John Lee Hooker, one of the greatest bluesmen of all time, was born in Mississippi in 1917 and learned the guitar from his stepfather, William Moore, whom Hooker would credit as his primary influence throughout his life. Hooker ran away to Memphis as a boy but was caught and returned home. He promptly ran away to Memphis a short time later at age 15 and never saw his mother or stepfather again (according to one source; according to another, he maintained contact and had a good relationship with them). He drifted around working odd jobs until he ended up in Detroit by 1943. Five years later, he cut a demo in a recording booth where the storeowner brought him to the attention of Bernie Besman of Sensation Records which featured such artists as Todd Rhodes and Wild Bill Moore—both influential jazz and blues musicians. Moore later became part of the Motown house band. Hooker had a national hit in 1948 called "Boogie Chillen."
Hooker played in clubs all over Detroit and especially along the Detroit entertainment center on Hastings Street in Paradise Valley and was a regular at Henry’s Swing Club and the Harlem Inn. He proceeded to record for any label that offered him a contract. To avoid legal wrangling, he often recorded under aliases as Texas Slim, John Lee Cooker, John Lee Booker, etc. He had a haunting, mesmerizing sound where he recorded with just a guitar and his stomping foot. When he signed with Fortune in 1952, he called himself Sir John Lee Hooker, recording some fine sides for the label with his protégé Eddie Kirkland. He left Detroit in 1970 for California. He has played with a great number of blues masters and rock bands as the Animals and Canned Heat. He died in 2001 at the age of 83.