"I'm in the Mood" is a

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

song written and originally performed by

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) 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. Hooker often ...

, and first recorded by him in 1951. The original recording is reportedly one of the highest-selling blues records of all time.

Original recording

The song was recorded by Hooker at the

United Sound Systems United Sound Systems is a recording studio and locally designated historic district in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Many popular music artists over the last seventy years have recorded at the facility, including blues musicians like John Lee ...

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

in mid-August 1951, with second guitarist Eddie Kirkland. The session was run by

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

Bernard Besman Bernard Besman (October 8, 1912 – January 10, 2003) was a Russian-born American record producer and distributor who established Sensation Records, an early independent record label in Detroit, Michigan. He was the first to record John Lee ...

, with sound engineer Joe Siracuse. Hooker claimed that the song was inspired by

Glenn Miller Alton Glen Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band founder, owner, conductor, composer, arranger, trombone player and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Arm ...

's " In the Mood". Besman overdubbed two vocals by Hooker, one of the first times that technique had been used on record though it had been pioneered earlier by

Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar, and his prototype ...

. According to reviewer

Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...

The overdubs weren't entirely in sync either, creating what was then and still is an eerie effect, like that of a voice echoing around the inside of a water tower. The song's chief attributes, however, are Hooker's trademark footstomp timekeeping beats, and the stinging guitars (by both Hooker and second guitarist Eddie Kirkland). The melody of "I'm in the Mood" is minimal, as is the message, repeatedly coming back to an assured declaration that Hooker's in the mood for love. But the reward of "I'm in the Mood" is indeed the mood itself of the recording: stark, spooky, and earthy, the relatively sweetly crooned title-chorus making it more memorable than several other of Hooker's similar early recordings. Song review by Richie Unterberger, ''Allmusic.com''
Retrieved 18 February 2020

As with Hooker's earlier hit, "

Boogie Chillen' "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 ...

", Besman leased the recording to

Modern Records Modern Records (Modern Music Records before 1947) was an American record company and label formed in 1945 in Los Angeles by the Bihari brothers. Modern's artists included Etta James, Joe Houston, Little Richard, Ike & Tina Turner and John Lee ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, and a co-writing credit (and, hence, a share of

royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset o ...

) for "I'm in the Mood" was given to "Jules Taub", a pseudonym used by one of Modern's owners,

Jules Bihari The Bihari brothers, Lester, Jules, Saul and Joe, were American businessmen of Hungarian Jewish origins. They were the founders of Modern Records in Los Angeles and its subsidiaries, such as Meteor Records, based in Memphis. The Bihari brothers we ...

. The record entered the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Rhythm and Blues chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs record chart, chart ranks the most popular Contemporary R&B, R&B and Hip hop music, hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of rad ...

in October 1951, spending four weeks in the number one position from November, and reputedly selling a million copies.

Later recordings

The song has been recorded by several other musicians including

John Hammond Jr. John Paul Hammond (born November 13, 1942 in New York City) is an American singer and musician. The son of record producer John H. Hammond, he is sometimes referred to as John Hammond Jr. Background Hammond is a son of record producer and tal ...

(1967), Buddy Guy and Junior Wells (1981), and Jack Bruce and

Gary Moore Robert William Gary Moore (4 April 19526 February 2011) was a Northern Irish musician. Over the course of his career he played in various groups and performed a range of music including blues, blues rock, hard rock, heavy metal, and jazz ...

(2002). It was also re-recorded by Hooker with

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated ...

, on his 1989 album '' The Healer''. Hooker said: "Bonnie had been doin' it herself on her shows, which I didn't know until she told me, and she had it down so ''pat''. She said 'I'm gonna do that'n with you, 'I'm in the Mood'. If I ain't gonna do 'I'm in the Mood' I ain't gonna do nothin'', I said, 'Okay, Bonnie, you do it.'" Raitt described the recording, in a dimly-lit studio, as "one of the highest erotic experiences of my life." The song won a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

for Best Traditional Blues Recording in 1989. Grammy Awards: Best Traditional Blues Recordings, ''Grammy.com''
Retrieved 18 February 2020

References

{{authority control 1951 songs Songs written by John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker songs