John Lee Hooker took the Delta blues from his native Mississippi - via Memphis and Cincinnati - to Detroit in 1943. Six years later, his solo debut "Boogie Chillen" hit the top of the R&B charts. It was the beginning of a discography that would list over 900 recordings by the bluesman who would be dubbed the King of Boogie.

When I sing these songs I feel them down deep and reach you down deep.

British blues rockers embraced John Lee in the early 1960's, with US bands soon to follow. He toured Europe and the US, collaborated with Van Morrison and Canned Heat, made a cameo appearance in The Blues Brothers, and was inducted into the Blues Foundation's Hall of Fame.

Do I think I'm cool? I don't know. I know I'm for real.

At the urging of Van Morrison, John Lee recorded The Healer (1989) with his friends, including Bonnie Raitt, Carlos Santana, and Robert Cray. And John Lee hit the mainstream, 40 years after he first climbed that R&B chart. The album sold more than any of his previous releases and won a Grammy for best blues recording. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and received more Grammys, including a lifetime achievement award in 2000.

When I die they'll bury the blues with me. But the blues will never die.

John Lee Hooker died in his sleep June 21, 2001, at the age of 83.