And
the fogies and squarejohns-and-janes who witnessed the outset of Rock
and Roll thought it bad enough that it was all three chords: imagine
the conniptions they had when they heard someone using only one.
Yes, the music of John Lee Hooker could be so simple and
single-minded in its dedication to The Boogie, both eternal and (yes)
endless.
Yet
it was a simplicity, like that of the Ramones, one could emulate but
never hope to duplicate. And equally as infectious and grooveable in
its way as the Forest Hills Fabs.
Although,
to give fair play, many did try: his 'Boom Boom' was fantastically
souped up and unleashed by The Animals and, later, Dr. Feelgood
(although Wilko's mob's take was closer to the original, while Eric
and co. essayed more of a jazzy swing, no doubt the handiwork of Alan
Price).
The sultry juke joint pulse of RL Burnside, Junior Kimbrough
and other Mississippi Hill Country dwellers also clearly and deeply
drank from the well of the Hook. Not to ignore the widely assumed Mod
speedfreak stutter of The Who's “My Generation” being, as later
revealed, Pete Townshend's hat tip to a Hooker side called
“Stuttering Blues”.
A
rarely acknowledged element of his biography is that John Lee Hooker,
in the latter part of his life, maintained a steady presence in the
Greater Bay Area. He was a regular feature act in jazz and blues
clubs around San Francisco, including Sugar Hill on Broadway in North
Beach, owned and operated by folk singer Barbara Dane during the
early-mid Sixties.
It
was in the Bay Area where, during the late Sixties, Hooker encountered and struck up
a friendship with a certain admirer named Van Morrison that endured the rest of his life and
career. (The video of Hooker sitting in with Van during the latter's
concert in the fall of 1989 at New York's Beacon Theater – captured
on the video Van Morrison In Concert – is a must see.)
Then there was, most notably, the venerable blues dive across the street from the
original San Francisco Fillmore once known as Jack's Tavern (1601
Fillmore at Geary), scene of many an after hours gig patronized by
players having just finished a Fillmore set. When taken over by
new management in the early Nineties, Hooker, a regular patron of
Jack's, gave his blessing for them to rename it The Boom Boom Room.
Until his passing in June 2001 at his home in Los Altos (some 40 miles
south of The City), Hooker's name even reigned above the title on the neon
sign hanging outside the club.
Back
in 1963, however, Hooker would enter a Detroit studio, assisted by,
among others, a troupe of female singers from the Motown Records session pool
that included Mary Wilson of the Supremes. He then proceeded to
transform Tony Bennett's recently minted chestnut into a typically
down-home yet simultaneously uptown tribute to his soon to be adopted
homebase. (It
was later redone on Hooker's 1997 album Don't Look Back.)
