The Genius of Earl Hooker, by Earl Hooker

The Genius of Earl Hooker

by Earl Hooker

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cjc2003 Sublime. Just sublime.

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1.	Two Bugs in a Rug 05:46	buy track
2.	Hold On... I'm Coming 02:53	buy track
3.	Off the Hook 04:04	buy track
4.	Dust My Broom 03:42	buy track
5.	Hot and Heavy 01:56	buy track
6.	The Screwdriver 03:06	buy track
7.	Bertha 03:54	buy track
8.	The Foxtrot 01:57	buy track
9.	End of the Blues 04:25	buy track
10.	Walking the Floor 02:17	buy track
11.	Hooker Special 02:35	buy track
12.	Something You Ate 03:09	buy track

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Recommended if you like: Les Paul, cinematic blues guitar with a twist, Ike Turner & The Kings of Rhythm.

Why you should care: Disregard the olde tyme cover -- this is switched on guitar instrumental wizardry both familiar and yet not quite like anything else you’ve ever heard.
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In October 1964, guitarist Earl Hooker made the journey from Chicago up I-90 to Cuca Records in Sauk City, Wisconsin, to record with the famously affordable engineer and label founder, Jim Kirchstein. The cousin of blues giant John Lee Hooker, Earl was a decade into his career by the time he hit Sauk City, cutting singles for Rockin’, King, Argo, Bea & Baby, Checker, Chief, CJ, Age, and Mel-Lon, with little to show for it. “Earl called and set up a 7:00 appointment,” Kirchstein recalled. “At about midnight I gave up and then they came in. They were very tired after a long day of travel and finding us, but we got a few bottles of wine… About 2AM we got recording and it was one of the finest sessions. We recorded all night.” The fruit of that session and a handful of others make up Hooker’s 1967 LP, The Genius Of. The mostly instrumental album consisted of eight Hooker originals alongside a reworking of Delta classic “Dust My Broom,” and bluesy covers of Sam & Dave’s “Hold On... I’m Coming,” James Brown’s “I Got You” (called “The Screwdriver” here) and “Sleepwalking”—the latter coyly obscured on the label as “Bertha” in tribute to his wife. After a lifelong battle with tuberculosis, Earl Hooker perished in 1970 at the age of 40.

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released March 16, 2018

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From The Stacks

A visit to the Numero office makes it very clear that ‘the stacks’ is a literal description of our process: we accumulate stacks of records, master tapes, photos, flyers, and old newspapers while assembling a project. From The Stacks is our way of illuminating the experience: the selections here are presented without curation. While we’re digging for gold, these are the lesser minerals we find. ... more