---a sad day for us blues fans---

John Lee Hooker, the greatest of all bluesmen passed away peacefully in his sleep last night (June 20) at his home in the San Francisco Bay area, at the age of 83. Hooker influenced countless generations of musicians and inspired music fans around the world during his sixty year career. He was loved dearly by millions and we will all miss him greatly. Funeral and memorial arrangements will be announced shortly. We thank everyone for their kind wishes and condolences.
The John Lee Hooker Family

--John Lee Hooker is piling up more milestones each year than most artists compile in a lifetime.

This past February John Lee received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Recording Sciences (The Grammys). In October of 1999 "Boogie Man: John Lee Hooker In The American 20th Century," a biography penned by noted author Charles Shaar Murray, was released in England. Fall of 2000 will see the much anticipated release of the book in the United States and other parts of the world. 1999 was John Lee Hooker's 50th year as a recording artist, and to celebrate, he released The Best of Friends on Virgin/Pointblank, a compilation album representing some of his best songs from the past ten years. The album features performances with John Lee and his friends including Van Morrison, Bonnie Raitt, Carlos Santana, Robert Cray, Ben Harper, Los Lobos, Charlie Musselwhite, Jimmie Vaughan and more.

In recent years, John Lee was inducted into Los Angeles' Rock Walk, the Bammies Walk of Fame in San Francisco, and he now has his own star on Hollywood Boulevard's Walk Of Fame. In October of 1998 he was honored with a tribute concert by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The concert featured some of his best friends including Eddie Kirkland, Charlie Musselwhite, Elvin Bishop and Johnnie Johnson. Film from that show will be aired as part of a documentary on John Lee due for worldwide release this coming year. In 1997, John Lee received two Grammy Awards for his latest studio release, Don't Look Back. The first Grammy was for Best Traditional Blues Album and the second for his duet with Van Morrison beating out such notable artists as Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Stevie Wonder, Babyface, and Bryan Adams in the Best Pop Collaboration category.

As an influence on several generations of the world's most prominent musicians and a 1991 inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Mr. Hooker remains one of music's true legends. Time Magazine stated that "John Lee Hooker doesn't just sing the blues, and he doesn't just play the blues...he is the blues".

(even at 83 years old he was still playing the blues and touring, i was lucky enough to see him get his star on the walk of fame and days later see him play)

Man, that's a bummer [:(]

That shit he did with Big Head Todd kicked ass...

I have "The Original Bluesman" LP on Vinyl...
Him and Muddy and I think Lightnin Slim goin at it.

Two other, lesser known ones who are great but old are Clarence Gatemouth Brown and R.L. Burnside.  They'll be missed too.  By me at least :)

Damn.
[:(]

"Born in Clarksdale, Miss., in 1918, Hooker was one of 11 children born to a Baptist minister and sharecropper who discouraged his son's musical bent.

His stepfather taught him to play guitar. By the time Hooker was a teen-ager, he was performing at local fish fries, dances and other occasions.

Hooker hit the road to perform by the age of 14. He worked odd jobs by day and played small bars at night in Memphis, then Cincinnati and finally Detroit in 1943."

Not many of the old guys left.Will greatly be missed.California lost another great bluesman back in 96' William Clarke.

[b]Mr Boogie[/b]
[img]http://us.ent2.yimg.com/musicfinder.yahoo.com/images/tunes/52873tunes.jpg[/img]


if ya got'em, CRANK'EM (JLH cd's that is)

[size=3]Cuttin' Out[/size=3]
[size=2]by John Lee Hooker[/size=2]

Hey, hey, hey!
I'm leavin', leavin', leavin',
won't be back no more
Lord, Lord
Lord, Lord
Cuttin' out this morning,
won't be back no more
Hey!
Hey!
Won't be back no more...................[O:)]



[url]http://blueslyrics.tripod.com/artistswithsongs/john_lee_hooker_index.htm[/url]

Yeah, I heard the news about his death on the way home from work tonight/this morning. Bummer, boy could he play. Him and Muddy Waters probably influenced more of today's musicians than anybody else. If it wasn't for the Blues there would be no rock, or at least it wouldn't be as good/fun. There certainly wouldn't be any decent guitar players(Eric Clapton,Stevie Ray Vaughn,Jimmy Hendrix, List goes on and on...)Shit, and we've lost Stevie and Jimi also.[:(]