EP. 699: FROM THE SHADOW OF THE BLUES: A CONVERSATION WITH JOHN LEE HOOKER, JR.

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The son of blues legend John Lee Hooker—best known for hit songs like “Boogie Chillun,” “I’m in the Mood,” and “Boom Boom”—John Lee Hooker Jr. was born in Detroit and exposed to the music world from an early age. In 1972, he and his father performed live and recorded an album in California’s Soledad Prison. With his pedigree and talent, it seemed that he had a golden ticket to musical success. Fourteen years later, he would be incarcerated at that same prison.

 

Drug addiction and a series of related crimes, including as a con player, landed Junior in and out of jails and prisons—including the infamous San Quentin—for three decades. Shot, stabbed, and convicted multiple times, Junior was at his lowest point doing time at a Santa Rita jail, but he emerged clean and sober and began a successful career as a blues singer, earning two Grammy nominations and even opening for the Rolling Stones.

 

The life of a blues musician had its rewards but also its perils, and in 2019 Junior decided to devote himself fully to his faith. Today, Reverend John Lee Hooker Jr. testifies, preaches, and performs gospel music in churches and prisons across the U.S. and Germany. He even returned to Soledad to speak.

Reverend JOHN LEE HOOKER JR. is the son of blues legend John Lee Hooker and, as a teenager, toured with his father as the featured attraction. After a battle with drug addiction and several stints in prison, he went on to have a successful music career of his own. His first album, Blues with a Vengeance, was released in 2004, nominated for a Grammy Award, and won the W. C. Handy Award for Debut Artist. His third album, All Odds Against Me, released in 2008, also received a Grammy nomination. He is now an ordained minister and divides his time between the United States and Germany.

 

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