John Lee Hooker

INCLUDES 2 BONUS TRACKS

PERSONNEL:

JOHN LEE HOOKER, vocals and guitar, plus:

SAM JONES, bass
BOB THURMAN, piano
LOUIS HAYES, drums, out on side 1, tracks 2 & 4 / side 2, track 6).

Reeves Sound Studios, New York City, February 9, 1960.

BONUS TRACKS:
Lefty Bates (g), Sylvester Hickman (b), Jimmy Turner (d).
Recorded in Chicago, Illinois, March 1960.

SIDE 1

1. I NEED SOME MONEY
2. COME ON AND SEE ABOUT ME
3. I’M WANDERIN’
4. DEMOCRAT MAN
5. I WANT TO TALK ABOUT YOU
6. GONNA USE MY ROD
7. SUNNY LAND

SIDE 2

1. WEDNESDAY EVENIN’ BLUES
2. NO MORE DOGGIN’
3. ONE OF THESE DAYS
4. I BELIEVE I’LL GO BACK HOME
5. YOU’RE LEAVIN’ ME, BABY
6. THAT’S MY STORY
7. CANAL STREET BLUES

The album That’s My Story was recorded for the Riverside label in February 1960. This Orrin Keepnews-produced session came at a time when Hooker was signed to Vee-Jay. The last thing Keepnews wanted to do was emulate Hooker’s electric-oriented, very amplified Vee-Jay output, which fared well among rock and R&B audiences. Orrin Keepnews had an acoustic country blues vision for the bluesman, and That’s My Story favors a raw, stripped-down, bare-bones approach – no electric guitar, no distortion, no singles aimed at rock & rollers. Over the years, Hooker fans have debated the merits of his Riverside albums. Some much prefer him in an electric setting; others applaud the rural vision that Keepnews had for him. But, truth be told, both approaches are equally valid. While many of his electric recordings are stunning, he is also well served by the rawness that Keepnews goes for on That’s My Story. From the sobering “Gonna Use My Rod” (which finds Hooker warning that he will shoot anyone who fools around with his wife) to the gospel-themed “One of These Days”, Hooker’s performances are always compelling.

He is joined on most of the tracks by two jazz musicians, acoustic bassist Sam Jones and drummer Louis Hayes (who were both Cannonball Adderley sidemen at the time). However, the blues giant is unaccompanied on a few selections, including the autobiographical title song, as well as “Come On and See About Me”, and the overtly political “Democrat Man” (a passionate endorsement of the Democratic Party).

In 1960, when these sides were cut, Hooker still had a large audience in the Afro-American blues community and was known to a lot of Jazz lovers as well. During this period he was truly able to channel years of pent up emotion caused by the extremely difficult life he led. He was forced to contend with loneliness, isolation, poverty, defeat and hunger in the brick and concrete squalor of the black ghettos that were about to explode in revolt. There is no question that John Lee Hooker and the blues were intimately acquainted. He is a true original who is often imitated, but
never equaled.

In addition to the original masterpiece, this collector’s item contains 2 bonus tracks that were not included on the LP: “Sunny Land” and “Canal Street Blues” (both tunes were recorded in Chicago the following month).