John Lee Hooker- "Tupelo"

Jan
23

Tupelo by John Lee Hooker

Posted by ph1n777
May 01, 2007

"Great Blues Man, Great Blues Music. "John Lee Hooker was an influential American post-war blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter born in Coahoma County near Clarksdale, Mississippi. From a musical family, he was a cousin of Earl Hooker. John was also influenced by his stepfather, a local blues guitarist, who learned in Shreveport, Louisiana to play a droning, one-chord blues that was strikingly different from the Delta blues of the time. John developed a half-spoken style that was his trademark. Though, similar to the early Delta blues, his music was rhythmically free. His best known songs include "Boogie Chillen" (1948) and "Boom Boom" (1962)" "

Video Description:
A young John Lee Hooker performs what is now considered a classic song that he wrote about a Mississippi flood.  Mr. Hooker is shown sitting on a stool in an indoor studio..

2 comments

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AussieSteveBoyle (1 year ago) You can sure see where Hendrix got his influence.
Hendrix owes his style to this here man.
Both are missed. Isn't it wonderful they graced us with their towering presence at least once?

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MohammedAwesome (1 year ago) Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. This is music that penetrates the very depths of the soul. Makes modern pop music look like the joke that it is.

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Dolph1n777 (1 year ago) I like this because its about real suffering, real people, praying, history, and last but not least its about a musical style that is part of the culture of America.

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68blues (1 year ago) And that's the truth.

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dixxjamm (1 year ago) This brought tears to my eyes...what an artist, those sounds went right into my heart.Like a whisper and yet so powerful. Thank you so much for this wonderful clip.

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eLead (1 year ago) Man, I wish I had been into the blues before '01. JLH was one cool kat! Why don't people make good music anymore?

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xenotoxette (1 year ago) Good music doesn't sell..
 
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NeuroHead (1 year ago) Wow! that was amazing! his blues is so soulful!

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bluesbackingtracks (1 year ago) You've got to love the blues!!!
JLH - what a great, expressive voice...

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Faeriepunk23 (1 year ago) Does anyone know if this is available on dvd, or at least what tv show/ year, etc this amazing performance was taken from?
thanks.
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geroni1971 (1 year ago) Dude, if you go to Tower Records or any giant music store, they practically need a seperate room for all the JLH work.

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gumbypiz (1 year ago) Tower is gone, but there is SO much JLH work because originally a lot of whats out there wasn't known to be JLH music. Old labels we're screwing the artists out of royalties, & locked them into contracts. The workaround for that was to record on another label under a different name, Joe Hooks, Jack Lee Hooker, etc. JLH did that a LOT, he was prolific. We're still finding old recordings from the 50's that were actually done by him under a different name on some obscure label.

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coyotesong (1 year ago) Sung and told in the best griot tradition! JLH always has this nobility about him that's somehow different than cool.

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56BUICKRiviera (1 year ago) I remember the first time I saw him at a bar. He walked in with a girl on each arm and drank a boilermaker after each song.
His college gigs were like this video.

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bluesdawg1 (1 year ago) Of course his deep roots and incredible music are the important things. But for those interested in the history, Tupelo was not involved in the great Mississippi flood of 1927; but the great tornado of Tupelo in 1936 involved flooding. Although John Lee was from Clarksdale in the Delta, he was a traveling musician and played Tupelo, which he appreciated as a "party town." He discussed this with me in an interview around 1971. I went to H.S. in Tupelo and concur, as would Elvis.

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doors13 (1 year ago) This is Deep I love it

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kornflake02 (1 year ago) he is just the man.
amazing..just amazing.

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santiagodevill (1 year ago) when i first heard this song and he sed. save me lord. save me from the mighty flud. it gave me chilles. thats the power of john lee hooker...

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dookie2kie (9 months ago) Just a minor point of query!!! What if Tupelo was in fact a name for something besides a town, what if it was a person?? only a wee idea!!!! cheers for all the info though!!!
Im from Mayo, Ireland where it rains a lot!!!

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seekerfour (9 months ago) Tupelo is also the name of a tree. It's the name of honey, as well. Google it & find out from Wikipedia.

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qwerly45 (10 months ago) Has any one noticed that he picks a bass line with his thumb lwhile play lead at the same time ike Jimi hendrix?

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D0WNGOESFRAZIER (10 months ago) duh, welcome to the blues. thats how almost every delta blues song is played. from robert johnson to eric clapton.

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bluesdawg1 (9 months ago) You can hear him play three lines in some of his boogies. He plays a bass line with his thumb, and a chinga-chinga rhythm on the top strings. Then on the middle strings he plays searing leads. And he does the drum beat with his feet. All the while singing and reciting.

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Bflatblues55 (8 months ago) Love me some John Lee Hooker. Amazing tune ... thanks for having it up in here.

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karl198 (8 months ago) This is one of the greatest songs i've ever heard. Who'd have thought a guy playing one chord on a guitar and singing would be this eerie. It's great, he really gets the emotion of the story. It almost looks like theres tears in his eyes at the end. I always get shivers when i hear this, my favourite blues song of all time

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OrrCountry (8 months ago) John Lee and Muddy never forgot that every time they performed a song, they were telling a story. I think that's what separates them from the rest.

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goodolarchie (8 months ago) Wow.. I love the "blues" that emanated from the popular 60's/70's groups, but this is the REAL DEAL
Untouchable

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mccoyae (7 months ago) Mr. Hooker has allways been my favorite he gives me chills,he makes you feel his pain.He was just amazing RIP Mr. Hooker.Thanks for posting this.

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youmjx42 (6 months ago) This is where it all started. And it does not get any better than this.

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faaradar (6 months ago) The MAN!!!!!!

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smoggo1981 (5 months ago) You can tell a young lad named Jimi used to sit an listen to these old masters... :)

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dansnuphith (5 months ago) i'm just starting off learning blues... can anyone give me some advice?

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TheCreativeDot (5 months ago) yeah...find a woman... and blues will come naturallly ;)

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nuf294w (5 months ago) That is an immutable law of life, Lord have mercy!!!

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TheBillySmith (5 months ago) I'm gonna use that as a quote xD

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sewallm60 (4 months ago) yeah baby

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epeiricess (4 months ago) One of his best songs.

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drums2god (3 months ago) Much love to this man from Starkville Mississippi. One of the greatest to ever sing the blues.

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MrPj74 (4 months ago) mr. Hooker is one of the most heart felt story tellers in americain history

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blackarawak83 (3 months ago) A true delta blues master with his unique baritone voice......

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stargell777 (3 months ago) Really makes me think of Katrina. How little things change...

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darinfl1 (3 months ago) "About a 1927 flood of the Mississippi Delta that ruined many towns"
Tupelo is in Northeast Mississippi--a LONG, LONG way from the delta.

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Jimbowalsh57 (3 months ago) The Mississippi Delta is the distinct northwest section of the state of Mississippi that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. Technically not a delta but part of an alluvial plain, it has been said that the Delta "begins in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel (in Memphis) and ends on Catfish Row in Vicksburg"

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mousefiles (2 months ago) Greets from the French Riviera... You know what? During my trip in the United States last year I went to Tupelo... Why? Because I heard this song, and I wanted to learn more about Tupelo...

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jhnb12876 (2 months ago) my grandfather told stories of this flood how the river came up to the top of levees on both sides of the river and before the levees broke they had people with guns patroling both sides of the river because the people on each side was scared that someone from the other side would come over and break the levees to releive the pressure so it wouldn't flood on thier side. Pretty wild. Story from st. james parish, louisiana in 1927.

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tonemonkey2k2 (2 months ago)John Lee sure had a way of delivering a song that gets straight to the soul.
GOd I miss him.

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gamecubeclock (1 month ago) A good blues song like this makes you involuntarily snap your fingers, rock your head, and bounce your knee lightly...all while you are being told a story.

Some of the most relaxing music I've ever heard. Beautiful and simple.

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stangcrazy306 (1 month ago) Masterful, I live in Alabama and grew up hearing my grandparents and their friends talking of this flood, John Lee Hooker hits you to your soul!!

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mokeymadness12 (4 weeks ago) I just find his voice so soothing and relaxing RIP JLH
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nognilk (3 weeks ago) Herbert Hoover became a national hero, because he was the only american that could do anything during the aftermath of the flood.
Then 2 years later, Herber Hoover got elected President. you know the rest of the story.

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MST3Killa (2 weeks ago) Hookers not a guitar master... he's a soul master. the guitar just helps the rest of us understand.
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Dolph1n777 (2 years ago) My first introduction to John Lee Hooker was in the movie "Blue Brothers" where he performed 'Boom Boom'. Later I heard 'Tupelo'....well this is about as blues as it gets.

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Dazzer1234567 (2 years ago) Pure gold. Love his free riddim style.

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decunamus2 (2 years ago) Great song. I remember my dad had a yellow album of him. It was full with this kind of songs. This brings me back.

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CoolFreeHardBop (2 years ago) When Jimi Hendrix played acoustic blues, he sounded a lot like John Lee Hooker. This is great; brooding and downbeat, just like John Lee usually was when he wasn't playing up tempo boogie blues.

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JosephNScott (2 years ago) "When Jimi Hendrix played acoustic blues, he sounded a lot like John Lee Hooker." Yes, and sometimes when Jimi played electric he did too. There are some moody records on electric by Lightnin' Hopkins from about 1947 that obviously influenced Jimi too (Hooker and Hopkins cross-influenced each other, so it's all connected).

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MichaelIncognito (2 years ago) it's very much like hendrix's voodoo chile (the long blues song), or the other way around

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CoolFreeHardBop (2 years ago What is that bass note droning vamp thing called in musical terms? (or is there a name for it at all?) I find it very compelling and spooky and, man, John Lee had it down PAT. Jimi used it a lot too.

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PBuckMoney (2 years ago) you got it right when you called it a drone, that is a musical term

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jelemann (2 years ago) bass note droning thing is sometimes referred to as a dead thumb style of playing. very prevelant in the acoustic blues style.

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bluesboy888 (2 years ago) THATS the blues...rest in peace john.

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grcvv (2 years ago) WOW .. that is great !! that 's a real blues

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arthurmoore (2 years ago) Great vibe, mood, voice and song. It is incredible how only his foot tapping, voice, and droning guitar create such an effect. No wonder he is a legend.  Long live the Blues!

Es increible como con solo el pie, su voz, y la guitarra forman tal efecto profundo, dramatico y poderoso.

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spring41686 (2 years ago) I hear you- a sound that can be replicated but can never be recreated-its not so much as what hes playing or saying but the untangible things he puts behind it.

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Bob125641273 (2 years ago) John Lee Hooker has always been and always will be the man.
Ive been listening since the mid-late eighties and this is the first version in video ive seen. Cheers muchly for putting this up...!!! :)

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bigjeffro44 (2 years ago) he really can set the mood!! what a great player!!

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DoctorNumber46 (2 years ago) he was 10 years old when this flood happened

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moretubes (2 years ago) thankyou thankyou thankyou JLH, your spirit lives on in many a blues cat. Thanks for posting this one...JLH did some really nice solo albums, well worth hunting people...the stuff from 48 detroit is my favourite

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animalunaris (2 years ago) I can't even put into words the feeling these songs put ino your soul.

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Lotrfan99 (2 years ago) jhl is influenced by jimi hendrix or the other way around?

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Donnam89xxx (2 years ago) other way round due to the fact that this was written in 1927

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blueRiff1 (2 years ago) I know a man from Tupelo. And his mama still gonna strong. The Blues will always be apart of the South. Thats all.
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vurnt22 (2 years ago) Foot tapping. Thumb on strings. First Position. Whispering the blues of a desperate town. That stingy brim.

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MRMITCHELLZ (2 years ago) wow johnny lee....nobody played it so true...so real...ave mercy

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roaddamage (2 years ago) When was this made?

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thpaine1950 (1 year ago) Don't know for sure but from his appearance, it was a long time back!
I'm thinking early 60s, but that is really a guess.

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sayyes2bull (1 year ago) that's the REAL deal lucille.

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pbltube (1 year ago) For what it's worth, Wiki says the flood was in April 1936.
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stars13x (1 year ago) great and all but Tupelo is not in the Delta, Tupelo is in the eastern part of the state, the Delta is in the western part,Tupelo is 80 miles southeast of Memphis, The Delta starts about 30 miles southwest of Memphis and goes for a couple hundred miles along the Mississippi river. Just to let the author know that his intro is wrong.

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Fawksian21 (1 year ago) Love how John Lee Hooker can tell a story through song like this.
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snoddy9 (1 year ago) A truely amazing and inspirational musician

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VraiDiouf (1 year ago) I can definately see the resembelance to West African music. Praise the Lord!

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snafutube (1 year ago) Check out the album 'Kulanjan' by Taj Mahal together with Malian Kora master Toumani Diabate.
Also, fast forward from John Lee Hooker, Jimi Hendrix, was a one of his students (if not actually in a teacher/pupil sense)

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patrick9648 (1 year ago) The 27 flood was in the Mississippi Delta. Tupelo is located in the northeast of the state. Not in the Delta.

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chriskardos (1 year ago) don't be a wise-ass. enjoy the song instead!

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blk59 (1 year ago) The man, brother John lee hooker
He's performing this song so well its taking me there; its makes me want to look up the actual historical event.

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chriskardos (1 year ago) I can even see some tears in the end! He so gave his soul and heart into this song! Amazing! Love him!

 

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