Talk:John Lee Hooker/Archive 1

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Archive 1

Untitled

I love the music of Mr. Hooker and am cross-posting this question also to "boogie woogie" page in hope of getting the attention of someone who can answer my question. I love music, and the music of Mr. Hooker and the broad genre of boogie woogie are two of my favorites. But I don't have any skills to analyze the musical structure of what I'm hearing. So, with a little help from those of you who have those skills, I would love to know whether John Lee Hooker's "Boogie Chillun" can be called boogie woogie at all, stylistically, musically, structurally, or in whatever way? If yes, could you explain for me what the distinctively boogie woogie elements of "Boogie Chillun" are? I think Mr. Hooker's music is known for its use of one-chord tone. Does this aspect of his music have anything to do with the boogie woogie style per se? --Oichiro 03:05, 11 Mar 2005 (UTC)

  • Hooker was the father of boogie. Does that tell you anything? :) Project2501a 22:13, 11 Mar 2005 (UTC)
    • Thanks for your comment, Project2501a. But I knew that he is called "the father of boogie," and that's exactly what made me wonder about this. The boogie woogie style was already popular in the 1920s. And I love both old boogie woogie and Hooker-style blues. But while they sound similar in one way or another, I think, they sound also different to my ears. For example, boogie woogie isn't played with one chord, is it? So, I would love to know what it is that are common and different characteristics between the traditional boogie woogie style which is usually played with piano and Mr. Hooker's so-called "boogie style" which is said to have been invented by the man himself in the 1940s. --Oichiro 01:16, 12 Mar 2005 (UTC)
  • I knew Hooker personally. He did not stutter in his normal speech. He also lived the last years of his life near the Bay Area, not in San Francisco itself. John Lee Hooker was also illiterate. - R

To Do


The reference "... giving an early opportunity to the young Bob Dylan." isn't clear. --sparkit 05:05, 12 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I was going to note that as well. Overall this is a great article, though, thanks to whoever wrote it!

Tributes/Artists who reference, cover, attribute careers/influence to JLH?

I'm thinking that a section on things like George Thorogood's reference to packing up his JLH record collection' in 'One bourbon, one scotch, one beer' and other such asides might be worth noting here to indicate further JLH's influence in the popular music?ThuranX 04:35, 15 March 2006 (UTC)


Can anyone confirm more information about one of JLH's sons continuing in his footsteps with a modern electric blues band? I believe he is working under the name John Lee Hooker Jr. Thanks A.

Actual Date of birth

There was an interview in Q magazine (uk) in 1989 where Hooker said that he was actually born in 1920 and lied about his age to get into the army, in order to impress girls with the uniform. Does anybody know if this is true?

His biography, Boogie Chillen, (written, horribly, by Charles Shaar Murray) says that Hooker himself isn't sure of the exact date, but it is likely 1917 (if I remember correctly). Possible dates were 17, 19, or 20. Sir Isaac Lime 20:38, 22 May 2006 (UTC)


I have read the sections of "Boogie Chillen" relating to Hooker's actual date of birth (this includes any references to his parents, brothers, and sisters) as well as many other websites that state Hooker's accepted year of birth as 1917 (most relate back to "Boogie Chillen"). I am astonished no one has consulted federal census records regarding this issue and set about looking for his presence in the 1920 enumeration, the first census taken after his claimed 1917 birth. I found a record in Tallahatchie County (next to Vance, where father Williams' sharecropping farm was supposedly located) in the town of Tutwiler that perfectly duplicates all family references as to brothers, sisters, parents, and their relative ages. John Hooker is listed as 7 years of age at his last birthday (August 22, 1919). While census records are not always correct, this one appears to be well thought out, with 9 closely spaced children with the correct names and parents William and Minnie with approximately 10 years age difference. I think it provides the only documentary evidence of JLH's actual age and should stand until someone finds contradictory evidence. I have therefore changed his date of birth to August 22, 1912, making him 5 years older than what is generally accepted. This could have been easily uncovered in the past, by the way, and should have been included in any original research conducted as part of Hooker's biographical portrait. "Boogie Chillen" does not cite its sources and is therefore not creditable as to this issue.Brprivate (talk)

I think the entire "Early Life" section should be rewritten. It is full of errors and speculation. As I have footnoted, the only true evidence of JLH's age resides in the 1920 federal census schedule, which lists him as 7 years of age on February 3, 1920. The ages of his parents cannot be stated with any certainty as well. I think Hooker's memory was poor, and the fact he was illiterate didn't help, either. He may well have been lying about his age to make himself seem wiser, as the only extant proof of his age has him being at least 5 years older than previously thought. I wouldn't put it past anybody to reinvent their beginnings, especially if proof was not readily available. Hooker sounded like he was full of hot air at times...Brprivate (talk) 02:14, 12 February 2011 (UTC)

There are currently many different birth dates specified on the page: 1897, 1912, 1918 (imlplicitly - "in 2001 and died soon afterwards at the age of 83"). Please check. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.117.194.34 (talk) 12:28, 1 February 2011 (UTC)

I think that date on his own website, now cited, is probably the one we should go with. The doubt is already expressed, although rather speculatively, and back-calculating from the census is synthesis. Rodhullandemu 21:47, 19 February 2011 (UTC)

Reworded intro

Since you removed my request for a citation, I added my own and updated the information at the same time. I have many books on the blues, so I hope its O.K. for me to add my two cents worth. Thanks! Mattisse(talk) 01:25, 4 November 2006 (UTC)

Matisse, of course it's great to add a citation, but as I mentioned in my edit (and subsequently on your talk page), there was already a citation there. Glad you combined both into one though (with the "palmer" nametag), rather than simply repeat it. Also, for a lot of the citations you requested earlier, a simple books.google.com search turned all of them up (saves flipping through the indices of various blues books). It took only slightly more time than adding the "citation needed" tag. Oh, and I changed "Hooker says he was influenced by..." to "Hooker was influenced by." If Hooker says he was influenced by someone, that means he was influenced by them, unless he was lying about it. Which is unlikely. Sir Isaac Lime 01:43, 4 November 2006 (UTC)
Please, Sir Isaac, read this link: Citation Needed in John L. Hooker An administrator, User:TomTheHand explains in detail that the position you are taking on my talk page and here is incorrect. If you like, I can ask him to explain it to you again if it is not clear. Mattisse(talk) 03:29, 4 November 2006 (UTC)


JLH a 'Delta Blues' musician (19th May 2012)? JLH a 'Delta Blues' musician (19th May 2012)? I've removed the descriptor 'delta blues' from the introductory sentence of this article. In my opinion, there is little explanatory power in labeling Hooker a Delta Blues musician. Indeed, there is little evidence in the rest of the article to suggest that it is even an appropriate label. While Hooker was of course born in Coahoma County MS, his departure towards Memphis and Detroit in his mid-teens seems to suggest a more urbane stylistic influence, as comparisons to boogie-woogie etc already present in the article shows. Similarly, as other parts of this article certainly state, if Hooker's music is thought to be quite idiosyncratic ("embody[ing] his own unique genre") and has noticeable departures from a "Delta style", then why should he be labeled as a Delta musician? It seems to me that in light of recent academic works that reassess the concept of the "Delta Blues" (e.g. Elijah Wald's "Escaping the Delta" or Marybeth Hamilton's "In Search of the Blues"), calling Hooker a "Delta Blues" musician is a rather over-simplified way of affirming his artistic worth, given the canonic status of other musicians who did indeed spend time in the delta (e.g. Muddy Waters, Son House, Robert Johnson etc). Many blues musicians had intriguingly varied and eclectic careers and influences, so it is arguably far better to show this through detailed consideration (as this article does), thereby avoiding convenient genre categories that serve to conceal the real depth of Hooker's biography. To put it a slightly cruder way, if the location of early childhood affects the style of music played in later life, then we will have to considerably reassess Sam Cooke, Ike Turner (both born Clarksdale MS) and jazz pianist Hank Jones (born Vicksburg MS) as Delta Blues musicians too! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.2.113.146 (talk) 17:16, 19 May 2012 (UTC)

Sir Isaac, thank you for you reply

Thank you Sir Isaac for your reply on my talk page. My point was that the information in the introduction was somewhat incorrect, so I changed it and gave a reference to try to deflect the criticism I suspected was heading my way from people who "own" the article. If you look in the edit history and the actual code, I think you will find that I did use named references. As I look through the article I saw more that was incorrect as well as important elements of the history of black recording ignored. As a member of the Wikipedia community, I want to improve an article about an important black artist, an article that seems unaware of the behind-the-scenes business issues which with black artists had to deal as well as other elements of the person, John Lee Hooker's, life. Thanks again! Mattisse(talk) 13:07, 4 November 2006 (UTC)

early life chronology error

The chronology in the "early life" first paragraph is internally inconsistent. Did William Hooker die in 1923 or 1933? 04:53, 9 December 2007 (UTC)

It couldn't have been the former date. According to Ted Gioia and Charles Shaar Murray, John Lee was still living at home with both parents when he was 9 or 10. He moved out of his father's house and moved in with his stepfather Will Moore (and his mother) when he was 14. (Murray, Boogie, 32-33)130.74.158.115 (talk)

played for President Clinton

in 1996 he met William Clinton, see http://www.rosebudus.com/rosebud/news/96-11-12.html - perhaps it is worth mentioning. Plehn (talk) 17:41, 6 April 2008 (UTC)

Boom Boom

According to the introduction text, Boom Boom was released in 1962. According to the discography it was released in 1961. Same problem on the page about the song. Stijn (talk) 12:25, 5 May 2009 (UTC). Comment from Claus Röhnisch - it was recorded in late 1961 but issued in 1962.

One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer

So One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer redirects to this page. As far as I am aware, that's a George Thorogood song, and not related to John Lee Hooker. Why does that redirect here? I did a quick search of the page before commenting to see if I could discern why this was the case, but there was no mention of the phrase.

Is this correct? --98.116.115.20 (talk) 00:47, 3 July 2009 (UTC)

Nevermind; learned that it was a cover of John's song. My own ignorance, I apologize. --98.116.115.20 (talk) 00:49, 3 July 2009 (UTC)

Inspiration for John Belushi's Jake Blues character

It has been documented in most interviews with John Belushi and in Blues Brothers historical articles that Belushi took his inspiration from his friend Curtis Salgado, and that is also where he got the idea for the "lip 'stache" or soul patch. It is not an uncommon facial feature among Jazz and Blues figures - Ray Charles and Dizzy Gillespie also sported them for most of their later lives... Elimarcus (talk) 15:08, 6 July 2009 (UTC)

tuning

(VAGUENESS ALERT!) Some years ago I heard an English musician speaking on UK radio about his experience playing in JLH's backing band - he had worked with him on one of his UK tours in the 1960s. The musician said that JLH neglected to tune his guitar, and it could be hard for band members to determine what key he he was playing in. The article already describes how the leader's approach to rhythm could impose considerable demands on the rest of the band - could anything be added about the difficulty in playing to his tuning? I'm neither a musician nor a scholarly enthusiast, so I can't do the job. Regards to all.

Was there a Tupelo Flood?

RE: "... a song about the flooding of Tupelo, Mississippi, in April 1936."

I'm not aware of one and can't find evidence of one. Tupelo is very far from the Mississippi and the Tupelo flood of 1936 referenced here does not appear to exist but to be repeated from similar assertions on the web. There was a major tornado in Tupelo in 1936... but I don't believe there was a flood. The major flood of the Mississippi of 1927 would not, I don't believe, have reached that far. Did Hooker use Tupelo as a stand-in for Galveston Texas, with its horrendous flood in 1900, about which "Sin-Killer" Griffin (allegedly) wrote a song with some similar lyrics to "Tupelo" -- see here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasn%27t_That_a_Mighty_Storm

Or maybe he was writing about the 1927 Mississippi flood. But it doesn't seem right that that would have impacted Tupelo.

Note this entry discusses a flood, but the actual flooding in 1936 in this case was not in Tupelo.

http://dublinlaurenscountygeorgia.blogspot.ca/2011/04/great-flood-of-1936.html

"The year 1936 was one of extremes. Eleven states had all time record highs in the hottest year since 1869. The previous winter was one of the coldest in the nation's history. With the extreme temperatures, massive and deadly storms were bound to occur. The apocalypse began on April 6 when multiple tornados slammed into Gainesville, Georgia. The storm has already reeked devastation on Tupelo, Mississippi, killing 213 people just two days before. When the cyclone was over, 203 people were dead and more than 1600 were hurting. The thirteen-million dollar cost included more than 750 damaged or destroyed homes. The cyclone was the fifth deadliest single-day killer in our country's history, just behind the Tupelo tempest." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.71.36.142 (talk) 23:27, 1 June 2015 (UTC)

Discography

The discography section was way too large and quite sloppily executed. I have moved it to its own article: John Lee Hooker discography. Please go there to spiffy it up. TuckerResearch (talk) 18:42, 19 June 2016 (UTC)

Year of birth

There is dispute over his birth year, and this needs to be reflected in the text by giving reliable published sources and setting out any explanation available. Readers should then consider all the information in front of them. Many sources give a birth year of 1917. However, the most authoritative source, generally, on blues musicians' vital dates is Eagle and LeBlanc, Blues: A Regional Experience, which gives 1912 (on p.190) and states in a footnote (on p.448):

1920 census, Tallahatchie County, February 3, age 7 and 1930 Census, Tallahatchie County, April 24, age 18. During his lifetime, he gave 1917 and 1920 as his year of birth. His SS-5 card (courtesy of Jim O'Neal), registered on October 19, 1942 while living in Lambert, Mississippi, states that Johnie [sic] Lee Hooker was born in Glendora, Tallahatchie County, on August 22, 1917, to William Hooker and Lee Ethel Moore

I will re-edit the text accordingly, and welcome further discussion here. Ghmyrtle (talk) 14:01, 13 July 2017 (UTC)

For some time, various IP and WP:Single-purpose account editors have pushing for one year over the other, without providing any justification or additional reliable sources. The current version[1] notes the different dates and cites RS, all in keeping with WP:DUE. Hooker was a major figure in post-War blues – it's too bad more effort couldn't be put into actually improving and expanding the article. —Ojorojo (talk) 15:21, 13 July 2017 (UTC)
Indeed - it's on my "to do" list along with many others. The regular vandal here (now resorting to changing other editors' comments) uses dynamic IPs which all locate to Australia, for what it's worth. Ghmyrtle (talk) 06:56, 15 July 2017 (UTC)
It appears there has been a fair amount of socket puppet activity on this article over the last few years. I've started to add {{Uw-vandalism2}} with "John Lee Hooker" and a date to the editor's talk pages. At least it documents the problem for possible future admin action. —Ojorojo (talk) 13:21, 15 July 2017 (UTC)

Regarding the year of John Lee Hooker's birth, may I point to the most reliable published source regarding much of Hooker's personal history, and that is Charles Shaar Murray's Boogie Man: The Adventures of John Lee Hooker in the American Twentieth Century, Canongate Books, 1999, ISBN 0-312-26563-8. This biography is authorized and authoritative [1], and on page 22 it states:

A certain amount of confusion exists around the precise place and date of John Lee Hooker's birth; much of it created by Hooker himself. He's always cited his birthday as 22 August, but the year has been variously reported as 1915, 1917, 1920 and 1923. ...rather than the more commonly cited (and probably accurate) 1917.

In fact, I was John Lee’s manager for some time which included a brief period when he wanted to correct the record to note a 1920 birth date (this grew out of a 70th birthday party for him in 1987). A year later he reverted to an admission that he was born in 1917. It seems he was initially uncomfortable being noted as a 70 year old man. This year, his family / estate, Concord Records and NARAS (the US Grammy organization) are all celebrating August 22 as the 100th anniversary of his birth [2] so ideally this page can also be updated to note Hooker’s birth year as 1917 and not 1912. Since I am new here, my apologies for any approach and / or formatting errors. Toboggan17 (talk) 23:01, 15 August 2017 (UTC)

References

  1. ^ https://www.amazon.com/Boogie-Man-Adventures-American-Twentieth/dp/0312270062
  2. ^ http://www.johnleehooker.com/
Thanks for your contribution here - it's very welcome. My view on this point (and it's a relatively minor point - the main problem is that the article as a whole needs expansion and improvement) is that the article text should be clarified, to make explicit the uncertainties over his birth date, in the opening sentence and infobox as well as in the text. The fact that JLH thought that he had been born in 1917 is important and noteworthy - but, it may not be accurate, given what Eagle and LeBlanc report regarding the 1920 census information. So, we should report both dates, with clear reasons, noting the uncertainty, and allow readers to come to their own conclusion. Ghmyrtle (talk) 07:16, 16 August 2017 (UTC)
Thank you for your response. We certainly respect your position and agree that the article is in need of improvement to clear up some inaccuracies. And, as you mention, ideally the article could be expanded to include and correct other noteworthy events from John Lee's life. We have actually already compiled a list of corrections, based on my 25 years representing John Lee which included many direct discussions with him clarifying various aspects of his history. If you would be interested in helping update the article we would be happy to collaborate with you on that. We have set up the emailing preference on my account here, so if you wouldn't mind contacting me directly there we'd be happy to discuss changes / additions before posting more on the Talk pages as they are probably too lengthy to note there. Also, you can find more details on my background and John Lee at on The Rosebud Agency's website http://www.rosebudus.com/intro/ Best, Mike Kappus Toboggan17 (talk) 00:48, 17 August 2017 (UTC)
I've added a mention of this year's "centenary" events, as reported here. Ghmyrtle (talk) 14:16, 22 August 2017 (UTC)
Thanks for making the slight amendment to the main article but the infobox (within the main article) still does not yet reflect the 1917 birth date. Also, further to our conversation, we have tracked down John Lee's passport which further confirms his birth date as August 22, 1917. Please let me know the best way to upload this image to either this Talk Page or the main article as this should further validate 1917 as John Lee's year of birth. Again, there are many elements that need to be changed but even at a brief first glance, in the second paragraph, it implies just one Grammy win for Don't Look Back while in fact John Lee won two for that album [1] and a total of four Grammys overall, in addition to a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. During this time there will likely be a good deal more traffic to this page, so we would truly appreciate an openness to updating and making Mr. Hooker's career and achievements more factually accurate. We have a number of other points that should be changed, all of which are confirmed by reliable sources. I have set up an email link in my account preferences where I hope we can discuss changes / additions in more detail. Thanks, Mike Toboggan17 (talk) 19:50, 22 August 2017 (UTC)

References

  1. ^ https://www.grammy.com/grammys/awards/40th-annual-grammy-awards
There should be no problem in adding the 1917 alt date to the infobox. However, even a passport does not "validate" or "confirm" his birth date - perhaps it only confirms that was when he believed he was born. In any case, it would be a primary source, which we would prefer not to use here (see WP:PRIMARY). Regarding the rest of the text, yes, it needs to be improved greatly, but that depends on other volunteer editors' availability and willingness to do that - personally, I have many commitments elsewhere, I'm afraid. Ghmyrtle (talk) 20:02, 22 August 2017 (UTC)
Thanks for editing the info box to note the 1917 date. Would it be possible to note in the explanation that primary sources such as the John Lee Hooker's passport indicate and support the 1917 assertion? We do appreciate your attention to this and, as you note that you are personally too busy, would you have any suggestions as to how we go about addressing the various other points that need revision? How should we set up a new discussion within this Talk page for each new point we wish to discuss editing? Toboggan17 (talk) 20:37, 22 August 2017 (UTC)
We can only add a reference to the fact that his passport says he was born in 1917 if there is a reliable published source that makes that comment - and I don't know that there is one. Regarding the other points, the best thing to do would be to list them on this page (you could use the asterisk * key to put it in list format), and then other editors (pinging Ojorojo, who may be interested), would be able to search good sources to see whether they can be reflected in the article. Ghmyrtle (talk) 07:16, 23 August 2017 (UTC)
Thanks for your feedback.
Would official communications from organizations like the Blues Foundation's National office, the Grammy Museum or Craft Recordings be sufficient as reliable published sources confirming the legitimacy of the passport?

With regard to other points we would like to discuss with the other editors, below are some of the factual areas that could do with being addressed. To other editors on here (and to Ojorojo) - please let us know if you agree with the following edits and advise if you can incorporate them into the article:

  • Under the sub-title "Later life and death", in the first paragraph, ideally this could be expanded to note the other luminary collaborators on The Healer as currently it notes only Carlos Santana and Bonnie Raitt. Other artists to add: Los Lobos, Robert Cray, Canned Heat, George Thorogood and Charlie Musselwhite. Reference: https://www.discogs.com/John-Lee-Hooker-The-Healer/master/107069
  • Under the sub-title "Later life and death", in the second paragraph,ideally this could be expanded with regard to Van Morrison and John Lee Hooker's history and collaborations. Suggested additional text: Hooker and Van Morrison initially spent time together, on and off stage, during the time Hooker spent in England in the mid-‘60s. (Reference:Murray, Charles Shaar (1999), Boogie Man: The Adventures of John Lee Hooker in the American Twentieth Century. Canongate Books. p.401.) Their first collaboration on record was on Hooker’s 1972 studio album Never Get Out of These Blues Alive. Reference: https://www.discogs.com/John-Lee-Hooker-Never-Get-Out-Of-These-Blues-Alive/release/2590852
  • Also, to be more complete, ideally the current text could be revised to read:

During the 1980’s and 1990’s Hooker recorded several songs with Morrison including "The Healing Game", “Travellin’ Blues”, “Don’t Look Back”, “Rainy Day”, "I Cover the Waterfront", “Wasted Years”, and a cover of Morrison’s hit “Gloria”. He also appeared on stage with Morrison several times; one such performance appeared on Morrison’s live album A Night in San Francisco. References: https://www.discogs.com/John-Lee-Hooker-Dont-Look-Back/release/1247660; "I Cover The Waterfront" https://www.discogs.com/John-Lee-Hooker-Mr-Lucky/release/908589; "Wasted Years" and "Gloria" https://www.discogs.com/Van-Morrison-Too-Long-In-Exile/release/1002675; A Night in San Francisco https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Night_in_San_Francisco

  • Also, under the sub-title "Later life and death", in the fourth paragragh, the text here is inaccurate.

John Lee did not live in Long Beach in the last years of his life. He did have a home there several years earlier but for the last years of his life he lived in Los Altos, CA. Text should be amended to note: Hooker spent the last years of his life in Los Altos, California.

In the same paragraph, the current text is factually inaccurate. John Lee only licensed his name and lent the title of his song for use by the club. He was not an owner. More accurate text would read: In 1997, he licensed his name and lent the title of one of his hit songs to a nightclub in San Francisco's Fillmore District, John Lee’s Boom Boom Room (now simply known as the Boom Boom Room as the license expired some years ago).

  • Under the sub-title "Later life and death", in the fifth paragraph, the text here is misleading. John Lee did not fall ill just before a European tour, so it would be more factually accurate to delete that portion of that sentence and simply read: Hooker died in his sleep on June 21, 2001.

[FYI, John Lee did cancel a European tour at least a year prior when a doctor’s examination revealed that he had numerous aneurysms. He then cancelled his pending European tour and chose not to have an operation. Not feeling any differently than before, he decided to continue performing. He had an uneventful and typical show on a Saturday night, bringing the opening act onstage to join him for the last song. Afterward he enjoyed socializing with everyone in his dressing room. With no signs of any illness or medical concern he went to sleep a few days later and passed away during his sleep.]

  • Under sub-title "Awards and recognition - Grammy Awards", the Grammy John Lee won for Chill Out is missing. The following text should be added: Best Traditional Blues Album, 1995, for Chill Out

Reference: https://www.grammy.com/grammys/awards/38th-annual-grammy-awards

Thanks, Toboggan17 (talk) 01:12, 24 August 2017 (UTC)

Several good points have been brought up here.
  • The current wording adequately addresses the issues surrounding his birthdate – the fact that his passport lists 1917 does not "confirm" or "validate" the year of his birth. It was common for those born without or unable to locate a birth certificate to swear to a birthdate in an affidavit that could be used to obtain a passport. Therefore, adding a passport as a reference does not provide any independent verification of his birthdate – it just reflects what he asserted at one time.
  • His Grammy awards should be corrected (with citations to reliable sources).
  • There is too much emphasis on his collaborations. It's great that he received all the attention they brought him, but the focus (and bulk of the text) of the article should be on his recordings, tours, etc. Most of the collaboration albums have their own articles and the details should be added there. (BTW, Discogs has user-generated content; AllMusic or professional biographies are preferred as sources.)
  • Long Beach, club, illness, cancelled tours, etc. – since this article has been repeatedly vandalized, only statements with inline citations to reliable sources should be included. It would be better to have no text rather than possible inaccurate information.
There are several Hooker bios and he is profiled in many blues reference books. It should be possible to make this a worthwhile article.
—Ojorojo (talk) 17:14, 24 August 2017 (UTC)
Thanks Ojorojo for your feedback. We will keep adding suggestions for the article here as we pull reliable sources, in order for the article to be expanded upon and made more accurate.
So far, we have gone ahead and made the following edits to the article, which ideally are still agreeable:
  • Expanded on John Lee's Grammy achievements in the first section and added the Chill Out Grammy to the Awards list at the bottom of the page.
  • Corrected the spelling of the song "Elizabeth" (previously it had noted "Elizebeth")
  • Amended the typo under the External links section to read "John Lee Hooker Story" (previously it had noted "Leee")
Toboggan17 (talk) 19:42, 25 August 2017 (UTC)

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Birthdate

This obituary cites an exact birthdate.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/jun/23/guardianobituaries — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2001:8003:F00A:BC00:5525:C22:480B:F167 (talk) 05:42, 4 June 2020 (UTC)

https://www.nndb.com/people/459/000046321/ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2001:8003:F00A:BC00:5525:C22:480B:F167 (talk) 05:50, 4 June 2020 (UTC)

"Boom Boom" charts

I write the sources for r&b chart position of "Boom Boom":Blues Records 1943 to 1970:a selective Discography,vol.1 A to K by Mike Leadbitter & Neil Slaven (London:Record Information Services 1987);Boogie Man:The Adventures of John Lee Hooker in the American 20th Century by Charles Shaar Murray (New York St.Martin's Press 1990)(the best book on J.L.Hooker in many,and mine,opinion);Joel Whitburn's top R&B singles 1942-1988 by Joel Whitburn (Menomonee Falls,WI Record Research,inc. 1988) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.98.130.202 (talk) 16:42, 31 January 2022 (UTC)

Complete nonsense: Whitburn lists the peaks for "Boom Boom" as R&B No.16 and Hot 100 No.60. —Ojorojo (talk) 17:01, 31 January 2022 (UTC)
[fixed indentation & added sig] OMG where did you see?internet?now is changed too to #16....stop that,these sources are cited on "Hooker's Finest" Vee-Jay Records 2017 great compilation of J.L.Hooker on that label.It says number 1 R&B charts.....you cannot accept that? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.98.130.202 (talk • contribs) 17:25, 31 January 2022 (UTC)
I own Joel Whitburn's book, who is a recognized expert. Billboard, the actual chart source, states the same positions as Whitburn.[2] If some repackaged compilation shows otherwise, it's an error and doesn't belong in an article. —Ojorojo (talk) 18:18, 31 January 2022 (UTC)
Repackaged compilation???you boring,i have many direct sources who say that.Maybe try to listen to that compilation (repackaged...ahahah you find it on John Lee Hooker official website).Please stop that — Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.98.130.202 (talk • contribs) 18:28, 31 January 2022 (UTC)
We go with what reliable published sources like Whitburn say - not compilation liner notes. Ghmyrtle (talk) 18:34, 31 January 2022 (UTC)
[fixed indentation & added sig] Charles Shaar Murray book is the best on J.L.Hooker.Yesterday position for "Boom Boom" was #14,today is #16,is obvious who's wrong.Maybe for a couple of years in early '60 Billboard didnt publish R&B charts. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.98.130.202 (talk • contribs) 18:42, 31 January 2022 (UTC)
I've submitted a request for a third opinion.[3] It may take up to six days for a response; a break from editing the article probably would be good for us both. —Ojorojo (talk) 18:50, 31 January 2022 (UTC)
The author of the liner notes on "Hooker's Finest" is Bill Dahl:watch his website to know how important and valued he is.He wrote books,and liner notes for so many great artists and labels,and won a Grammy too for his liner notes to Ray Charles album (if i remember good a compilation published in the '90).If you talk in derogatory terms about a "repackaged compilation",i let you know i have circa 30 J.L.Hooker's albums,vinyl(some of them 1st vinyl print) and cd,i have all albums He did on Vee-Jay (3 of them on original Vee-Jay vinyl),that compilation is really great and sounds fantastic. Now i'm also the more active fan on Facebook ;) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.98.130.202 (talk • contribs) 20:20, 31 January 2022 (UTC)
Whitburn states that it reached number 16. Leadbitter and Slaven do not give chart positions. Charles Shaar Murray (p.239 in my edition) says: "...released at the end of 1961, its [that is, "Boom Boom"'s] stately progress up the charts eventually peaked in mid-June of 1962 at Number 16...". If Dahl really says that in his liner notes, he was wrong. Ghmyrtle (talk) 21:03, 31 January 2022 (UTC).
Then why yesterday position was #14?i can't understand,so before you didn't use these sources?anyway before i cited the sources of Bill Dahl's liner notes — Preceding unsigned comment added by ‎ 62.98.130.202 (talk • contribs) 22:24, 31 January 2022 (UTC)
That was a minor typographical error introduced some time ago, but not picked up at the time. The source has always been Whitburn's book. Ghmyrtle (talk) 22:36, 31 January 2022 (UTC)
Thank you for my ban.Early years Wikipedia was bad,like it is now,but at least it was free,these fascist methods are really funny,ojorojo wikipedia is not your property.Anyway i took a look to your sources,on the article and posted here:first you used a lot liner notes of cd and Bill Dahl as sources,if i did it you said is not good.You posted here a link,to demonstrate r&b chart position #16.I took a look and found it is a 1998 article on Billboard celebrating John Lee Hooker,in which the author (you know him?) states that;it's not original Billboard chart position in 1962.Considering that "Boom Boom" re-recorded in 1992 reached #16 on British Charts,it could be an error,seems strange same position in Billboard r&b and British charts.Anyway sources for charting position in liner notes of "Whiskey & Wimmen - Hooker's Finest" are Vee-Jay tapes & boxes,because this is an original Vee-Jay Records(property of Concord),not like some of your liner notes you used as source.I trust much more Vee-Jay tapes than random internet sources or authors.Then finally i found you copied,word for word,in your J.L.Hooker biography,that 1998 article on Billboard magazine:this is copyright violation; i contacted my lawyer,who has already sent a mail to Virgin (publisher of Billboard at that time);wikipedia will pay for your mistake.Go on my friend,continue to live on wikipedia,i'm going to listen to John Lee Hooker on my high quality hi-fi.From now on,i will not write more here,so if you continue to write i will not answer.Good bye — Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.98.130.202 (talk • contribs) 23:05, 2 February 2022 (UTC)
Possible legal threat reported to ANI.[4] It's probably a good idea to cease all discussions with them until it is resolved. —Ojorojo (talk) 15:13, 3 February 2022 (UTC)
This is still going on - now at John Lee Hooker discography. It is quite plain that sources that indicate that the record reached #1 on a Billboard chart are factually wrong. Ghmyrtle (talk) 22:21, 20 April 2022 (UTC)
yes Whitburn and Vee-Jay files and boxes tapes are wrong... i found so many sources wrong on Wikipedia (not the sources, but Wikipedia citing inexistent sources).Man how could be a booklet of an official Vee-Jay-John Lee Hooker release wrong and you Wikipedia and random internet sources good?another point:if "Boom Boom" charted #16 in r&b and #60 in pop,it means #1-15 r&b were #1-50 on the pop charts?if it is real, it is really incredible and absurd 62.98.138.76 (talk) 22:31, 20 April 2022 (UTC)
ok Ghmyrtle do what you want, i'll not change more but i'm bored, i demonstrated you in many ways (and i'm not good on the web and writing in english), all your answers on many arguments are wrong, just i'm a music passionate, quite expert and a record collector, i do this for my master John Lee Hooker. 62.98.138.76 (talk) 22:37, 20 April 2022 (UTC)

Personal Life?

I find it strange that there's nothing about his personal life here. Should this article at least mention and link to the article about his son, John Lee Hooker Jr.? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lee_Hooker_Jr. I also found references saying he was married four times and had eight children. http://www.famoussingers.org/john-lee-hooker https://biography.yourdictionary.com/john-lee-hooker Actually Michael Hurwicz (talk) 02:27, 1 May 2022 (UTC)

In the German wikipedia you'll find this (gathered by myself).

Marriages and children

John Lee Hooker was married four times and had a total of 8 children. In 1943, he married Alma Hopes and had a daughter with her named Frances.[16] The marriage was divorced after a few months. He then married Sarah Jones. This marriage also lasted only a short time.[17]

In 1946, he married Maude Mathis.[18] She gave birth to daughter Diane in 1946.[19] She was followed in 1948 by Vera, who later called herself Zakiya.[20] She is a blues and jazz singer. In 1952, his son John Lee Jr. was born, who later became a blues musician himself.[21] In 1953, Robert was born[22] He too became a musician, accompanying his father on the LP Never Get Out of These Blues Alive (1972) on organ. Later, Robert Hooker became a preacher and got out of the music business. He was followed in the sibling line by Shyvonne and youngest daughter Karen. In total, according to Shaar Murray, Hooker had 6 children with Maude Mathis,[23] and probably at least one more with another woman.[24] The marriage, which was turbulent at times, was divorced in 1969 after 23 years.[25]

Around the year 1976, Hooker married a Canadian woman, Millie Strom. The marriage was divorced after a few years.[26]

When I find time, I'll transfer it. But you may do that with sources too. Mr. bobby (talk) 10:22, 1 May 2022 (UTC)

The main source for all that information is the biography, Boogie Man, by Charles Shaar Murray. I have the book, but don't have the time at the moment to go through it methodically. If anyone else can do that, it would be great. Ghmyrtle (talk) 15:34, 1 May 2022 (UTC)
Original research may not be used as a source. —C.Fred (talk) 17:16, 14 September 2022 (UTC)

External links

Mr. bobby: The link to "The Great R&B-files Created By Claus Röhnisch" does not contain any useful information about Hooker: it's just a general list of Rohnisch's various topics. His "World's Greatest Blues Singer" (a different link[5]) is a supplement to Rohnisch's discography, and is full of material copied from other writers and sites, which are clearly Copyright violations, and therefore fails WP:ELNEVER:

If there is reason to believe that a website has a copy of a work in violation of its copyright, do not link to it. Linking to a page that illegally distributes someone else's work casts a bad light on Wikipedia and its editors.

—Ojorojo (talk) 17:32, 23 October 2022 (UTC)

Look at this page: [[6]], a pdf. I do not see any copyright violation and I am not the police. The pages of Röhnisch deliver very much information for everybody interested in John Lee (and also others). The internet was made for such information. And nobody is harmed by collecting these huge amounts of information. On the contrary: Hooker's work is really promoted. Without financial interests. The own homepage, on the other hand, is a boring, financially oriented page.Mr. bobby (talk) 20:17, 23 October 2022 (UTC)

@Mr. bobby: You really need to look more carefully: the linked discography page includes large blocks of text copied from record labels/track listing details and articles by well-known professional published authors, such as Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Tony Russell, Charles Shaar Murray, Jas Obrecht, and Bill Dahl (photocopies of his complete liner notes with the artwork from Blues Immortal Virgin anothology), who all copyright their work. This may be OK for a personal, fan-type webpage, but the WP:External links guidelines make it clear that it is inappropriate for WP articles.
The actual link currently in the article is to an index page[7] that also includes links to Rohnisch's pages for the Coasters and other R&B artists that have little or no additional information about Hooker. WP:LINKSTOAVOID #13 includes:

Sites that are only indirectly related to the article's subject: the link should be directly related to the subject of the article. A general site that has information about a variety of subjects should usually not be linked from an article on a more specific subject.

It appears that someone is again trying to generate interest in Rohnisch's various webpages by adding links as has been attempted several times over the years (are you associated with Rohnisch in some way?). If you wish to pursue this, WP:External links/Noticeboard is available. Meanwhile, the link does not belong in the article and should be should be removed.
—Ojorojo (talk) 16:53, 24 October 2022 (UTC)
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