John Lee Hooker - Jack O'Diamonds 1949 Recordings

Gene Deitch worked for Record Changer magazine in the 40's and 50's and would host Friday night "music

sessions at his home. After moving to Detroit, he was referring to John Lee Hooker and brought him over for dinner and an informal recording session. These 20 songs are the result of that session.

And the results are pretty freakin' amazing! This is simply Hooker, his guitar and his stompin' foot just as his hit "Boogie Chillen" was climbing the charts. This is a fantastic selection of tunes culled from hsi then-current set along with old spirituals that Deitch convinced him to pull out for the occasion.

There are tons of JL Hooker compilations out there and lots of them are fairly inconsistent, but this is phenomenal from start to finish! Great playing, great singing, great songs and even great sound - you feel like John is playing for you in your own home, as he did for Gene. If you want to learn just how terrific JLH was when he started, this will give you as close of an idea as possible. Highly recommended!