tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062416028577262304.post7748455203583565375..comments2024-01-02T21:14:29.760-06:00Comments on Friday Blues Fix: Three Essential Recordings - John Lee HookerGrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10547751537787941998noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062416028577262304.post-13175093556156092342021-06-26T19:29:55.286-05:002021-06-26T19:29:55.286-05:00Thanks for visiting, ric_mac. I would have loved ...Thanks for visiting, ric_mac. I would have loved to have attended those two concerts.....the cream of the crop for sure. I did get to see all of those acts except Albert King but seeing them together would have been a dream come true.Grahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10547751537787941998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062416028577262304.post-29701231323527161122021-05-25T10:33:23.764-05:002021-05-25T10:33:23.764-05:00Hi Graham. A Brit here. I got to hear JLH twice in...Hi Graham. A Brit here. I got to hear JLH twice in London during the 1980s, possibly about the time he released his successful and star-studded album The Healer. To be honest I didn't really know much about him at the time: both concerts, about a year apart, were packages with multiple acts on the bill. The first featured JLH and Bobby 'Blue' Bland (the second only being familiar as the original performer of Farther On Up The Road, later covered by Eric Clapton), with the Big Draw being BB King, a performer I went on to see in concert many times. The contrast in style of performance was marked, with King being very showbiz and Hooker perhaps more basic and earnest, but it made for a very entertaining evening -- to the extent that I bought tickets for the following year's event, also at what was then London's Hammersmith Odeon.<br /><br />The bill for that second concert was (for me, being particularly keen on the music of guitar players) an even bigger thrill, featuring (along with JLH) both Albert King and Buddy Guy. It was all good stuff, but Guy's performance on the night was incredible and, I have to say, the dominant memory from either event.<br /><br />But it was a purple patch for Hooker too, and London took him to its heart. Of course he played Dimples and Boom Boom, closing the show on both occasions to rapturous applause.ric_macnoreply@blogger.com