Blues guitarist Earl Hooker was born on Jan. 15, 1930. In the spring of 1970, at age 40, he died of complications due to tuberculosis. It is because of his regrettably short life, I think, that he does not come up more often when the talk turns to great or influential blues guitarists.
It isn’t as if he was obscure. In the 1950s and ‘60s, he was smack dab in the middle of the Chicago blues scene as a performer and as a recording artist, whether he was leading bands of his own or accompanying peers such as Junior Wells. Hooker’s musical influences included slide guitarist, Robert Nighthawk (with whom Hooker performed as a very young man) and blues/swing guitarist, T-Bone Walker.
It is said that during his time in Chicago he gained a reputation as "a musician’s musician." But he never had a really big record under his own name. Oh, sure, some of his records were minor hits, regional hits, but it seems that his more enduring recorded performances were as a side-man to other artists.
Recordings from Muddy Waters and (again) Junior Wells come to mind. Hooker played on Wells’ original recording of "Messin’ With The Kid," in 1960, which is now a sort of blues standard. Hooker’s collaboration (if that’s indeed the word I want) with Waters was much less straightforward.
In 1961, Hooker released an instrumental track called "Blue Guitar," which sold reasonably well and became a staple in his live shows. But when Leonard Chess, owner of Chess Records, heard it, he thought it might be something he could adapt for his star artist, Muddy Waters. So Chess made a deal with the owner of the label that released "Blue Guitar."
After that, he brought in blues bassist and songwriter, Willie Dixon to write some lyrics. When that was done, they brought Waters into the studio, where he overdubbed the lyrics right on top of Hooker’s original recording. They called it "You Shook Me," and yet another blues standard was born. I’m guessing that Hooker never saw a penny from that project.
Above, you can listen to the original "Blue Guitar." Below is Waters’ overdub of the song. I’m also including Hooker’s lively version of "The Hucklebuck," featuring Pinetop Perkins on piano, as well as the Junior Wells/Earl Hooker collaboration on the original "Messin’ With The Kid."
