a trip to the red clay of the South, this is your ride.