One Bourbon One Scotch One Beer

John Lee Hooker recorded One Bourbon One Scotch One Beer for Chess in Chicago in 1966, adapting Rudy Toombs song after Amos Milburns 1953 hit version. The recording placed Hookers vocal and guitar narrative over a loose electric band setting suited to his talking blues style. Released on the Chess album The Real Folk Blues in 1966, the track connected Hookers mid-1960s catalogue to a well known jump blues drinking song. It became one of his most recognizable Chess-era performances rather than a pop chart single. One Bourbon One Scotch One Beer became a John Lee Hooker standard and later reached a large rock audience through George Thorogood and the Destroyers version. Hookers performance remains a key bridge between the Rudy Toombs composition and later bar-band blues-rock readings.