Blues Heaven : John Lee Hooker Winning New Acclaim at 73

As far as John Lee Hooker is concerned, the blues wasn’t born in the Mississippi Delta. He dates blues back further than that--to the Garden of Eden.

“When the world was born, the blues was born,” he says. “There wasn’t no problem till God put man and woman together. Then started love and heartache. It turned into blues.”

The 73-year-old singer, guitarist and songwriter had a hit with his first record, “Boogie Chillen,” in 1948. Since then, he’s been up and he’s been down, opened for the Rolling Stones on one tour, paid a lot of dues. His latest record, “The Healer,” has brought him more attention than any record he’s ever had.

He was recently honored at a concert in Madison Square Garden, and talked about the tribute a few days before.

“I’m glad to be here and alive,” he said. “I’m just proud and I’m overjoyed that the people are doing this for me. It’s a long time coming but it got here.

“I paid so many dues. I’ve laid the path for so many other musicians to follow my footsteps. I’m proud of that.”

The concert was a benefit for the 12-year-old Delta Blues Museum in Hooker’s birthplace, Clarksdale, Miss.

A duet by Hooker and Bonnie Raitt, “I’m in the Mood,” won a Grammy Award this year. A single now is out, “Baby Lee,” by Hooker and Robert Cray. Raitt and Cray are on Hooker’s “The Healer.” So are Carlos Santana, Charlie Musselwhite, Los Lobos, Canned Heat and George Thorogood.

“They wanted to do it because of the respect they had for me,” Hooker said. “They didn’t need the money. It’s brought more attention to me than any album ever.”

Hooker estimates that he has made between 65 and 70 albums, and wrote or co-wrote all the songs on “The Healer.”

About the title:

“The blues is a healer. It’s got a meaning to it. You do things in your lifetime--at the time you did it you really wanted to do it. In the end sometimes you see it wasn’t good for you and you say, ‘It served me right to suffer.’ People hear that and say, ‘Oh, that’s a true lyric,’ and feel better.”

Hooker lives in Vallejo, Calif., and tours two to four months a year.

“I love to go in small nightclubs, dirt on the floor or peanuts, people drinking at the bar, not dressed up. They’re shocked, thinking I shouldn’t be in the funky little place with them. They’re the ones put me where I am. Rich men don’t buy records. They ain’t got the time. Poor people are the ones that support you. They work, buy your records, come out and see you when you got a concert.”