Editing John Lee Hooker (section)

==Early life==
Hooker's date of birth is a subject of debate; the years 1912, 1915, 1917, 1920, and 1923 have all been suggested. Most official sources list 1917, though at times Hooker stated he was born in 1920. Information found in the 1920 and 1930 censuses indicates that he was actually born in 1912.{{sfn|Eagle|LeBlanc|2013|p=190}} In 2017, a series of events were held to celebrate the supposed centenary of his birth.<ref>Brian McCollum, [http://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/music/2017/05/01/john-lee-hooker-100th-centennial-tribute-grammy/101027412 "John Lee Hooker to get year-long 100th birthday tribute"], ''Detroit Free Press'', May 1, 2017.</ref> In the 1920 federal census, John Hooker is seven years old and one of nine children living with William and Minnie Hooker in [[Tutwiler, Mississippi]].

It is believed that he was born in Tutwiler, in [[Tallahatchie County]], although some sources say his birthplace was near [[Clarksdale, Mississippi|Clarksdale]], in [[Coahoma County]].{{sfn|Palmer|1981|pp=242–243}} He was the youngest of the 11 children of William Hooker (born 1871, died after 1923),{{sfn|Murray|2002|p=24|ps=: "In 1928, Will Hooker Sr. and Jr. made a profit of twenty-eight dollars" from farming, making his death in 1923 impossible.}} a [[sharecropper]] and Baptist preacher, and Minnie Ramsey (born c. 1880, date of death unknown). In the 1920 federal census,<ref>U.S. Census, Series T625, Roll 895, p. 235, in the city of Tutwiler, Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, Supervisor's District 2, Enumeration District 87, Sheet 29 A, Lines 18–19, enumerated February 3, 1920.</ref> William and Minnie were recorded as being 48 and 39 years old, respectively, which implies that Minnie was born about 1880, not 1875. She was said to have been a "decade or so younger" than her husband,{{sfn|Murray|2002|p=23}} which gives additional credibility to this census record as evidence of Hooker's origins.

The Hooker children were [[Homeschooling|homeschooled]]. They were permitted to listen only to religious songs; the [[spirituals]] sung in church were their earliest exposure to music. In 1921, their parents separated. The next year, their mother married William Moore, a blues singer, who provided John Lee with an introduction to the guitar (and whom he would later credit for his distinctive playing style).{{sfn|Oliver|1968|p=76}}

Moore was his first significant blues influence. He was a local blues guitarist who, in [[Shreveport, Louisiana]], learned to play a droning, one-chord blues that was strikingly different from the [[Delta blues]] of the time.{{sfn|Palmer|1981|pp=242–243}}

Another influence was [[Tony Hollins]], who dated Hooker's sister Alice, helped teach Hooker to play, and gave him his first guitar. For the rest of his life, Hooker regarded Hollins as a formative influence on his style of playing and his career as a musician. Among the songs that Hollins reputedly taught Hooker were versions of "[[Crawlin' King Snake]]" and "[[Robert Petway#Catfish Blues|Catfish Blues]]".{{sfn|Murray|2002|p=}}{{Page needed|date=December 2022}}

At the age of 14, Hooker ran away from home, reportedly never seeing his mother or stepfather again.{{sfn|Murray|2002|p=43}} In the mid-1930s, he lived in [[Memphis, Tennessee]], where he performed on [[Beale Street]], at [[the New Daisy Theatre]] and occasionally at house parties.{{sfn|Palmer|1981|pp=242–243}}

He worked in factories in various cities during [[World War II]], eventually getting a job with the [[Ford Motor Company]] in [[Detroit]] in 1943. He frequented the blues clubs and bars on [[Brewster-Douglass Housing Projects|Hastings Street]], the heart of the black entertainment district, on Detroit's east side. In a city noted for its pianists, guitar players were scarce. Hooker's popularity grew quickly as he performed in Detroit clubs, and, seeking an instrument louder than his acoustic guitar, he bought his first electric guitar.<ref>{{Cite book|first=Terry|last=Wogan|year=1984|title=Shoes Off the Record|publisher=[[Da Capo Press]]|location=New York City|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bluesoffrecordth00oliv/page/116 116–18]|isbn=0-306-80321-6|url=https://archive.org/details/bluesoffrecordth00oliv/page/116}}</ref>