John Lee Hooker – 'The Vee-Jay Years 1955-1964'

 

After nomadic label-hopping for the first seven years of his remarkably long recording career, Mississippi Delta émigré John Lee Hooker settled into a relatively exclusive relationship with Chicago’s Vee-Jay Records in 1955.  Things had changed dramatically on the Blues/R&B front since 1949; no longer would a haunting solo blues piece like the Hook's "Boogie Chillen" find its way to the top of the charts now that rock 'n' roll had captured the teenage demographic.

Nevertheless, there remained a solid African-American market for blues, and Hook was happy to help fill it on Vee-Jay through 1964 (granted, there were involvements with a number of other labels during that span).  His first Vee-Jay date, conducted in Chicago in October of '55, found him in the company of labelmate Jimmy Reed, guitarist Eddie Taylor (a steadying presence for both Reed and Hook whenever they entered the studio), bassist George Washington (no really), and drummer Tom Whitehead, who had been playing sessions with the "Boogie Man" since 1953 and clearly knew the territory.

Reed was absent for Hook’s Vee-Jay encore session, held March 27, 1956, but the rhythm section remained constant.  Among the enduring gems laid down that day was the rollicking "Dimples", a standard in Hook's repertoire from then on.  Hook was playing an electric guitar instead of the acoustic he used on his first Detroit sessions (ironically, he’d have to retrieve it when the folk-blues trend hit).

Hook's Vee-Jay stint produced some of the most polished recordings he ever made, thanks to stellar musicianship by Eddie Taylor and his fellow musicians, who seemed to cope with Hook's erratic timing better than just about anyone else he recorded with.  At the end of 1958, Hook would find his way back onto the R&B charts for the first time in more than seven years with "I Love You Honey".  He scored nationally again in 1960 with "No Shoes".  But as it turned out, the John Lee Hooker story was just getting underway.

'John Lee Hooker The Vee-Jay Years 1955-1964' was released by the Charly R&B label in 1992, as part of their Red Box series and was sympathetically remastered by Andy Pearce.  It's a 6CD (127 track) box set compilation featuring a complete as possible collection of recordings, with previously unreleased tracks, and a 28-page booklet (included in the freeload).

Hook's stint with the Vee-Jay label has some of my favorite of John lee's recordings, with many being the definitive versions from John lee's long and storied career.

For the freeload, tell us who are some of your favorite blues guitarist from the classic 1940/50s era.