John Lee Hooker

Blues superstar singer and guitarist John Lee Hooker’s very first six-string was nothing more than a series of rubber strips tacked to the side of a barn. ∙ His 1948 debut, the No. 1 hit “Boogie Chillen,” was so influential on rock ’n’ roll that it was named one of the Recording Industry Association of America’s Songs of the Century. ∙ His signature use of lean riffs influenced such artists as Carlos Santana and Van Morrison, and his legendary playing earned him a spot on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists. ∙ Now known as the King of the Boogie, Hooker used many pseudonyms early in his career—including Texas Slim and Little Pork Chops—so that he could record for a variety of labels. ∙ The 1962 R&B smash “Boom Boom,” which he performed during a cameo in the cult classic film The Blues Brothers, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2016. ∙ Blues rockers Canned Heat, longtime fans of Hooker’s, collaborated with him on the 1972 double LP Hooker ’N Heat, which became his first Billboard-charting album. ∙ Bonnie Raitt duetted on an updated version of “I’m In The Mood”—a No. 1 hit back in 1951—for his 1989 album, The Healer, which earned Hooker his first of four Grammy Awards. ∙ In addition to being inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1991, he was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000. ∙ In 1983, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded him a National Heritage Fellowship, one of the highest arts and culture honors given by the US government.