BEGINNINGS

Description

Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of three Top 10 R&B charting singles: ‘Hobo Blues’, ‘Hoogie Boogie’ & ‘Crawlin’ King Snake’. This 4-track EP includes the bonus track ‘Hastings Street Boogie’, also celebrating its 75th Anniversary.Sixty years ago, in June 1964, John Lee Hooker first entered the UK charts with ‘Dimples’, reaching No. 23. The track had been recorded for the Vee-Jay label in America some eight years earlier in Chicago. ‘Boom Boom’, released in the UK in 1963, had already pricked up the ears and caught the eye of the burgeoning mod movement. Both songs became staples of the British blues scene, and The Animals covered them on their debut UK LP later in 1964.But back in 1952, long before the smartly dressed mods were attracted to the equally dapper look and infectious music of John Lee Hooker, the UK label Vogue had issued 1949’s ‘Hoogie Boogie’ on a 78rpm record. Back then, blues was for aficionados, and the four tracks on this EP recall those earliest John Lee Hooker recordings. ‘Hobo Blues’, ‘Hoogie Boogie’, and ‘Crawlin’ King Snake’ all reached the US R&B Top 10 in 1949.This is John Lee Hooker with no frills, getting to the raw core of his blues and boogie, just guitar, vocals, and foot-stomping, 15 years before his music captured the ears of a wider, enthusiastic British audience. The decades may have passed, but the music remains fresh and vital.This EP is presented with superb period artwork drawn and designed by Niall McCormack.