It’s the second day of Black History Month. I tend to use this time as a way to remind readers – and everyone else of a couple of important facts:
- You can’t love Black artists and their work, and not see them as people
- Black lives — and Black art matters
- Black culture is American culture
So as we go through the month, I’m going to talk about a collection of Black artists. It’ll be fairly comprehensive and eclectic list — although it won’t be a complete list.
So far I’ve mentioned the following artists:
Today, I wanted to talk about one of the greatest bluesman to ever live, the legendary John Lee Hooker. Hooker’s date of birth has been the subject of debate: 1912, 1915, 1917, 1920 and 1923 have all been suggested. While most official sources list 1917, at times Hooker started he was in born in 1920. But information found in the 1920 and 1930 censuses indicate that he was actually born in 1912. However, there were a series of events that took place to celebrate the purported centenary of his birth.
Hooker was working as a janitor in a Detroit area still mill when his recording career began in earnest back in 1948: Los Angeles-based label Modern Records, released a demo he had recored for Bernie Besman in Detroit. “Boogie Chilean” became, and the best selling “race record” of 1949. Though he was illiterate, Hooker was a prolific lyricist, who adapted traditional blues lyrics and wrote his own material. As I’ve often said to folks, Hooker’s blues was tough people’s blues. So the sad songs, were devastatingly sad.
Hooker was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980. He was the recipient of a 1983 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the US government’s highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. Additionally, he was awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000.
Two of his songs “Boogie Chillen” and “Boom Boom” are included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. “Boogie Chillen” is also included in the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)‘s Songs of the Century List. Simply put, his career is one example of how integral Black art and Black artists have been to the culture and art of this country. And you better not forget it!