John Lee Hooker: The Complete 1996 "Living Blues" Interview (HD Audio)

Mr. Hooker Reflects on His Life in the Blues, Part 1

Welcome to my Talking Guitar podcast with blues great John Lee Hooker. I am especially delighted to be presenting this one, since John Lee Hooker sparked my love for the blues. This happened in 1966, during my first month at the Jesuit all-boys high school in Detroit. The school had arranged for John to put on a Friday concert, and he showed up that evening without a band. In one hand he carried his Epiphone Zephyr electric guitar and in the other a small amplifier. A few weeks earlier, John had recorded his classic Live at Café Au-Go Go album with Muddy Waters and his band. On the night I saw him, he played most of the songs that would come out on that classic LP, as well as tunes that had recently been covered by the Animals, Yardbirds, and other British Invasion bands. He played most of his set with eyes closed, thumbing the strings of his guitar and keeping time with his feet. The effect was mesmerizing, and I was hooked. Within a week I’d bought my first blues records.

Like John Lee Hooker, I moved from Detroit to the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1970s. Our shared Motor City backgrounds put John at ease, and we ended up doing many interviews together. My favorites were our three Guitar Player cover stories, especially the one pairing him with B.B. King, and the ones we did later in his life for Living Blues magazine. Because John’s voice tended to give out during longer conversations, his friend and booking agent, Mike Kappus, asked that we do the Living Blues interview over two different days.

The first of these took place in John’s comfortable ranch-style home in Redwood City, California, on the afternoon of December 13, 1996. Upon my arrival, one of John’s children ushered me into his bedroom, where I found him sprawled across his bed in a silk three-piece suit. As you’ll hear, his phone rang a few times as we spoke. My producer Nik Hunt and I decided to leave in these interruptions, since the calls sparked changes in the direction of our conversation.

The second part of our Living Blues interview was held in January 1997. Stay tuned: This, too, will be the subject of an upcoming Talking Blues podcast.

For more John Lee Hooker:

John Lee Hooker: “Live at Café Au-Go Go”

John Lee Hooker and B.B. King: A Historic Interview (Audio)

Thanks to Mike Kappus for his help and encouragement through the years. I also thank my podcast producer Nik Hunt, the staff of UNC’s Southern Folklife Collection, and my subscribers.

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