John Lee Hooker, born August 22, 1912, in Clarksdale, Mississippi…

[Don D.]

It might not have been 1912, but it was Clarksdale. I moved to Clarksdale about a month ago. I’m getting unpacked. I love it here. Earl Hooker was also born here, but his family moved to Chicago when he was an infant. A lot of people lived here and the blues scene is still really active. There are about 15 festivals every year, and there are several blues clubs with music every night. I’m still recovering from the move so I haven’t been going out as much as I would like, but I have the rest of my life here to do that.

By the way, I’ll start consolidating the Challenges again for August in early September.

The music in this playlist is dedicated to the music of John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912–June 21, 2001)

…i…n…t…e…r…v….i…e…w…s…

John Lee Hooker in conversation with Studs Terkel (WFMT, Chicago, October 21, 1971)
https://studsterkel.wfmt.com/programs/john-lee-hooker-conversation-studs-terkel

“Messin’ With The Hook: Our 1986 John Lee Hooker Feature,” by Bart Bull (Spin magazine, posted on February 14, 2021)

Messin’ With the Hook: Our 1986 John Lee Hooker Feature

“John Lee Hooker and The Blues on Hastings Street” (on the Detroit History Podcast; March 10, 2019)

Season 2 – Episode 05: John Lee Hooker And The Blues on Hastings Street

There’s a link in the playlist description, with text that begins, “Link to interviews near the end of this playlist, including a few with Zakiya Hooker…”. The link won’t work when I paste it here, but if you’re interested, it’s in the description area here (click on the playlist title to access description area).

:::A:::L:::B:::U:::M:::S::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The official John Lee Hooker channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdLnBWRkJUD4JTL6cCZmQSg/playlists?view=50&sort=dd&shelf_id=472

The Legendary Modern Recordings (recorded 1948–1954)

No Friend Around (1950s)

Travelin’ (Vee-Jay, 1960)

Don’t Turn Me From Your Door, John Lee Hooker Sings His Blues. All tracks recorded in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1953, except for tracks 3, 6, 9 and 14 recorded in Miami, Florida on July 7, 1961 (produced by Henry Stone), released 1963.

The Big Soul of John Lee Hooker (1963)

Burning Hell (1964)

Urban Blues (1967), Louis Myers on harmonica, Wayne Bennett (or Buddy Guy) on guitar, Eddie Taylor on guitar and bass, Phil Upchurch on bass, Al Duncan on drums

If You Miss ‘im, I Got ‘im (1968), featuring Earl Hooker

The Best Of… 20th Century Masters (the Millennium Collection)

…a…n…d…….m…o…r…e…

Newport Jazz Festival, Saturday, August 17, 1991 (in 6 parts)

Sound files at Archive.org
https://archive.org/search.php?query=John%20Lee%20Hooker

Don D.

Topic

[GnLguy]

Hey Don

Glad that you are back on the forum and congrats on surviving such a huge move.
NYC to Clarksdale – just a bit of difference in the population and rush of life. Sounds like a good place

[Don D.]

Thanks Keith, this is the right place for this time in my life. I enjoyed living in New York, but I love it here. I already feel a sense of connection.

Don D.

[Don D.]

The picture is the Sunflower River looking north-ish from the First Street Bridge. I live on a corner, and both streets dead-end about a block from my place because of the river (it bends).

There are 2 bridges leading to the downtown area, about a 15-minute walk from here, the First Street bridge, completed in the early 2000s, and the Second Street bridge, completed in 1936. I go downtown about every other day, crossing the river twice when I do. I stop and have a look, take a picture every time. The pictures look pretty similar, there are the 4 basic vistas, but the skies vary enough to make some of them interesting.

The Sunflower River Blues Festival took place a couple weekends ago. It was my first festival and I loved it. I went Friday night and around noon on Saturday.

By the time the headliners — Big A Sherrod and his band and the main attraction, Kingfish — took the stage at 9 on Saturday, I went back home to freshen up at 7 and got too comfortable to go back. But I heard Big A’s performance clearly from my porch, and I could even hear Kingfish when I went inside my house (well enough to recognize him, but it wasn’t clear). The sound must travel up the river or something when it quiets down at night.

The next festival will be this weekend, Red’s Bar is hosting it (one of the links in the post above has details, maybe both will by now). I should be there for at least some of the festivities.

Don D.

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[San Luis Rey]

Good to see you back posting a Blues Roots Don! Wow, that is quite a change from NYC to Clarksdale! Seems you like the peace and quiet and the blues scene. Not too far to run up the road to Memphis or Nashville either. Best of luck in your new home,
Mike

Mike

[Don D.]

Thanks Mike, it’s beautiful here, beyond all my expectations. I need to get my license—I’m meeting with a driving instructor Monday morning. Once I do that, it will be a lot easier to get around. It’s good to be away from all the noise of the city. With the cicadas, crickets and frogs, I can’t say it’s quiet here, but it’s a different kind of sound, it’s a relaxing sound.

Don D.

[Author]

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