John Lee Hooker

NEW MINI-LP PAPERSLEEVE GATEFOLD REPLICAS WITH OBI

2 LPs ON 1 CD Plus 5 BONUS TRACKS

This quintessential collector’s edition includes two of John Lee Hooker’s finest albums: "Travelin’· (1960), and "I’m John Lee Hooker" (1959), both originally released by the Vee-Jay label. His association with Vee-Jay Records (from the 1950s to the early 1960s) marked a creative peak for Hooker (1912-2001). He taped some of these early songs at a special moment in his career when he was allowed more space between recording sessions.

Prior to that, R&B labels were milking him for a different recording every month, sometimes under different names (such as John Lee Booker, Texas Slim, Birmingham Sam, Delta John, and Boogie Man), while during his later period the folk and folk blues revivals saw him doing almost one recording each week! Hooker clearly benefitted from his association with Vee- Jay.

The excellent, and sadly defunct, African-American owned label provided quality production, recording and presentation for Hooker’s music. Compared with a lot of his other record companies (such as Modern, J.V.B., Rockin’ and Chance Records, among others) Vee-Jay treated Hooker as a serious artist, worthy of pristine sound quality, enough time in the studio to get the take right, and tasteful accompaniment typically featuring just drums and bass.

PERSONNEL:

JOHN LEE HOOKER, vocals and guitar
LEFTY BATES, guitar
SYLVESTER HICKMAN, bass
JIMMY TURNER, drums

Recorded in Chicago, 1960.

(*) BONUS ALBUM (13-24): I'M JOHN LEE HOOKER (Vee-Jay LP 1007)
(**) BONUS TRACKS (25-29). Recorded in Detroit and Chicago, 1949-1959.

TRACKS:

01 NO SHOES
02 I WANNA WALK
03 CANAL STREET BLUES
04 RUN ON
05 I’M A STRANGER
06 WHISKEY AND WIMMEN
07 SOLID SENDER
08 SUNNY LAND
09 GOIN’ TO CALIFORNIA
10 I CAN’T BELIEVE
11 I’LL KNOW TONIGHT
12 DUSTY ROAD
13 DIMPLES (*)
14 HOBO BLUES (*)
15 I’M SO EXCITED (*)
16 I LOVE YOU HONEY (*)
17 BOOGIE CHILLUN (*)
18 LITTLE WHEEL (*)
19 I’M IN THE MOOD (*)
20 MAUDIE (*)
21 CRAWLIN’ KING SNAKE (*)
22 EVERY NIGHT (*)
23 TIME IS MARCHING (*)
24 BABY LEE (*)
25 MAMBO CHILLUN (**)
26 BABY, PLEASE DON’T GO (**)
27 TIME IS MARCHING (**)
28 SHAKE, HOLLER AND RUN (**)
29 BOOGIE RAMBLER (**)

TOTAL TIME: 77:22 Min.