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Cousin Geoff’s notes: This article was published in Issue #44, December 1-15 1972 of the Ann Arbor Sun.
John Lee Hooker got his start in the music biz in Detroit, recording his earliest sides in a tiny studio behind a record store on Lafayette street. Following this, Hooker recorded for United Sound Studios in Detroit, which was then leased to Modern Records in LA. These recordings produced many of John Lee’s most famous songs, including his first single, “Sally Mae/Boggie Chillen”, which hit #1 on the R&B charts in 1948 (All Music). Hooker remained in Detroit after this and became the king of the city’s blues joints in the 40s and 50s. John Lee Hooker remains one of the giants of the giants of blues legends, perhaps the greatest of all time. I highly recommend his Vee Jay LP “I’m John Lee Hooker”, which was reissued and can be found pretty easily.
This article is particularly interesting because Hooker speaks freely to the Black Panther party on race relations, and doesn’t hold much back. I selected this article not only because it’s John Lee Hooker we’re talking about, but because it’s a great example of what kind of content was published in the Ann Arbor Sun. If music was the heartbeat of the rag, the pulse was social justice. Don’t let the name “White Panther Party” fool you - this was not a white people’s newspaper and movement. John Sinclair and the Ann Arbor Sun’s message fought for civil rights for everyone, and paid special attention to groups undergoing injustice - African Americans, gays, prisoners, hippies, etc. This is a very race-heavy conversation with John Lee Hooker, with the Black Panther party nonetheless - exploring the roots of the blues as it relates to black oppression, and Hooker speaks freely and honestly about these issues and how it applies to his music and what he seeks out to do as an artist.
The title says a lot - it’s about the ownership and power falling into the hands of the people. That’s what the movement was all about, and the Blues was a huge part of it. From a local perspective, Hooker also describes how he got his start in Detroit, and recorded a lot of his best songs at the same time in Detroit, around 1948.
This post and Ann Arbor Sun Project is brought to you courtesy of John Sinclair. Here also is John Lee Hooker’s official website.
