Week #3. Earl Hooker's Guitar is Blue

"Blue Guitar" - Earl Hooker [Age 29106]

This version was recorded in May 1961, and was released later that year as a single as the b-side of "Swear To Tell The Truth".

Earl Zebedee Hooker was born near Clarksdale, Mississippi on 15th January 1930. Though he recorded early in Memphis, he is best known as a Chicago blues player. A session in July 1953 for Sun Records with Pinetop Perkins included the first known recording of "Blue Guitar" - it eventually appeared on the Charly box set "Sun Blues Story". The 1961 featured track has AC Reed on tenor sax and Lafayette Leake on piano - it was produced by Mel London who sold it on to Muddy Waters as a backing track. Willie Dixon added lyrics and Muddy put it out as "You Shook Me", subsequently covered by Led Zeppelin.

Playlist for STAR BLUES of 23rd January 2011 took the track from vol#33 of the "Blues Collection" magazine+cd series published by Orbis c1994. The track is currently available on the Fuel label cd: "Introduction to Earl Hooker"