John Lee Hooker was born near Clarksdale, Mississippi, on August 22, 1917, to a family of southern sharecroppers. “He was one of 11 children in a family of sharecroppers on a cotton plantation” (Jones, Malcolm; John Lee Hooker). His father was a pastor, so Hooker learned gospel songs in his church. John Lee Hooker's first musical influence came from his stepfather, Will Moore, when he learned from him the blues and the rhythm he called "Country Boogie" (Pareles, Jon; New York Times) . “Bluesmen Blind Blake, Blind Lemon Jefferson and Charley Patton were all visitors to the Moore house” (Pareles, Jon; New York Times). Hooker also learned from other Mississippi musicians and from phonograph recordings in his spare time. “Hooker began playing on strings made from inner tube strips nailed to a barn” (Jones, Malcolm; John Lee Hooker), then later in his youth, Hooker switched to guitar to further his interest in playing the blues. By the early 1940s, Hooker had moved north to Detroit, through Memphis and Cincinnati, after fleeing to become...