John Lee Hooker was the blues personified. The potency of his music, the longevity of his career and his relentless drive elevated the Delta blues to electrifying new altitudes. Late in life, he enjoyed four Grammy awards, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, appearances at Madison Square Garden, an album that sold more than a million copies (1989's "The Healer") and induction to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. This disc reveals Hooker's innate power in all its high-voltage, soulful glory. These twenty six classic recordings from the late 1940s and early '50s ably demonstrate the majestic artistry which kept him at the blues forefront for the next five decades. This is stuff that profoundly altered the course of popular music, anticipated rock & roll and inspired generations of guitarists to reach out for a chance at conjuring one small shred of the almost mystical, downright hypnotic and profoundly compelling blues truths that came so easily to John Lee Hooker.
