“[L.A. WOMAN] is a blues album. We've even included a John Lee Hooker cut called ‘Crawling King Snake’ which was part of our set in the earliest club days.”
- Jim Morrison
Remembering the blues legend John Lee Hooker
(August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001)
"I look for a deep, gutty feeling. I don't use picks, so I can get that deep gut feeling. People ask, "How do you get that?" It's just there. A lot of people try to play real fast chords – da da da da da – that's not the blues. It's synthetic. It ain't the hard, solid blues. It's a lot of speed and everything. It has no feeling to it.
You've got to sit down and play some funky, funky guitar. Take your time! Don't rush it. Just let it come flowing through you. I can play guitar so funky, until it brings teardrops to your eyes. It has that funky, funky tone. I'm just me.
People just feel – that's the way the blues is supposed to be played. Shut your eyes, and then you'll know what you're doing. I know what notes to hit. I know what notes not to hit. I can do a 12-bar perfect – perfect. Oh, yeah. If I did, then I wouldn't be John Lee Hooker.
See, I'm known for not doing it. When I'm just playing to myself I do it: 8, 12, 4, 16, 24. But ordinarily I don't do it, because it would take away a lot of my feeling. You cannot learn this in a book. You feel it here [points to his heart and head], not by writing on a piece of paper
Throw that paper away!
-From Jas Obrecht , Guitar Player
Photo Jay Blakesberg
Boom Boom live 1969
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