Joseph Lee Hooker
Encyclopedia
Joseph Lee Hooker is an American
pop
, Christian
, and inspirational music singer and songwriter. Born near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, Hooker has achieved his largest successes with Roman Catholic-themed music, including Singing the Rosary and Our Priests. His latest album, Heaven's On Its Way, was released in March 2011.
and raised in Linwood, Pennsylvania
, a Philadelphia suburb. He wrote mainly secular pop and rock-n-roll music with positive, patriotic, inspirational or environmentalist messages until the early 1980s, when he felt God calling him to focus his music more directly on spiritual themes. For a time, he put his secular music aside to devote his time to "Singing the Rosary," a fully sung and orchestrated version of the holy rosary. The first of its kind, "Singing the Rosary" was given to Pope John Paul II in 1991.
Eventually his faith, and his self-admitted need for conversion, led him to Medjugorje, in present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina
, where on Easter Sunday of 1990, he met his wife, Bridget, an American also on a pilgrimage
. The two were married soon after, and his wife often accompanies him on his albums as a producer, backup vocalist and co-composer.
Apart from his unique vocal quality and prolific songwriting, Hooker is also well known in Pennsylvania's Delaware Valley for his vigilant advocacy and untiring environmentalist efforts as president of We Are the People, Inc., an environmental advocacy group that he founded to fight pollution in his neighboring town of Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania.
Hooker is also the photographer and copyright holder of two photographs, "The Good Shepherd" and "The White Cross", both taken in Medjugorje that have attained worldwide attention. These photos depict what many claim is a "miracle" or a "divine manifestation" in the clouds.
Hooker and Hylak's first son, Luke John, died as a child from liver cancer; this tragedy has profoundly influenced Hooker's later music and spirituality. The family now resides in West Grove, Pennsylvania
, where they own a multilingual web design and ASCAP music publishing company, Come Alive Communications, Inc.
bestowed an Apostolic Blessing on the work in February 2010.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, Christian
Christian music
Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely across the world....
, and inspirational music singer and songwriter. Born near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, Hooker has achieved his largest successes with Roman Catholic-themed music, including Singing the Rosary and Our Priests. His latest album, Heaven's On Its Way, was released in March 2011.
Early and Personal Life
Hooker was born in Wilmington, DelawareWilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
and raised in Linwood, Pennsylvania
Linwood, Pennsylvania
Linwood is a census-designated place in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,374 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Linwood is located at ....
, a Philadelphia suburb. He wrote mainly secular pop and rock-n-roll music with positive, patriotic, inspirational or environmentalist messages until the early 1980s, when he felt God calling him to focus his music more directly on spiritual themes. For a time, he put his secular music aside to devote his time to "Singing the Rosary," a fully sung and orchestrated version of the holy rosary. The first of its kind, "Singing the Rosary" was given to Pope John Paul II in 1991.
Eventually his faith, and his self-admitted need for conversion, led him to Medjugorje, in present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
, where on Easter Sunday of 1990, he met his wife, Bridget, an American also on a pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
. The two were married soon after, and his wife often accompanies him on his albums as a producer, backup vocalist and co-composer.
Apart from his unique vocal quality and prolific songwriting, Hooker is also well known in Pennsylvania's Delaware Valley for his vigilant advocacy and untiring environmentalist efforts as president of We Are the People, Inc., an environmental advocacy group that he founded to fight pollution in his neighboring town of Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania.
Hooker is also the photographer and copyright holder of two photographs, "The Good Shepherd" and "The White Cross", both taken in Medjugorje that have attained worldwide attention. These photos depict what many claim is a "miracle" or a "divine manifestation" in the clouds.
Hooker and Hylak's first son, Luke John, died as a child from liver cancer; this tragedy has profoundly influenced Hooker's later music and spirituality. The family now resides in West Grove, Pennsylvania
West Grove, Pennsylvania
West Grove is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,854 at the 2010 census.-History:The village of West Grove derived its name from the Friends Meeting House on Harmony Road built in 1787 several miles west of the Friends Meeting House in the village of...
, where they own a multilingual web design and ASCAP music publishing company, Come Alive Communications, Inc.
Our Priests
Perhaps Hooker's greatest acclaim came in 2009 with Our Priests, a short album whose eponymous lead single garnered awards from Roman Catholic societies worldwide. This first track voices support for the countless Catholic priests who live selfless lives of devotion to the Church while a relative few fuel the institution's scandal. Pope Benedict XVIPope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
bestowed an Apostolic Blessing on the work in February 2010.
Discography
- Hello World (1985)
- Singing the Rosary (1988)
- Mighty God of Medjugorje (1991)
- Say Yes to Jesus (1992)
- God Calling (1993)
- Say Yes to Life (1996)
- Apostles of the Last Days (1997)
- Millennium Celebration & Philadelphia version (1999)
- Our Priests (2009)
- Heaven's On Its Way (2011)