Boogie Chillen'
| "Boogie Chillen'" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by John Lee Hooker | ||||
| B-side | "Sally May" | |||
| Released | November 1948[1] | |||
| Format | 10" 78 rpm | |||
| Recorded | September 1948[2] | |||
| Genre | Electric blues | |||
| Length | 3:11 | |||
| Label | Modern single #627[1] | |||
| Writer(s) | John Lee Hooker, Bernie Besman | |||
| Producer | Bernie Besman | |||
| John Lee Hooker singles chronology | ||||
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"Boogie Chillen'" (also sometimes listed as "Boogie Chillun'") is an electric blues song written by John Lee Hooker. It is considered one of the genre's most important and influential recordings for the forthcoming rock 'n' roll.[3]
Contents |
[edit] Origins
Hooker moved to Detroit in 1943, attracted by well-paying factory work. Taking up residence in Detroit's east side, he found a position as a janitor at Chrysler. After work, he would take in the sights and sounds of Hastings Street, the cultural center of the city's black community, called Paradise Valley. The scores of blues and jazz clubs, many of which Hooker would eventually play in, would influence the lyrics of "Boogie Chillen'".
[edit] The recording
Hooker presented the song to local record store owner and producer Bernard Besman. Liking what he heard, Besman brought Hooker to United Sound Studios, located at 5840 2nd Ave. in Detroit, to record the track with Maurice King who later became Music Director at Motown. The arrangement is sparse, featuring Hooker's twangy electric guitar, raspy stuttering voice, and tapping foot keeping the beat.
Even though Besman had his own record label, Sensation Records, in order to get "Boogie Chillen" he licensed it to Los Angeles record label Modern Records.[2]
On November 3, 1948, "Boogie Chillen'" was released nationally on the Los Angeles-based Modern Records label, coupled with "Sally May," as Modern 20-627. The former entered the Billboard R&B chart in January 1949, staying for 18 weeks and peaking at #1.[4]
After the success of "Boogie Chillen'" John Lee Hooker signed on with numerous record labels including Chess and Vee-Jay. Later Hooker had another #1 hit on Modern with "I'm in the Mood".[2]
[edit] Cover versions
Hard rock band Led Zeppelin incorporated an expanded, rockabilly version of "Boogie Chillen'" into their "Whole Lotta Love" medley, and played the song at virtually every show between 1970 and 1973, as well as one of the 1979 Knebworth concerts and a few times on their 1980 tour of Europe. Performances can be heard on all three of their live albums (The Song Remains the Same, BBC Sessions and How the West Was Won). On the Led Zeppelin DVD, the song can be heard during the How Many More Times medley on their 1970 Royal Albert Hall performance.
The re-recording of "Boogie Chillen'" as "Boogie Chillen' #2", released in July 1950, most commonly heard on Canned Heat and John Lee's collaborative album Hooker 'n Heat, was the basis of the boogie style famously used by ZZ Top on their signature song "La Grange" and was the subject of a lawsuit in 1995.[5]
Buddy Guy and Junior Wells did a cover of the song on the album Alone & Acoustic (1981).
American rock group The White Stripes also covered the song while on tour promoting their fifth studio album Get Behind Me Satan.
Van Morrison and Linda Gail Lewis covered this song as the final track on their 2000 album You Win Again.
George Thorogood covered this song as "New Boogie Chillun" on his 1982 album Bad to the Bone.
Detroit garage rock revivalists The Gories recorded a cover version on their 1989 album Houserockin'.
[edit] Media appearances
In the 1980 musical/comedy movie Blues Brothers, the original 1948 recording of "Boogie Chillen'" is heard (presumably playing on Elwood's car stereo) as the band drives around shortly before stumbling upon Bob's Country Bunker. Hooker also performs a live version of his other signature song "Boom Boom" in the film.
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b The Very Best of John Lee Hooker 1990 Rhino Records R2 71915 Liner Notes
- ^ a b c Howard Mandel, ed. (2005). "The Billboard Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues". The Billboard Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz & Blues. Billboard Books. pp. 138–139. ISBN 0-8230-8266-0.
- ^ Dawson, Jim, and Steve Propes, What Was The First Rock 'n' Roll Record ? (Faber and Faber, 1992), ISBN 0-571-12939-0.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1988). Top R&B Singles 1942-1988, Records Research, Inc., ISBN 978-0-89820-069-0.
- ^ "La Cienega Music Co. v. ZZ Top". http://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/projects/law/library/cases/case_lacienegazztop.html.
