Label: Craft

Reissued 2019, Originally released 1959

John Lee Hooker's debut on Riverside Records is perhaps the truest to his Mississippi roots. Unaccompanied and playing acoustically instead of his usual amplified guitar, he turned in a wonderfully varied set of deep Delta blues, moans, boogies, one field holler, and even a bit of hokum. Some songs are autobiographical, others reworkings of blues standards-all stamped with the hauntingly personal Hooker touch. The audio for this 60th anniversary release is sourced from the original stereo tapes that were mastered on all analog by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio.

Track listing:

1. Black Snake
2. How Long Blues
3. Wobblin' Baby
4. She's Long, She's Tall, She Weeps Like a Willow Tree
5. Pea Vine Special
6. Tupelo Blues
7. I'm Prison Bound
8. I Rowed a Little Boat
9. Water Boy
10. Church Bell Tone
11. Good Mornin', Lil' School Girl
12. Behind the Plow