Walking the Boogie

John Lee Hooker recorded Walking The Boogie in Detroit in 1952 during his Chess sessions, singing and accompanying himself on guitar and foot tapping. The recording was produced by Bernard Besman and issued with Sugar Mama as its B-side. Released by Chess in 1952, Walking The Boogie continued Hookers run of one-chord boogie recordings after his late-1940s breakthrough. The single showed how his Detroit solo style could sit inside the Chicago Chess catalogue alongside the labels electric blues releases. Walking The Boogie became a recurring Hooker catalogue title through the 1959 Chess album House of the Blues and later reissues. Its spoken opening and driving boogie pulse remained closely tied to the sound that made Hooker one of the defining electric blues performers.