John Lee Hooker on Life, Death, and the Hereafter

One of the Great Bluesman’s Final Interviews

Asked to name my favorite among all the musicians I’ve interviewed, the first who comes to mind is John Lee Hooker. John could not read or write and could barely scrawl his own name, but he was highly perceptive, intelligent, insightful, and musically true unto himself.

Over the years, I was lucky to interview him several times for Guitar Player, Living Blues, Blues Revue, and other magazines. Our final taped conversation, in October 1998 for the U.K. magazine Mojo, took place in John’s home in Redwood City, California. At the time, the Clinton-Lewinski scandal was dominating the news. Mojo’s assigning editor requested that I frame the interview in a “10 Questions” format. As our conversation unfolded, John discussed the best playing advice anyone ever gave him, what’s most important for a father to teach his children, how men should treat women, his experiences with President Bill Clinton, what he plays on guitar when he’s by himself, the difference between praying to God and singing the blues, who he misses the most among the members of his family, what happens to people’s spirits when they die, are the “golden years” actually so golden, and if he had to live life over again, what he’d change. With the final question — “Did you ever imagine your music would carry you for so long and so far? — Hooker describes how a circus fortune teller told him when he was a penniless ten-year-old that someday he’d be a very famous man. Deep stuff. This great American bluesman passed away in 2001.

****

You’ve advised many musicians – especially guitarists – to slow down and play half as many notes. But what’s the best playing advice someone’s given to you?

Well, the best advice given to me was from my stepfather, Will Moore, and T-Bone Walker. Both of ’em told me, “Once you start, don’t stop. If you really want to do it, don’t let people dis-encourage you. Don’t let people tell you that you ain’t gonna make it. If you’re determined to do it, just keep on pluckin’.” I found that really paid off for me. Sometimes things don’t go like you want to, and you get kind of disgusted and say, “Oh, I’m gonna quit. I’m gonna hang it up.” But don’t do it. Keep on pluckin’. If you really want it, you’ll have it. I found that was the best advice. A lot of time when you’re tryin’ to start off, people dis-encourage you. “Oh, you ain’t gonna do it. Waste of time.” That’s what happened to me – people tell me I wasn’t going to make it. But I’d look at ’em and laugh, because I know what my stepfather and T-Bone told me: “Keep on pluckin’,” you know. And that’s what I did.