Once the heart of America's motor industry, many of Detroit's production lines are derelict and 30,000 houses are empty or demolished. Neighbors now grow vegetables for neighbors, while industrialised farming waits to take over. The inner city tries to regenerate itself but wholesale bankruptcy acts as a deterrent. Music and gas-guzzling cars stagger on but the city that nurtured the talents of the artists featured here has all but vanished. As well as automobiles, there was music. But until Motown, Detroit even lacked a major record label. Activity - and there was plenty - came from a handful of independents - Fortune, JVB, Sensation and Staff among them - who relied on local talent. Then there was Elmer Barbee, the owner of a record store with a studio in the rear. He it was who found John Lee Hooker playing a little bar on Monroe Street. The pair persisted for a year before - through the success of Boogie Chillun - Hooker's talent became increasingly widely known. Here are many of Hooker's early Detroit recordings and of the many - Sylvester Cotton, Bobo Jenkins, Eddie Kirkland, Eddie Burns among them - who hoped to achieve, and occasionally did achieve - similar success.
Track Listings
Disc: 1
1
Rocks - John Lee Hooker
2
Leavin' Chicago - John Lee Hooker
3
Wednesday Evening Blues - John Lee Hooker
4
Mercy Blues - John Lee Hooker
5
Boogie Woogie - John Lee Hooker
6
Good Business - John Lee Hooker
7
Poor Skin [Take 1] - John Lee Hooker
8
Shake Your Boogie - John Lee Hooker
9
Poor Slim [Take 2] - John Lee Hooker
10
Down So Long - John Lee Hooker
11
Miss Pearl Boogie - John Lee Hooker
12
Boogie Awhile - John Lee Hooker
13
Tuesday Evening - John Lee Hooker
14
Christmas Time Blues - John Lee Hooker
15
Cotton Pickin' Boogie - John Lee Hooker
16
Low Down Boogie - John Lee Hooker
17
We Gonna Everything Alright - John Lee Hooker
18
Must I Wait Til Your Man Is Gone - John Lee Hooker
19
Roll Me Baby - John Lee Hooker
20
Miss Rosie Mae - John Lee Hooker
21
Highway Blues - John Lee Hooker
22
I Love to Boogie - John Lee Hooker
23
Real Gone Gal - John Lee Hooker
24
Little Boy Blue - John Lee Hooker
Disc: 2
1
Questionnaire Blues - John Lee Hooker
2
My Daddy Was a Jockey - John Lee Hooker
3
Feed Her All Night - John Lee Hooker
4
How Long Must I Be Your Slave - John Lee Hooker
5
Ground Hog - John Lee Hooker
6
Mean Old Train - John Lee Hooker
7
Catfish - John Lee Hooker
8
Have Mercy on Poor Me - John Lee Hooker
9
I Came to See You Baby - John Lee Hooker
10
I'm a Boogie Man - John Lee Hooker
11
My Baby Left Me - John Lee Hooker
12
I Ain't Cheatin' - Eddie Burns
13
Sunnyland Blues - Eddie Burns
14
Making a Fool Out of Me - Eddie Burns
15
Gangster Blues - Eddie Burns
16
Grieving Blues - Eddie Burns
17
Where Did You Stay Last Night - Eddie Burns
18
Squeeze Me Baby - Eddie Burns
19
Decoration Day Blues - Eddie Burns
20
She Keeps Me Guessing - Eddie Burns
21
Sitting Here Wondering - Eddie Burns
22
I Love to Jump the Boogie - Eddie Burns
23
Tavern Lounge Boogie - Eddie Burns
24
Stolen Property - Howard Richard/Robert Richard
25
Going Down Slow - Big Jack Reynolds
Disc: 3
1
Three Cent Stamp Blues - Sylvester Cotton
2
Brownskin Woman - Sylvester Cotton
3
Ugly Women - Sylvester Cotton
4
Christmas Blues - Sylvester Cotton
5
Cottonfield Blues - Sylvester Cotton
6
Stormy Weather Blues - Sylvester Cotton
7
Wife Lovin' Blues - Sylvester Cotton
8
Stranger in Your Town [Take 1] - Sylvester Cotton
9
Big Chested Mama Blues [Take 1] - Sylvester Cotton
10
Thanksgiving Blues - Sylvester Cotton
11
Sak-Relation Blues - Sylvester Cotton
12
Pay Day Blues - Sylvester Cotton
13
I Tried - Sylvester Cotton
14
When I'm Gone [Take 1] - Sylvester Cotton
15
Waterlee Blues - Sylvester Cotton
16
Single Man Blues - Sylvester Cotton
17
Way Down in Hell - Sylvester Cotton
18
Stranger in Your Town [Take 2] - Sylvester Cotton
19
Big Chested Mama Blues [Take 2] - Sylvester Cotton
