John Lee Hooker

• The boogie pattern is everything — a single repeated figure on the low strings, usually I chord only for extended periods. Resist the urge to change chords
• The foot stomp provides the rhythm — Hooker would stomp his foot as he played, giving a primal rhythmic drive independent of any drummer
• Improvise freely over the one-chord vamp — the boogie is an open platform. Melodic phrases, call-and-response singing and guitar fills happen freely over the repeating figure
• Electric amplification is required — unlike acoustic Delta blues, Hooker's style requires the amplified "growl" of a semi-hollow guitar through a pushed amp
• Heavy vibrato on melodic phrases — when he plays above the boogie, long sustained notes are heavily vibrated for emotional intensity
• The rhythm is loose, not metronomic — the boogie breathes and speeds up and slows down slightly. This organic rhythmic quality is part of the hypnotic character
• Study "Boogie Chillen," "Boom Boom," and "I'm In The Mood" — these three tracks contain the definitive Hooker vocabulary
• Minor pentatonic is the primary scale — the blues vocabulary over the one-chord boogie is standard pentatonic minor with blues note (b5) additions
• The guitar and voice are one voice — Hooker's guitar playing is an extension of his vocal approach. The phrasing, timing and emotional intensity match the voice identically

John Lee Hooker invented the boogie — his hypnotic, one-chord drone style, foot-stomping rhythm and heavily amplified electric guitar tone created a primitive intensity that bypassed technique entirely and went straight for the gut.