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John Lee Hooker — Boogie Chillen
Album: The Best Of Friends
Avg rating:
7.8

Your rating:
Total ratings: 2743









Released: 1998
Length: 4:25
Plays (last 30 days): 1
Well my mama she didn't 'low me, just to stay out all night long, oh Lord
Well my mama didn't 'low me, just to stay out all night long
I didn't care what she didn't 'low, I would boogie-woogie anyhow

When I first came to town people, I was walkin' down Hastings Street
Everybody was talkin' about, the Henry Swing Club
I decided I drop in there that night
When I got there, I say, "Yes, people"
They was really havin' a ball!
Yes, I know
Boogie Chillen'!

One night I was layin' down,
I heard mama 'n papa talkin'
I heard papa tell mama, let that boy boogie-woogie,
It's in him, and it got to come out
And I felt so good,
Went on boogie'n just the same
Comments (240)add comment
I understand if anybody doesn't care for The Blues, even if they like rock, pop, or whatever other boogie children The Blues helped spawn. I like JLH's stuff and it's fun to see how The Blues helped shape the sound of so many bands.

I'd heard that The Blues inspired Rock, but I heard Rock before I heard The Blues, so it feels a bit like musical archaeology to listen to The Blues.

What surprised me most though was that even the best recordings, studio or live, didn't adequately capture the spirit of a live blues show.

Of the concerts or shows I've witnessed, about half were disappointing live compared to the studio, and a very small percentage were better live. With Rock, it was a rare band that could compare live to their studio work. That was never the case with the blues. With The Blues there's an energy and an experience live that the recorded work, even the very good recorded work, somehow misses.

 Proclivities wrote:

John Lee


Fake! He never was young! ;-)
Hold it.

Chillen? 

I thought it was "chitlins".   Only ate them once and then I had to really boogie. 


Chitlins...not be be confused with pigs feat, pig knuckles, and other parts of the animal.   
 Proclivities wrote:

John Lee

cool.
I believe that's Clapton on guitar.
If 10 means "Godlike" then every John Lee song gets a 10.


Wonder if JLH knew what day it was when he mumbled along with this worthy backing.
My guess is no.
Listenable anyway ~


 Montreal_Mort wrote:

Hey BillG: how about following this w Long John Baldry??



now this is a smart guy
Hey BillG: how about following this w Long John Baldry??
GREAT!!!
 ImaOldman wrote:

I remember John Lee rolling in to Columbia, SC in the early 70's for a gig in a small club called "The Box". All he had with him was a suitcase, his guitar and a small amp. He had arranged for some local guys I knew to be his band for the night. They rehearsed for an hour or so that afternoon then blew everybody away that night. Good times!



Apparently Chuck Berry toured solo using local pickup bands in the same fashion.  It seems one such local when Chuck played in New Jersey was a young Bruce Springsteen!
 Proclivities wrote:

John Lee






ERIC CLAPTON plays guitar on this 

 jagdriver wrote:

It's a euphemism for your wang-dang-doodle.




Shake your bootie works too...or as Uncle Frank would have it, Sheik Yerbouti
When I was in Junior High (so that term should tell you something), we named our bowling team (again, you start to get the idea of when and where) The Heat after the album Hooker n Heat.
 Jelani wrote:
His annunciation makes me laugh every time.
 
So, he's chosen by god? Like Mary? 
 ImaOldman wrote:
I remember John Lee rolling in to Columbia, SC in the early 70's for a gig in a small club called "The Box". All he had with him was a suitcase, his guitar and a small amp. He had arranged for some local guys I knew to be his band for the night. They rehearsed for an hour or so that afternoon then blew everybody away that night. Good times!
 

THAT's the way ya do it!
His annunciation makes me laugh every time.
JLH is da man!
{#Stop}
yuk
I don't like I looooooooove !!!!  
I remember John Lee rolling in to Columbia, SC in the early 70's for a gig in a small club called "The Box". All he had with him was a suitcase, his guitar and a small amp. He had arranged for some local guys I knew to be his band for the night. They rehearsed for an hour or so that afternoon then blew everybody away that night. Good times!
 idiot_wind wrote:
I still think he's saying: "boogie chitlins".

 
 
It's an order and if John Lee Hooker tells me to boogie, I will.
I still think he's saying: "boogie chitlins".

 
+1 for Detroit.
John Lee Hooker....pots on, gas on high at all times!
"Boogie Chillen'" or "Boogie Chillun" is a blues song first recorded by John Lee Hooker in 1948.

The song is 70 years old! 
Jeez I'm tired of this song.
 chuckmartin wrote:
Nobody do the boogie like the Boogie Man

 
John Lee
JLH is among the True Greats! He truly grasped what The Blues sound was supposed to embody, and made us all aware of it. Jam on


                                    Bass – Reggie McBride
                                    Drums – Jim Keltner
                                    Guitar – Eric ClaptonJohnny Lee SchellRich Kirch
                                    Keyboards – Bill Payne

Nobody do the boogie like the Boogie Man
Boogie chillin!
 
That was really quite good all things considered.  {#Bananajam}
Two great chords, 100 great songs!
Someone a few days ago, who claimed to be a HUGE  John Lee Hooker fan, insinuated that he ripped off the riff from La Grange...ha ha.
$10 on its way from me, Mr & Mrs G.  Best station on the planet.  Love from Bristol xx
Merry-go-round in Broadway is cross-inferencing.
Pure 10 for Mr Hooker! {#Bananajam}
 ecojot wrote:
amazing what you can do with 1 chord

 
When you've got "the cool" and he's got it in spades. 
amazing what you can do with 1 chord
11 Punkte JL aus Hessen
 
Actually, that's exactly what he does.  Maybe you just hate Clapton?

stegokitty wrote:
A blues tune I can get into. Not the same ol' let's repeat the same phrase 3-4 times and then noodle about on the guitar.

 


JOHN LEE ! ITS ALL GOOD
A blues tune I can get into. Not the same ol' let's repeat the same phrase 3-4 times and then noodle about on the guitar.
This ones got the stuff I like, and is an obvious influencer on a number of latter songs by other artists, including George Thoroghgood, Hank Williams Jr, and ZZ Top. 
Love the BLUES set tonight!!  Thanks RP!
This one really does make your feet move, unless you're dead.{#Bananajam}{#Bananasplit}
Based on that earlier Willie Dixon comment I heard an old quote that went " the Blues had a baby and they called it Rockin' Roll". I always thought that pretty well summed it up.
 jagdriver wrote:

It's a euphemism for your wang-dang-doodle.
 
How can you know? I do not want to shake something, because i dont like this song!
 justin4kick wrote:
What exactly are you supposed to shake when you're asked to shake your boogie?

 
It's a euphemism for your wang-dang-doodle.


 KurtfromLaQuinta wrote:
Everybody in my hotel room is depressed and moping around.

 
LMAO!
This was released the same month I was born... 12 years later we couldn't get enough and worn these down to nothing!
Hey... lots of goodness for 79 cents I'd say...

 
Or worse, there's an ulterior motive...

terryp17 wrote:
Just been reading the comments from previous discussions. Strikes me that anyone who doesn't accept that modern rock and blues has historic routes is obviously a follower of more polarised, mundane music that has neither passion or depth in their musical tastes.
 


The Blues is the root.  Everything else is the fruits.

Willie Dixon.
Just been reading the comments from previous discussions. Strikes me that anyone who doesn't accept that modern rock and blues has historic routes is obviously a follower of more polarised, mundane music that has neither passion or depth in their musical tastes.
Jota wrote:
rdo wrote:

It is breathtaking and truly disheartening how the American mind has closed to such an extent.  Someone taught you this, correct? Who exactly are you regurgitating here? Are you deaf by any chance?
 
Stunning ignorance and shows a complete lack of insight into the music you listen to.  From blues to rhythm & blues from which rock and roll was spawned which led to all varieties of modern guitar/bass/drums/piano/horns music of today.

Check the derivatives of rhythm & blues which itself was a derivative of the blues...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythm_and_blues

 
Jota, you are the man! rdo, we owe so much to these bluesmen, just ask any guitar player......
rdo wrote:

It is breathtaking and truly disheartening how the American mind has closed to such an extent.  Someone taught you this, correct? Who exactly are you regurgitating here? Are you deaf by any chance?
 
Stunning ignorance and shows a complete lack of insight into the music you listen to.  From blues to rhythm & blues from which rock and roll was spawned which led to all varieties of modern guitar/bass/drums/piano/horns music of today.

Check the derivatives of rhythm & blues which itself was a derivative of the blues...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythm_and_blues
 Stave wrote:

This may be the most ignorant comment I've ever seen here.  Sorry, but there is very little popular music in the Western world from the last 100 years that can't trace its origins back to the blues.  Unless you only listen to Gregorian chants or Indonesian gamelan music or something, then the music you claim to love and take seriously was inspired by the blues, either directly or indirectly.

 
It is breathtaking and truly disheartening how the American mind has closed to such an extent.  Someone taught you this, correct? Who exactly are you regurgitating here? Are you deaf by any chance?
 rdo wrote:

The main reason I post here is because of misinformation.  Blues music inspired more blues music --- that is about it.  There are very very few blues-inspired songs that I personally enjoy.  I have been listening to music my 43 years and none of the stations I have ever regularly listend to (except this one and a few others that are similar to RP) play blues music AT ALL !  Blues is not the reason I listen to music and it did not inspire any of the music I enjoy.  I share tastes similar to the vast majority of people.  If you love blues music, then great, but please do not invent a mythology that the music I love and take very seriously and can trace back hundreds of years to its own roots is blues!
 
This may be the most ignorant comment I've ever seen here.  Sorry, but there is very little popular music in the Western world from the last 100 years that can't trace its origins back to the blues.  Unless you only listen to Gregorian chants or Indonesian gamelan music or something, then the music you claim to love and take seriously was inspired by the blues, either directly or indirectly.
 easmann wrote:
I understand if anybody doesn't care for The Blues, even if they like rock, pop, or whatever other boogie children The Blues helped spawn. I like JLH's stuff and it's fun to see how The Blues helped shape the sound of so many bands.

I'd heard that The Blues inspired Rock, but I heard Rock before I heard The Blues, so it feels a bit like musical archaeology to listen to The Blues.

What surprised me most though was that even the best recordings, studio or live, didn't adequately capture the spirit of a live blues show.

Of the concerts or shows I've witnessed, about half were disappointing live compared to the studio, and a very small percentage were better live. With Rock, it was a rare band that could compare live to their studio work. That was never the case with the blues. With The Blues there's an energy and an experience live that the recorded work, even the very good recorded work, somehow misses.

 
The main reason I post here is because of misinformation.  Blues music inspired more blues music --- that is about it.  There are very very few blues-inspired songs that I personally enjoy.  I have been listening to music my 43 years and none of the stations I have ever regularly listend to (except this one and a few others that are similar to RP) play blues music AT ALL !  Blues is not the reason I listen to music and it did not inspire any of the music I enjoy.  I share tastes similar to the vast majority of people.  If you love blues music, then great, but please do not invent a mythology that the music I love and take very seriously and can trace back hundreds of years to its own roots is blues!
{#Bananapiano}{#Heartkiss}{#Bananapiano} ..... luv it 8>>>>>>>>>>>>>9
Seeing him live right up front near the stage in small venue would have been incredible in the day.
 
The State of Michigan and the City of Detroit ripped up Hastings Street and tore down Henry's Swing Club some 60 years ago to make way for I-375, a freeway spur that runs into the east side of downtown Detroit. Now the city is thinking about taking out the freeway and replacing it with a surface boulevard.

https://www.freep.com/article/20131215/OPINION05/312150060/Black-Bottom-Detroit-I-375-I-75-paradise-valley-removal


 oldfart48 wrote:
HAVE YOU TRIED LISTENING ?  it is the father of rock



 
Yeah, I have.   Thanks professor for the history lesson.
JLH is one of the progenitors.  Built to rock you every time.
Allright! PSD payed off big time on this one. {#Bananajam}
 rdo wrote:
I know absolutely nothing about blues music.  {#Stop}  Please, don't kill me!

  HAVE YOU TRIED LISTENING ?  it is the father of rock


Great classic, Bill. Now would you play some R. L. Burnside please?
 KurtfromLaQuinta wrote:
Everybody in my hotel room is depressed and moping around.
 
Everybody in my mushrooming multitude of churches be dancing buck ass naked all across the world like bowlegged gypsy muleskinners...  we love this song...  it tweaks our nipples...  love sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll...

hope we cheer you up, KurtfromLaQuinta!

Everybody in my hotel room is depressed and moping around.
 rdo wrote:
I know absolutely nothing about blues music.  {#Stop}  Please, don't kill me!
 

Neidermeyer-Dead
rdo-deadman!
 
nobody do the boogie like the boogie-man...

Well, I should hope not!!! 
 stevendejong wrote:
Vigor - 10
Articulation - 1 

 

ah-how-how-how-how
Vigor - 10
Articulation - 1 
 Pedro1874 wrote:
Not one of his best, but still great.  Saw him at the Twisted Wheel in Manchester (England) on his first UK tour in the sixties - blew me away - unique and unforgettable.  His peers owe a great deal to Chris Barber et al for resurrecting their careers and bringing the true R&B to prominence again.

 
That must have a been a great concert...I envy you. 

This is not a great version...at all.    {#No}  I think John was just messin' around in his later years with this. Which is fine but it just doesn't pop. 

This is the one I know and love--gets my feet tapping every time. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM3PuXDpKiA




 justin4kick wrote:
What exactly are you supposed to shake when you're asked to shake your boogie?

 

if you don't know, don't do it. it could destroy your ...........
did your folks threaten you with the boogieman?........{#Dancingbanana} if they only knew.......{#Ask}
What exactly are you supposed to shake when you're asked to shake your boogie?
 wolfkiss wrote:
What a classic, and I gave it a 3.  Why?  Certainly not because I don't respect it.  There's just something about pure blues that bores the cr@p out of me.  Yes, I love all that rock, R&B, etc, etc. that owes so much to this classic genre.  I just can't get into it, I really wish I could...I feel I'm missing out {#Eyes}
 
Don't worry, I love this enough for the both of us.  And I'm sure there's something you love enough to cover my deficit.  It takes all kinds of people to make the world spin around.
 
(Say, are you Michelle Pfeiffer? Because she kissed Jack Nicholson, a wolf in that movie ...)

love it... we be dancing...
"Henry's Swing Club" and "Hastings Street" are references to locations in Detroit's Black Bottom. See https://www.motorcities.org/Story/Detroits+Black+Bottom+and+Paradise+Valley-37.html John Lee Hooker worked in Detroit in the 1940's.
 shtevie wrote:
You most definitely are!
 
Missing out, that is.
You most definitely are!
 aspicer wrote:

Start here and move backwards - you might be surprised by what you hear...umm, umm, good!

 

Actually, I was exposed to some of "the best" blues music in Chicago quite a bit in my swashbuckling days, circa 1994.   I remember many a long night with a fake smile on my face.... That marble just ain't finding the hole....
What a classic, and I gave it a 3.  Why?  Certainly not because I don't respect it.  There's just something about pure blues that bores the cr@p out of me.  Yes, I love all that rock, R&B, etc, etc. that owes so much to this classic genre.  I just can't get into it, I really wish I could...I feel I'm missing out {#Eyes}
 helgigermany wrote:
terrible singing!

 
Oh dear. At that rate, Stravinsky's Rites of Spring is squawky, meaningless music. 
 dragon1952 wrote:

those that don't know, don't know that they don't know (rolls eyes in disbelief)

 
hahaha :)
Well, my mamma dropped me?
 helgigermany wrote:
terrible singing!

 
those that don't know, don't know that they don't know (rolls eyes in disbelief)
 rdo wrote:
I know absolutely nothing about blues music.  {#Stop}  Please, don't kill me!

 
Start here and move backwards - you might be surprised by what you hear...umm, umm, good!

This was circa '48 if I'm not mistaken and JLH hasn't budged an inch from that formula in 60 years. Some will say yea, others nay.


terrible singing!
Bringing on John Lee Hooker's "HEAVY" cool soul is a bit tough (hammer) on Jagger's Wandering Spirit, but as John Lee sings "nobody do the boogie like the boogie-man". That is why this gets a Godlike rating, much thanks.

Everybody in my church loves this song...
 
Ben Harper,Iggy Pop,JLH- All bow to the segue master!
Just so flippin' good for the soul!  Bring it!
I just hear pure blues rock'n the roll......10
I am a boogieman myself even MEGA. Great boogie!
Rhoooo....Merci beaucoup pour ce Blues, Bill ! À ma grande honte, je ne connaissais pas ce titre .
Artists like John Lee Hooker are the fathers of genres like rock.They have toiled in anonimity while others have ripped off their music.Perhaps the high ratings are an acknowledement of their contribution to popular music.
 Sasha2001 wrote:
Periodically I feel the pull to chime in with a WTF comment about song ratings so here goes: Desmond Dekker's all-time classic "Israelites" rates a full point lower than a run-of-the-mill John Lee Hooker tune. I'm not saying Hooker isn't great, but is it possible that some voters on RP rate artists like Hooker highly so that others will take their musical tastes more seriously when looking at their ratings list? Ratings posers, you're on notice. There's no shame in being honest. Everybody already knows how much you like Spandau Ballet and how little you like The Decembrists.
 
For some reason, a lot of folks really seem to dislike Desmond Dekker's "Israelites" - read some of the comments there.  Not sure about the poseur-theory, but who knows?  I like John Lee Hooker and I like Desmond Dekker.
I know absolutely nothing about blues music.  {#Stop}  Please, don't kill me!
 ThePoose wrote:


These items do not have to be mutually exclusive, dude.
Remember that paradise is forever—if you believe.
 
Or one could say "I've grown old AND this is paradise!"

One of the joys for getting older for me has been getting to understand better just how incredibly fantastic is the universe and the life that springs from it. 
They used to write ''Clapton is God'' on walls in the UK. Maybe Eric and JLH could job-share up there.

cattgirl813 wrote:


I don't believe in God, but I know that if there was one, it would be John Lee Hooker.
 

Not one of his best, but still great.  Saw him at the Twisted Wheel in Manchester (England) on his first UK tour in the sixties - blew me away - unique and unforgettable.  His peers owe a great deal to Chris Barber et al for resurrecting their careers and bringing the true R&B to prominence again.
love the piano
Like the man said, "Let that boy boogie. It's gotta come out."
{#Dancingbanana} {#Dancingbanana_2}{#Bananajam}{#Wave}{#Notworthy}{#Bananajumprope}{#Bananapiano}{#Bananasplit}{#Clap}
He's the Wellspring.  'Nuff said.
 macbags wrote:
Have I grown old, or has paradise?
 

These items do not have to be mutually exclusive, dude.
Remember that paradise is forever—if you believe.
 Sasha2001 wrote:
Periodically I feel the pull to chime in with a WTF comment about song ratings so here goes: Desmond Dekker's all-time classic "Israelites" rates a full point lower than a run-of-the-mill John Lee Hooker tune. I'm not saying Hooker isn't great, but is it possible that some voters on RP rate artists like Hooker highly so that others will take their musical tastes more seriously when looking at their ratings list? Ratings posers, you're on notice. There's no shame in being honest. Everybody already knows how much you like Spandau Ballet and how little you like The Decembrists.
  Blasphemer!

But seriously, trying to attach some rhyme or reason to the song ratings is an exercise in futility. It's only there for fun anyway. Bill doesn't use the ratings to build playlists. 'Cause if he did, RP would the 'All Talking Heads and Decemberists, All The Time' station.

Kidding.


{#Bananajam}Big Thumbs Up!!!
I see a lower lip slack bouncing in tune with the blues . . .  :-)  Fred Flintstone on the keys . . .

Periodically I feel the pull to chime in with a WTF comment about song ratings so here goes:

Desmond Dekker's all-time classic "Israelites" rates a full point lower than a run-of-the-mill John Lee Hooker tune. I'm not saying Hooker isn't great, but is it possible that some voters on RP rate artists like Hooker highly so that others will take their musical tastes more seriously when looking at their ratings list?

Ratings posers, you're on notice. There's no shame in being honest. Everybody already knows how much you like Spandau Ballet and how little you like The Decembrists.
 Mugro wrote:

Some songs, and some artists, know no age. This is one. Grow up, I would advise. John Lee Hooker is part of the Pantheon of Music. If you want to know something about how Rock & Roll was formed, you must study one of the masters. Musical maturity requires it.

 
I abide

 macbags wrote:
Have I grown old, or has paradise?
 
Some songs, and some artists, know no age. This is one. Grow up, I would advise. John Lee Hooker is part of the Pantheon of Music. If you want to know something about how Rock & Roll was formed, you must study one of the masters. Musical maturity requires it.

 cc_rider wrote:
can someone find information about 'the Henry Swank Club'? A quick google revealed zip.
 

Forget the club, give me Hillary Swank .... yowzah!


Tell it, John Lee...{#Dancingbanana}
we are in the groove now
None of the "Andrew Bird mumbles" crowd chiming in here? Sublime, is it not?