Hooker discussed with me is upcoming September tour of Spain, Switzerland and Germany to promote his most recent release Cold As Ice. At the time he was in the midst of traveling across the United States for the same reason. Hooker says it is a thrill for him to see the enthusiasm that Europeans demonstrate for his music and the Blues in general. "America is where it (Blues) was born. Americans can get it in the kitchen, upstairs and everywhere they go. These people (Europeans) appreciate it more because they are just now getting it," he says. "They are so grateful that this new music as it were has come to them. They stand in line and in front of the stages. They are going to be right there in front of you," he says.
Since there is so much lyrical content to his music I ask Hooker if language becomes a barrier when he is performing in some European venues. "They (the fans) have done their homework to find out what he or she is singing about," Hooker says. He makes the point that although the lyrics that for his European fans it is all about the music.
Hooker has created a style of music that is infused with elements of R&B and bears Motown influences from his days growing up in Detroit during the sixties and seventies. "I was heavily influenced by Motown, Jackie Wilson, Stevie Wonder and all of those guys," he says. Hooker found himself listening to a lot of Marvin Gaye's music. "When I was ten to twelve years old I wasn't about the Blues I was about the Motown sound. Of course (later on) a great influence while I was growing up was my dad (John Lee Hooker) and I went that way," says Hooker.
Hooker's lyrics also at times tell the tale of his life. He started off as an incredibly talented Blues artist in his teenage years but later descended into a life of alcoholism and drug addiction. He served time in jail for the later. Now sober and rehabbed for many years he says, "I write what I've done, witnessed and lived. That's what you hear, what I've experienced," he says. "Some of it is a little bit creative but it is what I feel, what I saw my friends do and what I heard about. It's the life experience," he says.
He took a few moments to reflect upon what turned his life around and in a positive direction. "When you are level with the ground and you are tired of being on the ground you are going to do one of two things. You are either going to stay there or you are going to have the desire to get up. My dad would always tell me, 'You got too much talent, to be down there.' He was a great encourager. You are tired of being in that valley (referring to himself). I didn't want to stay there. Everybody can't say that. (Some people) will say I don't want to be here but I can't get up. I wanted to get up." Hooker credits the support of family and friends as making the difference.
