John Lee Hooker at the Montreal Jazz Festival 1980

John Lee Hooker (1917 – 2001) was one of the great blues performers of the post war period. His style has been called primitive because he eschewed fancy guitar licks for a rhythm driven combination of boogie woogie and delta blues. Hooker was known for changing rhythm during his songs which worked for him but drove less experienced backing players crazy. His hits include Boogie Chillin, Boom Boom and One Bourbon One Scotch and One Beer.

Bob Dylan was befriended by John Lee Hooker in 1961 when Dylan first arrived in New York. Hooker gave Dylan a spot in some of his shows, one of the first breaks Dylan had in the Big Apple.