John Lee Hooker was born the son of a Mississippi
sharecropper in 1917. Unhappy with farm life, Hooker ran away from home only to dragged back to the farm by his father. At the age of 17 he left again to play
guitar with
Bobby Blue Bland and
B.B. King.
Hooker impressed other bluesmen with unique guitar playing style. Unlike most other Delta blues guitarists, Hooker played in a style he called "percussive." His guitar sang in droning, one-chord melodies that he would accompany with foot stomping. His first single, "Boogie Chillen," for Modern Records in 1948, it became a huge hit. Of course, his record company tried to rip him off, so Hooker recorded with other labels under assumed names for the next seven years.
In the 1950s, Hooker would start his own lable and continued to record up until the 1980s. He was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.