John Lee Hooker: An Appreciation

John Lee Hooker’s death is tragic not so much for the loss of one of the greatest blues artists, but because there are so few of the original blues masters left. Yes, there will be blues bands across the country and the world playing his songs whether "Boom Boom," "Dimples," "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" or "Boogie Chillun" for some time to come. Blues societies and other organizations will try to keep the tradition going. Young musicians will listen to his records and try to do what he did, and they may approximate the sound, but they won’t be able to touch it.

Hooker lived to be 83 (two months shy of 84), died peacefully at home, and unlike most of his fellow blues artists received recognition, honors, and apparently enough money to have a couple of homes in California and a fleet of expensive cars. The recognition and money came late in his life, but at least he had some time to enjoy it.

Hooker was perhaps the epitome of the blues—solitary, mysterious, deep, dark, spooky and s…