Among his peers, Earl Hooker is widely considered the greatest guitarist of his era. As Sebastian Danchin wrote in his Hooker biography, "...he became from the late forties the most creative and virtuosic electric blues guitarist of his generation." His wild performances attracted a loyal following wherever he went as he entertained the crowds by playing behind his back, picking the guitar with his feet or teeth or doing flips on stage without missing a note. Hooker always had a predilection for the latest electric guitar technology becoming famous for his double-neck guitars and even making the wah-wah pedal work in a blues context. In addition to blues he had incorporated Country and Western music in his repertoire early on. Hooker was the archetype of the rambling bluesman having spent most of his life on the road. Along the way he cut singles for a host of tiny labels that did little to get the word out. The result was that he remained little known outside the insular blues world until the late 60’s.

 Several factors can be attributed to Hooker's under-recognition. He fought tuberculosis much of his adult life (ultimately it killed him), his recorded output is not vast, and he spent much of his career on the road touring to support himself without the advantage of a long-term recording contract to promote his music. "I guess if there was such thing as a black gypsy than you would have to call Earl Hooker that" bluesman Little Milton was quoted as saying. Much of Hooker's recorded output was issued on single play 78 rpm and 45 rpm records during the 50's and 60's, on smaller labels such as Sun, King, Age, Chief, Cuca, and even Chess, which suffered poor distribution and lack of radio airplay outside the Chicago and southern U.S.A. markets.

 Born in Mississippi, Hooker arrived in Chicago as a child. As a youngster he began playing music in the streets with future blues artists Bo Diddley and Louis Myers. He met Robert Nighthawk in Chicago in the early 40’s and it was Nighthawk who became his primary influence, teaching him the rudiments of his remarkable slide technique. Nighthawk took a liking to Hooker and showed his young student how to play in "E Natural" (open E), "D Natural" (open D) and Spanish (open G) tunings, shaping his super light touch. Hooker would eventually surpass his mentor, developing an entirely new language for the slide guitar. Hooker frequently ran away from home, often heading down south to play music. During these trips he reunited with Nighthawk, played with Ike Turner, Sonny Boy Williamson and others. He formed the Roadmasters in the early 50’s and with constantly changing personnel played all over the country for the next twenty years.

 Hooker’s initial recordings cut in 1952, were instrumentals, made for the King label (re-issued once on a King LP of mostly John Lee Hooker sides) and were recorded in Florida right in the club where he was playing a job. The following year he cut sides for Rockin' and Sun. At the latter, he recorded some terrific sides with pianist Pinetop Perkins that were inexplicably unreleased at the time like the rousing "The Hucklebuck", "Going On Down The Line" and the rocking "Earl's Boogie Woogie." By the early 50’s he was back in Chicago cutting singles for Argo, C.J., and Bea & Baby before joining with producer Mel London (owner of Chief and Age) in 1959. The period between 1959 and 1963 was a productive one, both in terms of quality and quantity. Through Mel London, Hooker was involved in over a dozen recordings sessions, and his playing was featured on some forty titles and twenty-five singles, a dozen of which were released under his own name. For the next four years, he recorded both as sideman and leader for the producer, backing Junior Wells, Bobby Saxton, Lillian Offitt, Ricky Allen, Big Moose Walker and A.C. Reed plus cutting notable instrumentals like "Blue Guitar" and "Blues in D-Natural." He also contributed slide work to Muddy Waters' 1962 Chess waxing "You Shook Me" plus cut a pair of his own sizzling instrumentals for the label in "Frog Hop" and "Guitar Rhumba." After Age folded Hooker recorded sporadically between 1964 and 1968 for tiny outfits like Cuca, Jim-Ko, Duplex and again for C.J.

 It was during the late 1960's that Hooker began to get some overdue recognition. His first full length album, "The Genius Of Earl Hooker", was released at the end of 1968 which was a collection of his Cuca recordings. Chris Strachwitz, the owner of Arhoolie records, asked Buddy Guy to recommend guitar players from Chicago whom he could record for his fledgling label. Buddy promptly gave Chris Hooker's address in Chicago. (The other guitar player that Buddy recommended was Johnny Littlejohn, who also got to record for Arhoolie). In 1968 Strachwitz went to Chicago to meet Earl and subsequently recorded the material that comprises "Two Bugs & a Roach," his first full-length album.

 In 1969 Hooker signed on with ABC-BluesWay, churning out several albums for the label in addition to playing on records by Bluesway artists like Andrew Odum, Johnny “Big Moose” Walker, Charles Brown, his cousin John Lee Hooker and others. He took part in ten recording sessions in six months. In late 1969, Hooker traveled to Europe to play in the American Folk Blues Festival. By this time, he was quite ill with advancing tuberculosis, a condition he battled his entire life, and after his return was admitted to a Chicago sanitarium where he passed away in April 21, 1970. As Living Blues co-founder Jim O'Neal summed up: "He was the best blues guitarist in Chicago, maybe the best anywhere. Such was the reputation Earl Hooker earned amongst the most discriminating critics of all - the other musicians of the blues community."

Essential Listening

Two Bugs & A Roach (Arhoolie): Collects his classic 1968 debut album (Louis Myers, Pinetop Perkins, Carey Bell, Andrew Odum) plus two tracks from stray sessions in late 1968 and 1969, along with four early sides recorded in Memphis in the early 50's.

Sweet Black Angel (One Way): Despite the generic titles ("Shuffle", "Funky Blues") this is a terrific, mostly instrumental, record produced by Ike Turner for the Blue Thumb label. Hooker is captured beautifully on the title cut, the funky "I Feel Good", "Boogie, Don't Blot!", "Drivin' Wheel" and others all featuring fine piano work from the uncredited Ernest Lane.

Blue Guitar (Paula): Captures Hooker's early '60s stay with Mel London's Age/Chief labels. 21 great tracks from that period include Hooker's jaw dropping instrumentals "Blue Guitar," "Off the Hook," "The Leading Brand," "Blues in D Natural" plus tracks brilliantly backing A.C. Reed, Junior Wells, Lillian Offitt, and others.

The Moon Is Rising (Arhoolie): A fine compilation of late '60s material some of which originally appeared on Arhoolie's "Hooker and Steve" LP, a couple of others that showed up on Arhoolie's "His First & Last Recordings" plus four previously unreleased cuts recorded live in Chicago clubs. Highlights include the lengthy title cut, tough organ/guitar workouts with Steve Miller on "Earl's Blues" and "Hooker 'n' Steve" and extended jams like "Improvisations On Frosty" among others.

Simply The Best (MCA): A killer 19-track collection of some of his finest from the MCA vaults with an emphasis on his stellar Bluesway/Blue Thumb recordings from the late 60's. In addition to sizzling instrumentals, Hooker can be found in the company of great bluesman like Muddy Waters, Andrew Odom, Big Moose Walker and his cousin, John Lee Hooker.

-Danchin, Dan. "Earl Hooker: Blues Master", University Press of Mississippi (2001).

-Dahl, Bill. Earl Hooker entry, All Music Guide.