''The Folk Lore of John Lee Hooker'' is an album by blues musician

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 ...

recorded in New York and Chicago, with two tracks recorded live at the Newport Folk Festival in 1960, and released by the

Vee-Jay Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The label was founded in Gary, Indiana in 1953 by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken, a ...

label in August or September 1961.

Reception

The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings ''The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings'' is an encyclopedia of blues music albums released on CD. Content The book was released on 31 October 2006 and was written by Tony Russell and Chris Smith with contributions by Neil Slaven, Ricky Russel ...

'' 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."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

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."

Track listing

All compositions credited to John Lee Hooker # "Tupelo" – 3:22 # "I'm Mad Again" – 2:39 # "I'm Going Upstairs" – 2:56 # "Want Ad Blues" – 2:16 # "Five Long Years" – 3:38 # "I Like to See You Walk" – 2:52 # "The Hobo" – 3:01 # "Hard-Headed Woman" – 2:31 # "Wednesday Evening Blues" – 3:59 # "Take Me As I Am" – 3:02 # "My First Wife Left Me" – 3:35 # "You're Looking Good Tonight" – 3:00 Recorded in New York City on April 29, 1960 (tracks 5, 6 & 9-12), at the Newport Folk Festival on June 25, 1960 (tracks 1 & 7) and at Universal Recording Studio in Chicago on January 4, 1961 (tracks 2-4 & 8)

Personnel

– guitar, vocals * William "Lefty" Bates – harmonica, guitar (tracks 2-4 & 8) * Bill Lee (tracks 1 & 7), Quinn Wilson (tracks 2-4 & 8) – bass *Earl Phillips – drums (tracks 2-4 & 8) *? Pops Staples – guitar (tracks 2-4 & 8)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Folk Lore of John Lee Hooker, The John Lee Hooker albums 1961 albums Vee-Jay Records albums