John Lee Hooker Senior and Junior: Blues, Addiction, Prison, Redemption

Born and raised in the Mississippi Delta, John Lee Hooker, Sr., eventually went to Detroit. Because of bad record contracts, he made little money from hits like “Boogie Chillen” and “Boom, Boom,” forcing him to tour. Success and fame came later in life, including work with Van Morrison, Carlos Santana and Bonnie Raitt, not to mention covers of his songs. John Lee Hooker, Jr., his eldest son, struggled with drug addiction and a life in and out of prison. A blues singer, he opened for his father on numerous tours. He also had a successful blues career of his own after leaving prison. Hooker, Jr., found religion in prison, eventually becoming a chaplain. He now ministers in the same prisons in which he was an inmate.