John Lee Hooker: Our Complete 1996 "Living Blues" Interview (HD Audio)

JasO

Like John Lee Hooker, I moved from Detroit to the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1970s. Our shared Motor City backgrounds put John at ease, and we ended up doing many interviews together. My favorites were our three Guitar Player cover stories, especially the one pairing him with B.B. King, and the ones we did later in his life for Living Blues magazine. Because John’s voice tended to give out during longer conversations, his friend and booking agent, Mike Kappus, asked that we do the Living Blues interview over two different days.

The first of these took place in John’s comfortable ranch-style home in Redwood City, California, on the afternoon of December 13, 1996. Upon my arrival, one of John’s children ushered me into his bedroom, where I found him sprawled across his bed in a silk three-piece suit. As you’ll hear, his phone rang a few times as we spoke. My producer Nik Hunt and I decided to leave in these interruptions, since the calls sparked changes in the direction of our conversation. If you're interested in listening in, we've just posted that conversation on YouTube:

John Lee Hooker: The Complete 1996 "Living Blues" Interview (HD Audio)

The second part of our Living Blues interview was held in January 1997. Stay tuned: This, too, will be the subject of an upcoming Talking Blues podcast.

rlw

I will be listening this afternoon.  Many thanks for this.

jonnyburgo

Will listen thankyou, I love John's early stuff, such a unique player, like Miles Davis, you hear a couple of notes and say, yep that's him!

jonnyburgo

Listened, that a nice interview, even if his way of talking is a little impenetrable at times, I love to hear these old guys telling their stories. I would have been starstruck!

boogieman

jonnyburgo said:

Will listen thankyou, I love John's early stuff, such a unique player, like Miles Davis, you hear a couple of notes and say, yep that's him!

You can always spot John Lee by the eleven and a half bar blues format.