John Lee Hooker › Similar Artists

Muddy Waters - 100% match to John Lee Hooker

McKinley Morganfield, 4 April 1913, Rolling Fork, Mississippi, USA, d. 30 April 1983, Chicago, Illinois, USA. One of the dominant figures of post-war blues, Muddy Waters was raised in the rural Mississippi town of Clarksdale, in whose juke-joints he came into contact with the legendary Son House and Robert Nighthawk. Having already mastered the rudiments of the harmonica an Read more

Howlin' Wolf - 92% match to John Lee Hooker

Buddy Guy - 78% match to John Lee Hooker

George Guy, 30 July 1936, Lettsworth, Louisiana, USA. An impassioned and influential guitarist, Buddy Guy learned to play the blues on a rudimentary, home made instrument, copying records he heard on the radio. By the mid-50s he was sitting in with several of the region’s leading performers, including Slim Harpo and Lightnin’ Slim. In 1957 Guy moved north to Chicag Read more

Lightnin' Hopkins - 78% match to John Lee Hooker

Sam Hopkins, 15 March 1912, Centreville, Texas, USA, d. 30 January 1982, Houston, Texas, USA. One of the last great country blues singers, Hopkins’ lengthy career began in the Texas bars and juke joints of the 20s. Towards the end of the decade he formed a duo with a cousin, Texas Alexander, while his Lightnin’ epithet was derived from a subsequent partnership with Read more

B.B. King - 60% match to John Lee Hooker

Riley B. King, 16 September 1925, Indianola, Mississippi, USA. The son of a sharecropper, King went to work on the plantation like any other young black in Mississippi, but he had sung in amateur gospel groups from childhood. By the age of 16, he was also playing blues guitar and singing on street corners. When he was 20 years old, he temporarily quit sharecropping and went Read more

R.L. Burnside - 53% match to John Lee Hooker

23 November 1926, Harmontown, Mississippi, USA, d. 1 September 2005, Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Burnside, ‘Rule’ to his friends, was a keen observer of his neighbour Mississippi Fred McDowell, as well as Son Hibler and Ranie Burnett, and learned from them the modal rhythm-based techniques of the north Mississippi blues. To these he added songs by Muddy Waters, John L Read more

T-Bone Walker - 53% match to John Lee Hooker

Aaron Thibeaux Walker, 28 May 1910, Linden, Texas, USA, d. 16 March 1975, Los Angeles, California, USA. Walker, whose T-Bone acronym is a corruption of his middle name, was raised in Dallas where his parents operated an ‘open house’ to all the touring blues musicians. During his childhood, Walker was brought into contact with artists such as Blind Lemon Jefferson, Read more

Elmore James - 50% match to John Lee Hooker

Elmore Brooks, 27 January 1918, Richland, Mississippi, USA, d. 23 May 1963, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Although his recording career spanned 10 years, Elmore James is chiefly recalled for his debut release, 1951’s ‘Dust My Broom’. This impassioned, exciting performance, based on a virulent composition by country blues singer Robert Johnson, was marked by the arti Read more

Little Walter - 50% match to John Lee Hooker

Sonny Boy Williamson - 49% match to John Lee Hooker

Aleck/Alex Miller, 5 December 1899, Glendora, Mississippi, USA, d. 25 May 1965, Helena, Arkansas, USA. Being a man who would never compromise a good story by affording undue attention to veracity, and mischievous to boot, Sonny Boy’s own various accounts of his life were never to be trusted and led to much confusion. This artist was also known as Alex Ford (after his mo Read more

Otis Rush - 47% match to John Lee Hooker

29 April 1934, Philadelphia, Mississippi, USA. A left-handed blues guitarist, Rush moved to Chicago where his impassioned singing and playing on ‘I Can’t Quit You Baby’ brought a Top 10 R&B hit in 1956. He became one of the ‘young turks’ of the Chicago scene together with Buddy Guy, Freddie King and Magic Sam. ‘I Can’t Quit You Baby Read more

Albert King - 45% match to John Lee Hooker

Robert Johnson - 45% match to John Lee Hooker

Willie Dixon - 42% match to John Lee Hooker

1 July 1915, Vicksburg, Mississippi, USA, d. 29 January 1992, Burbank, California, USA. At an early age Dixon was interested in both words and music, writing lyrics and admiring the playing of Little Brother Montgomery. As an adolescent, Dixon sang bass with local gospel groups, had some confrontation with the law, and hoboed his way to Chicago, where he became a boxer. He e Read more

Jimmy Reed - 40% match to John Lee Hooker

Mathis James Reed, 6 September 1925, Leland, Mississippi, USA, d. 29 August 1976, Oakland, California, USA. Jimmy Reed was a true original: he sang in a lazy mush-mouthed ramble, played limited, if instantly recognizable, harmonica, and even more minimal guitar. He produced a series of hits in the 50s that made him the most successful blues singer of the era.

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