August 22nd in African American History – John Lee Hooker

John Lee Hooker

August 22, 1917 John Lee Hooker, singer, songwriter, and blues guitarist, was born in Coahoma County near Clarksdale, Mississippi.

At the age of 15, Hooker ran away from home and in 1948 landed in Detroit, Michigan working at the Ford Motor Company and playing in the blues venues and saloons on Hasting Street.

Hooker began recording in 1948 and over his career recorded over 100 albums, including “John Lee Hooker Sings the Blues” (1961), “The Healer” (1989), and “The Best of Friends” (1998). Hooker was a charter inductee to the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980 and in 1991 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Two of his songs, “Boogie Chillen” (1948) and “Boom Boom” (1962), are included on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

Hooker won three Grammy Awards and in 2000 was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. His biography, “Boogie Man: Adventures of John Lee Hooker in the 20th Century”, was published in 2000. Hooker died June 21, 2001.