Boogie Chillen
Encyclopedia
"Boogie Chillen'" 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
.
. 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'".
, raspy stuttering voice, and tapping foot keeping the beat.
Even though Bessman had his own record label, Sensation Records, in order to get "Boogie Chillen" he licensed it to Los Angeles
record label Modern Records
.
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.
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".
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", was released in July 1950, but it is 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.
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.
/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.
Electric blues
Electric blues is a type of blues music distinguished by the amplification of the guitar, bass guitar, drums, and often the harmonica. Pioneered in the 1930s, it emerged as a genre in Chicago in the 1940s. It was taken up in many areas of America leading to the development of regional subgenres...
song written by John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
. It is considered one of the genre's most important and influential recordings for the forthcoming rock 'n' roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
.
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 ChryslerChrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
. 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
Black Bottom, Detroit
Black Bottom was a predominantly black neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan, that was demolished for redevelopment in the early 1960s. It was replaced with Lafayette Park. It was located on Detroit's near East side bounded by Gratiot Avenue, Brush Street, Vernor Highway, and the Grand Trunk railroad...
. The scores of blues and jazz clubs, many of which Hooker would eventually play in, would influence the lyrics of "Boogie Chillen'".
The recording
Hooker presented the song to local record store owner and producer Bernard Bessman. 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 guitarGuitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, raspy stuttering voice, and tapping foot keeping the beat.
Even though Bessman had his own record label, Sensation Records, in order to get "Boogie Chillen" he licensed it to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
record label Modern Records
Modern Records
Modern Records was an American record label formed in 1945 in Los Angeles by the Bihari brothers. In the 1960s, Modern Records went bankrupt and ceased operations, but the catalogue went with the management into what became Kent Records. This back catalogue was eventually licensed to the UK label...
.
On November 3, 1948, "Boogie Chillen'" was released nationally on the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
-based Modern Records
Modern Records
Modern Records was an American record label formed in 1945 in Los Angeles by the Bihari brothers. In the 1960s, Modern Records went bankrupt and ceased operations, but the catalogue went with the management into what became Kent Records. This back catalogue was eventually licensed to the UK label...
label, coupled with "Sally May," as Modern 20-627. The former entered the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
R&B chart in January 1949, staying for 18 weeks and peaking at #1.
After the success of "Boogie Chillen'" John Lee Hooker signed on with numerous record labels including Chess
Chess Records
Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
and Vee-Jay
Vee-Jay Records
Vee-Jay Records is a record label founded in the 1950s, specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. It was owned and operated by African Americans.-History:...
. Later Hooker had another #1 hit on Modern with "I'm in the Mood".
Cover versions
Hard rockHard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
band Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
incorporated an expanded, rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
version of "Boogie Chillen'" into their "Whole Lotta Love
Whole Lotta Love
"Whole Lotta Love" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It is featured as the opening track on the band's second album, Led Zeppelin II, and was released in the United States and Japan as a single. The US release became their first hit single, it was certified Gold on 13 April 1970, when it...
" medley, and played the song at virtually every show between 1970 and 1973, as well as one of the 1979 Knebworth
Knebworth
Knebworth is a village and civil parish in the north of Hertfordshire, England immediately south of Stevenage. The civil parish covers an area between the villages of Datchworth, Woolmer Green, Codicote, Kimpton, Whitwell, St Paul's Walden and Langley, and encompasses the village of Knebworth, the...
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
The Song Remains the Same (album)
Upon its initial release in 1976, the album received some poor reviews, with some critics considering it to be over-produced and lumbering. Indeed, the band's members themselves have since expressed a lack of fondness for the recording...
, 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", was released in July 1950, but it is most commonly heard on Canned Heat
Canned Heat
Canned Heat is a blues-rock/boogie rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965. The group has been noted for its own interpretations of blues material as well as for efforts to promote the interest in this type of music and its original artists...
and John Lee's collaborative album Hooker 'n Heat was the basis of the boogie style famously used by ZZ Top
ZZ Top
ZZ Top is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "That Little Ol' Band from Texas". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based boogie rock, has come to incorporate elements of arena, southern, and boogie rock. The band, from Houston Texas, formed in 1969...
on their signature song "La Grange
La Grange (song)
"La Grange" is a song by the rock group ZZ Top from their album Tres Hombres, released in 1973. One of their most successful songs, it was released in 1973 and received extensive radio play, rising to #41 in the Billboard Pop Singles list in 1974. The song refers to a bordello on the outskirts of...
" and was the subject of a lawsuit in 1995.
Buddy Guy
Buddy Guy
George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...
and Junior Wells
Junior Wells
Junior Wells , born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr., was an American Chicago blues vocalist, harmonica player, and recording artist...
did a cover of the song on the album Alone & Acoustic (1981).
American rock group The White Stripes
The White Stripes
The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...
also covered the song while on tour promoting their fifth studio album Get Behind Me Satan
Get Behind Me Satan
Get Behind Me Satan is the fifth album by American alternative rock band The White Stripes, released on June 7, 2005 on V2 Records. Though still basic in production style, the album marked a distinct change from its guitar-heavy 2003 predecessor, Elephant...
.
Van Morrison
Van Morrison
Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
and Linda Gail Lewis
Linda Gail Lewis
Linda Gail Lewis is an American singer and pianist. She is the sister of Jerry Lee Lewis.She plays piano and has recorded with Stephen Ackles, Van Morrison, and with her brother. She also has recorded with her two daughtersMaryJean Ferguson, and Annie Marie Dolan in a group called The Lewis 3...
covered this song as the final track on their 2000 album You Win Again
You Win Again (album)
You Win Again is the twenty-eighth album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, and Linda Gail Lewis, released in 2000...
.
George Thorogood
George Thorogood
George Thorogood is an American blues rock vocalist/guitarist from Wilmington, Delaware, United States, known for his hit song "Bad to the Bone" as well as for covers of blues standards such as Hank Williams' "Move It On Over" and John Lee Hooker's "House Rent Boogie/One Bourbon, One Scotch, One...
covered this song as "New Boogie Chillun" on his 1982 album Bad to the Bone.
Detroit garage rock revivalists The Gories
The Gories
The Gories are an American garage rock trio that formed in Detroit in 1986. They were among the first 1980s garage punk bands to incorporate overt blues influences...
recorded a cover version on their 1989 album Houserockin.
Media appearances
In the 1980 musicalMusical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
/comedy
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
movie Blues Brothers
The Blues Brothers (film)
The Blues Brothers is a 1980 musical comedy film directed by John Landis and starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as "Joliet" Jake and Elwood Blues, characters developed from a musical sketch on the NBC variety series Saturday Night Live. It features musical numbers by R&B and soul singers James...
, 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.