Boom Boom – BMG Is The New Home Of John Lee Hooker’s Music

“Rolling Stone” magazine lists him at #35 of the 100 best guitarists of all time, and #81 of the 100 best singers of all time. His songs have been used in numerous films, from The Who’s rock opera “Quadrophenia” (1979) to the comedy “Blues Brothers” (1980) and the mystery thriller “Angel Heart” (1987). And his music has inspired countless famous musicians, from the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and the Doors to the Steve Miller Band and the Animals, to Carlos Santana and Van Morrison. The famous blues musician, songwriter and guitarist John Lee Hooker died in 2011, and BMG has now acquired a large share of his impressive musical legacy from the executors of his estate.

The agreement covers his entire publishing catalog, which includes such famous titles as “Boom Boom,” “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer,” and “Boogie Chillen,” co-acquired with BMG’s longstanding partner Fujipacific Music, and his entire recorded and performance royalty income. In addition, BMG solely acquired a selection of Hooker’s recorded catalog spanning “Alone, Vol. 1” (1980) through “Black Night Is Falling” (2020). In Hooker’s complex musical legacy, some rights will still remain with third parties, but BMG reports that it will now take a lead role in promoting Hooker’s outstanding catalog. The Bertelsmann music subsidiary currently represents or owns rights in many of blues music’s most influential artists including Son House, Willie Dixon, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Mississippi Fred McDowell, alongside many other luminaries.

“BMG is proud to be the definitive home of John Lee Hooker’s music, one of the key inspirations and foundation stones of popular music,” said Thomas Scherer, BMG President, Repertoire & Marketing, New York and Los Angeles. “BMG will ensure John Lee Hooker’s legacy is honored and respected wherever and whenever John Lee Hooker’s music is used, performed, recorded or sold.” Hooker’s musical legacy has been managed by the Jampol Artist Management agency in Los Angeles until now. The agency’s CEO Jeff Jampol said: “We are very pleased that an artist-first company like BMG will be the stewards of this great legacy moving forward.” He called the agreement “a rare triple-win for everyone”: the Hooker family, BMG, and for the millions of John Lee Hooker fans all across the world.

Known to music fans around the world as the “King of the Boogie,” John Lee Hooker endures as one of the true superstars of the blues genre. Among his first recordings was “Boogie Chillen” (1948) which became a Number One hit, selling over a million copies. This success was soon followed by a string of hits, including “I’m in the Mood,” “Crawling Kingsnake” (most famously covered by The Doors), and “Hobo Blues.” Over the next fifteen years, through the early 1960s, Hooker maintained a prolific recording schedule, releasing over 100 songs, including the most significant song of his career “Boom Boom.” One of the most recognizable and memorable blues standards, “Boom Boom” was initially a chart success in both the U.S. and U.K., and over the years has been extensively featured in both films and commercials, while also being covered by numerous artists. The song has been included in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s list of “The Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll” and was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame’s “Classics of Blues Recording.” When the young bohemian artists of the 1960s “discovered” Hooker, among other notable blues originators, he found his career taking on a new direction. Across the Atlantic, emerging British bands were idolizing Hooker’s work. Artists like the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, the Animals, and the Yardbirds introduced Hooker’s sound to new and eager audiences, whose admiration and influence helped build Hooker up to superstar status. Throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, Hooker toured the U.S. and Europe steadily. His reputation in the mainstream ballooned in the ensuing years, especially following a cameo in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers, wherein he’s seen busking in the street with a rendition of “Boom Boom.”

At the age of 72, John Lee Hooker released the biggest album of his career, “The Healer” (1989). The Grammy Award-winning album paired contemporary artists (Bonnie Raitt, Carlos Santana, Los Lobos, and George Thorogood, among others) with Hooker on some of his most famous tracks. “The Healer” was released to critical acclaim and sold over one million copies. More studio albums followed, including “Mr. Lucky” (1991), which once again teamed up Hooker with an array of artists; “Boom Boom” (1992), which aimed to introduce new fans to his classic material; the Grammy Award-winning “Chill Out” (1995); and a collaboration with Van Morrison, “Don’t Look Back” (1997), which also garnered two Grammy awards. Hooker was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. A five-time Grammy award-winner, John Lee Hooker was recognized with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000, shortly before his death.