Well, hey hey
When I first came to town, people
I was walking down Hastings Street
I heard everybody talking about
Henry's Swing Club
I dropped in there that night
I did the boogie
(1948, from JLH, "Boogie Chillen'")
A few more snippets from Jörg Bundschuh's John Lee Hooker: That's My Story (2001).
JLH: "My real father was a minister . . . We didn't have TVs, we didn't have electricity so we didn't have to worry about what we didn't have . . ."
He left Mississippi and hit Memphis, Tennessee during the Great Depression.
JLH: "I meeted people, seen people, seen the bright lights, different things. I could never explain it to you all, but in my heart I know."
After World War II, he finally achieved a breakthrough in Detroit with "Boogie Chillen."
Maudie Hooker: "When that hit came out he never worked at that factory no more. . ."
Freedom from wage slavery -- what worker wouldn't delight in that moment?
Today's Rune: Protection.
Birthdays: Karl Friedrich Hieronymus Freiherr von Münchhausen, Irving Berlin (b. Israel Isidore Baline), Martha Graham, Louis Farrakhan (b. Louis Eugene Walcott), Eric Burdon, Martha Quinn, Johnny Yen. Also, a salute to JR's Thumbprints!
4 comments:
There's nothing quite like some good blues is there, Eric?
Check this boy out...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBikhkv6XP0
damn, I meant Erik. sorry.
Susan, great slide guitar there by Kelly Joe Phelps -- thanks for the link and comments! Yes, the K is vital -- would not want to be confused with anyone named Eric with a C. Especially these days.
Post a Comment