John Lee Hooker

A sharecropper's son transforms the blues with his electrifying, self-invented boogie style, defying musical conventions to become a legendary voice of the genre.

Born

1917

Died

2001

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Decades active

In short · Acted for six decades — 8 credits.

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Biography

John Lee Hooker was an influential American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive electric guitar adaptation of Delta blues. Born to a sharecropper family, he gained prominence in Detroit by developing a driving-rhythm boogie style that set him apart from earlier piano-based boogie-woogie. His music often blended elements of talking blues and early North Mississippi hill country blues. Recognized for his contributions to the genre, Hooker was ranked 35th in Rolling Stone's 2015 list of the 100 greatest guitarists and is widely regarded as one of the greatest male blues vocalists in history.

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