| Original Folk Blues | |
|---|---|
 United reissue | |
| Compilation album by | |
| Released | 1967 |
| Recorded | Detroit, Michigan 1948–1954 |
| Genre | Blues |
| Length | 36:02 |
| Label | Kent |
Original Folk Blues is a compilation album by American bluesman John Lee Hooker, released in 1967. [1] It mostly features songs that Hooker recorded for Bernard Besman in Detroit, Michigan, between 1948 and 1954 they were originally issued by Modern Records. [2]
During the mid-1960s American folk music revival, there was increased interest in older blues music. Chess Records responded with its The Real Folk Blues series of albums, which compiled earlier singles by several of its most popular blues artists, including Hooker. [1] An article in Billboard magazine noted that Los Angeles-based Kent Records was "inspired by the recent success attained by Chess [in attracting] an audience of collegians and young blues fans". [1]
Kent part-owner Saul Bihari (also known as "Sam Ling" for songwriting royalties) explained that while contemporary rhythm and blues radio stations were ignoring older blues styles, many white musicians were seeking to "imitate the sounds of the early 'low down' blues artists like John Lee Hooker", which generated broader interest in the originals. [1] To meet this need, the first releases in the Kent series included albums by Elmore James, Howlin' Wolf, Lightning Hopkins, Smokey Hogg, and Hooker. [1]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic (Ace reissue) |   [2] |
| The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings (Ace reissue) | [3] |
| The New Rolling Stone Record Guide | [4] |
In a review of a 2002 reissue by Ace Records, AllMusic reviewer Steve Leggett gave the album four out of five stars and wrote:
Included here are Hooker's first versions of "Boogie Chillen'", "Crawlin' King Snake", and "Sally Mae", each of which is classic Hooker, as rough and raw as a Delta wind blowing shards of glass up the Detroit River ... These Modern [original singles label] releases have appeared time and time again on various Hooker collections, but there is the feel of something special about this particular package. It's all ragged and delightfully unhinged, which is the only way to go with John Lee Hooker. [2]
Details are taken from the original Kent Records album liner notes and may differ from other sources. [5] Since songwriting credits were not included, the 2002 Ace Records reissue liner notes are used for the songwriters. Except where noted, Hooker is listed for all songs, with additional credit given to original singles producer Bernard Besman. [6]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Boogie Chillen" | 3:05 |
| 2. | "Queen Bee" | 2:37 |
| 3. | "Crawling King Snake" (Tony Hollins) | 2:59 |
| 4. | "Weeping Willow" | 2:50 |
| 5. | "Whistling and Moaning" | 3:07 |
| 6. | "Sally Mae" | 3:05 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Need Love So Bad" (Percy Mayfield) | 3:25 |
| 2. | "Let's Talk It Over" (Davis) | 2:55 |
| 3. | "The Syndicate" (Hooker, Jules Taub a.k.a. Jules Bihari) | 3:00 |
| 4. | "Let Your Daddy Ride" | 2:55 |
| 5. | "Driftin' from Door to Door" | 2:58 |
| 6. | "Baby I'm Gonna Miss You" | 2:33 |
Original Folk Blues has been reissued by several record companies, including United/Superior Records and in 2002 by Ace Records, as an expanded album with six extra songs in addition to the twelve from the original release. [2]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Cold Chills" (Williamson) | 3:06 |
| 14. | "Cool Little Car" | 3:14 |
| 15. | "I Wonder Little Darling" | 3:07 |
| 16. | "Jump Me One More Time" (Joe Josea a.k.a. Joe Bihari) | 2:30 |
| 17. | "Lookin' for a Woman" | 3:12 |
| 18. | "Ride 'Til I Die" | 2:56 |
John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues that he developed in Detroit. Hooker often incorporated other elements, including talking blues and early North Mississippi hill country blues. He developed his own driving-rhythm boogie style, distinct from the 1930s–1940s piano-derived boogie-woogie. Hooker was ranked 35 in Rolling Stone's 2015 list of 100 greatest guitarists.
"Boogie Chillen'" or "Boogie Chillun" is a blues song first recorded by John Lee Hooker in 1948. It is a solo performance featuring Hooker's vocal, electric guitar, and rhythmic foot stomps. The lyrics are partly autobiographical and alternate between spoken and sung verses. The song was his debut record release and in 1949, it became the first "down-home" electric blues song to reach number one in the R&B records chart.
The Real Folk Blues is a series of blues albums released between 1965 and 1967 by Chess Records, later reissued MCA Records. Each album in the series highlighted the music of one major Chess artist, including John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, and Sonny Boy Williamson II. The series, overseen by Marshall Chess, was a reaction to the increasing audience for the blues following the British Invasion. Companion discs, titled More Real Folk Blues, were released for many of the artists. Hooker's companion disc was not released until 1991. Beginning in 1999 the albums were re-released as single-disc compilations.
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