The Folk Lore of John Lee Hooker

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The Folk Lore of John Lee Hooker
The Folk Lore of John Lee Hooker.jpg
Studio album / live album by
ReleasedAugust or September 1961 (1961) [1] [2]
Recorded1960–1961
Venue Newport Folk Festival, Newport, Rhode Island
StudioUniversal Recording, Chicago
Genre Blues
Length36:56
Label Vee-Jay
Producer Esmond Edwards

The Folk Lore of John Lee Hooker is an album by blues musician John Lee Hooker, released by Vee-Jay Records in August or September 1961. [1] [2] Hooker recorded most of the songs on January 4, 1961, in Chicago, with two recorded live at the Newport Folk Festival June 25, 1960. [3]

Contents

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [5]
The Virgin Encyclopedia of The Blues Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]

The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings wrote that "Vee-Jay were reaching for Hooker's perceived new audience among folkniks, yet only 'Tupelo' and 'The Hobo' from his set with acoustic guitar at the 1960 Newport Folk Festival, represent the 'folk blues' angle Hooker had begun to develop a year earlier; the rest is typical of his Vee-Jay work, especially the four tracks with a band." [5]

AllMusic reviewer Al Campbell stated: "The Folk Lore of John Lee Hooker was released in 1961, combining 12 tracks of both acoustic and electric tunes ... recommended." [4]

Track listing

All compositions are credited to John Lee Hooker.

  1. "Tupelo" – 3:22
  2. "I'm Mad Again" – 2:39
  3. "I'm Going Upstairs" – 2:56
  4. "Want Ad Blues" – 2:16
  5. "Five Long Years" – 3:38
  6. "I Like to See You Walk" – 2:52
  7. "The Hobo" – 3:01
  8. "Hard-Headed Woman" – 2:31
  9. "Wednesday Evening Blues" – 3:59
  10. "Take Me As I Am" – 3:02
  11. "My First Wife Left Me" – 3:35
  12. "You're Looking Good Tonight" – 3:00

Session details

Details are taken from the original Vee-Jay album liner notes. [3] Tracks 1 and 7 were recorded at the Newport Folk Festival on June 25, 1960; the remaining tracks were recorded at Universal Recording Studio in Chicago on January 4, 1961.

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References

  1. 1 2 "New LP Releases". Billboard . August 28, 1961. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  2. 1 2 "The Folk Lore of John Lee Hooker" (PDF). The Cash Box . October 7, 1961. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  3. 1 2 The Country Blues of John Lee Hooker (Album notes). Berkeley, California: Riverside Records. 1961. Back cover. VJLP 1033.
  4. 1 2 Campbell, Al. John Lee Hooker: The Folk Lore of John Lee Hooker – Review at AllMusic . Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  5. 1 2 Russell, Tony; Smith, Chris (2006). The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. London: Penguin. p. 270. ISBN   978-0-140-51384-4.
  6. Larkin, Colin (1998). The Virgin Encyclopedia of The Blues. London: Random House. p. 280. ISBN   9781448132744.