John Lee Hooker - King Of The Boogie

John Lee Hooker: King Of The Boogie 

(March, 29, 2018, Nashville, TN) Epiphone in partnership with the GRAMMY Museum®, the John Lee Hooker Estate and Foundation, and Craft Recordings, is proud to announce the opening of the traveling exhibit, John Lee Hooker: King of the Boogie, at the GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles on March 29, 2018. The multi-media exhibit, which runs through June 2018, features priceless mementos drawn from Hooker’s long career, including GRAMMY® Awards, rare photographs with fans like Miles Davis, stage outfits, original 78s and LPs, and a rare 1961 Epiphone Zephyr which was Hooker’s main guitar throughout the 1960s.

During his 50-year recording career, John Lee Hooker was a fan of Epiphone instruments and was known for his Epiphone Zephyr as well his elegant Epiphone Sheraton, which appeared on several album covers.  “It’s an honor to be part of John Lee Hooker’s story, said Epiphone President Jim Rosenberg. “His influence on American musicians can be heard everywhere.  The fact Hooker chose an equally vanguard instrument like Epiphone not once but twice at key moments in his career, says a lot about the passion and seriousness he brought to his music.”

Throughout 2018, Epiphone and the John Lee Hooker Estate will continue to celebrate the Centennial of the birth of John Lee Hooker--the ‘King of the Boogie’—who was one of the most influential and distinctive musicians of the 20th century. Hooker was born August 22, 1917 in Clarksdale, Mississippi and early in his career developed a deceptively sophisticated and dynamic style that mixed boogie, swing, and Piedmont blues guitar. Hooker was also a gifted songwriter and many of his singles--"Boom, Boom", "Dimples," "I'm In the Mood," "Serves You Right To Suffer," and his trademark "Boogie Chillen,'" have become American standards.  Hooker’s influence can be heard in the catalogs of Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, Tom Jones, Van Morrison, Peter Wolf, George Thorogood, and many others.  A new box set, King of the Boogie, collects the best of Hooker’s career from his earliest 78s in Detroit to his all-star collaborations. 

And later in 2018, Epiphone will premier the Ltd. Ed. 100th Anniversary John Lee Hooker Zephyr, a recreation of Hooker’s rare Natural finish 1961 archtop.  Read our feature on John Lee Hooker and look for more great events honoring the ‘King of the Boogie’ later this year.  See you in Los Angeles!

Epiphone.com Feature: John Lee Hooker

John Lee Hooker Website

John Lee Hooker Foundation

GRAMMY Museum

Craft Recordings

About Epiphone:

For over 140 years, Epiphone has been a leading innovator in instrument design with models like the Casino, the Texan, and the new Masterbilt Century Archtop Collection. Epiphone is also home to the PRO-1 Collection and is the official instrument of Rocksmith® Remastered, the acclaimed video experience that’s teaching millions around the world how to play guitar and bass. Epiphone began as the “House of Stathopoulo” family business in Sparta in the 1870s and rose to fame during Manhattan’s jazz age before joining Gibson brands in 1957. Today, Epiphone continues to make history from its headquarters in Nashville, TN. Epiphones have powered classic recordings by Les Paul, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones along with today’s top artists like Gary Clark Jr., Tommy Thayer of KISS, and James Bay. Epiphone offers innovation, history, and a lifetime guarantee. At Epiphone, we're designers, we're players, and we're mavericks. And, we're passionate about everything we do.