New York, NY- The John Lee Hooker Estate and Eagle Rock Entertainment are thrilled to liberate the historical Jack O’ Diamonds-(1949 Recording) CD to the souls of America on May 18, 2004, followed by the all encompassing release of Come & See About Me, The Definitive DVD on June 1, 2004 by John Lee Hooker. The four-time Grammy winner and Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame member delivers one of the most rare and unusual recordings of all time, as well as a insider’s retrospective of a Legend who left us only a few short years ago
Recorded by Gene Deitch during a private performance at his Detroit home in 1949, and lost for over fifty years, Jack O’ Diamonds is a musical bridge that takes you on John Lee’s journey from Mississippi, through Memphis and Cincinnati, finally reaching Detroit, where his infamous recording career began.
The 1949 recordings are a captured moment in time of a young John Lee Hooker playing in a dining room. You can hear all of his influences, the style his step-dad Will Moore taught him, gospel and everything else he picked up along the way. The material on these recordings show John just as his first hit "Boogie Chillen" was taking flight and beginning the John Lee Hooker explosion. The power of these 1949 recordings will blow you away.
Come & See About Me, The Definitive DVD is a thrilling mix of interviews and an array of live John Lee Hooker performances. Containing footage gathered from the archives of the Estate of John Lee Hooker, Come & See About Me... not only brings the music, but the reflections of a bluesman to the souls of the viewer. The images capture his energy and charm that has influenced generations of musicians and music lovers. John Lee Hooker has changed the English vocabulary with words like Boogie, Boom Boom, and Chillen’. He’s altered the culture by putting a spell on such bands and artists as the Rolling Stones, Cream, ZZ Top, Bonnie Raitt, Ten Years After and Van Morrison.
Come & See About Me, The Definitive DVD starts out with his earliest footage from the ‘1960 Newport Jazz Festival’ right up through 1989’s The Healer. This DVD provides a fine retrospective of his entire career. You get to see him play with his disciple Van Morrison, who took all of his phrasing from John Lee. Come And See About Me... is like a who’s who of musical pioneers with performances by John Hammond, Paul Butterfield, Foghat, Eric Clapton, Ry Cooder, Carlos Santana and The Rolling Stones to name a few. This is one of those rare DVD’s that you’ll be able to watch over and over as it will always be fresh every time you see John Lee Hooker perform the best of his classics.
Eagle Rock also recently released John Lee Hooker’s final work, Face To Face, at the end of 2003. Executive produced by his daughter Zakiya Hooker, Face to Face features John Lee paired with the likes of Dickey Betts, Warren Haynes, Johnny Winter & George Thorogood. Zakiya also cowrote 3 of the album tracks with her father and accompanies him on backing vocals.
The Jack O’ Diamonds-(1949 Recording) CD and Come & See About Me, The Definitive DVD by John Lee Hooker are available through Eagle Rock Entertainment on May 18, 2004 and June 1, 2004 respectively.
Boogie on!
The public, charitable John Lee Hooker Foundation was formed in 2002 by Zakiya Hooker to fund music and art education programs for underprivileged, underrepresented and at risk youth. As president, she is connecting with other charitable foundations interested in music education for underprivileged youth, including the Grateful Dead's Rex Foundation and Carlos Santana's Milagro Foundation. The Jack O’ Diamonds-(1949 Recording) CD, Come & See About Me, The Definitive DVD and the Face To Face album released last year by Eagle Rock represent the first three releases from the John Lee Hooker Estate. The John Lee Hooker Foundation accepts donations, individual and corporate, and will also be staging events and concerts, individually and jointly with other foundations, to raise funds.
Eagle Rock Entertainment develops, acquires and produces music programming for a wide range of notable and high profile artists, which the company distributes on a worldwide basis. Eagle Rock Entertainment, Eagle Vision and Eagle Eye Media are wholly owned divisions of Eagle Rock Group, LTD
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