John Lee Hooker

Veteran bluesman John Lee Hooker, whose foot stompin' and gravelly voice electrified audiences and inspired generations of musicians, died on Thursday at his Los Altos home, near San Francisco. He was 83. According to his agent, Mike Kappus, he died in his sleep at his home of natural causes, with friends and family near. During a career spanning six-decades, the veteran blues singer from the Mississippi Delta estimated he recorded more than 100 albums. Some of his better-known songs include "Boogie Chillen," "Boom Boom" and "I'm In The Mood." Throughout it all, Hooker's music remained unchanged. His rich and sonorous voice, full of ancient hurt, and his brooding and savage style remained hypnotic but unpredictable. To the strains of his own guitar, he sang of loneliness and confusion. Neither polished nor urbane, his music was raw, primal emotion. His one-chord boogie compositions and rhythmic guitar work were a distinctive sound that influenced rock 'n' rollers as well as rhythm and blues musicians. In 1991, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Last year, at the Grammys, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award.