John Lee Hooker Compilation Celebrates 100th

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John Lee Hooker’s Whiskey and Wimmen

Although there is still some debate, most sources agree that blues great John Lee Hooker was born on August 22, 1917, in Tutwiler, Miss. That means that, had he lived (he died in 2001), he would be turning 100 this summer. To begin the centennial celebration of Hooker’s birth year, Vee-Jay Records, a division of Concord Bicycle Music, will release Whiskey & Wimmen: John Lee Hooker’s Finest on March 31. The multi-label compilation features songs from Hooker’s Vee-Jay, Specialty, Riverside and Stax Records releases, and includes many of the bluesman’s most iconic songs.

According to a press release announcing the compilation, “The man who would become known as the ‘King of the Boogie’ was destined for blues royalty. Hooker’s 1948 single, ‘Boogie Chillun,’ sold a million copies and set Hooker on his unstoppable path. Countless recordings followed, and a winding road through different labels and audiences. He was a huge influence on the burgeoning British Invasion in the early ’60s, and welcomed with open arms by the rock audience around the world. Hooker is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Blues Hall of Fame, Memphis Music Hall of Fame, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and won four Grammys. He performed with or had his music covered by music’s elite, including Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, Bonnie Raitt, Carlos Santana and many more.”