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By 1942 Hooker was performing on the streets of Chicago, with friends who included
Ellas McDaniel (later to be known as Bo Diddley). Although playing blues, he was open
to different methods of interpreting the
music, and to that end was influenced by
Bo Diddley
swing and jump blues styles. T-Bone
Walker, who he saw performing at the
Rhumboogie Club, in Chicago, was a

considerable influence, not only with his
playing, but also his flamboyant stage
act. At the same time he developed a
friendship with Robert Nighthawk, who

was one of the first electric guitar
players in Chicago, and taught the young
Hooker slide playing, and the use of

different tunings. Nighthawk was a big
influence on his playing for the rest of
his life.

Another Chicago friend from an early
age was Junior Wells, and they would
busk together, not only on the streets, but also in the streetcars, particularly if the

weather was inclement. They would record together later on in their careers.

In 1949 Hooker joined the King Biscuit Time radio show, in Helena, Arkansas, before
moving to Memphis, where he worked with B. B. King, Bobby Bland and Johnny Ace.

1952 found him in Florida, entertaining fruit and vegetable pickers, where he also
recorded for the Rockin’ label, although records under his own name did not appear

until a few months later, on the King label (‘Race Track’ c/w ‘Blue Guitar Blues’).

The following year he recorded in Memphis, for Sam Phillip’s Sun label, but these fine
recordings remained unreleased until after his death. Throughout the 1950s he

recorded for a number of labels (eg. Argo, King, Chief, Age and USA), without achieving
a big hit, although his 1957 instrumental release of ‘Frog Hop’ (released on Argo) had
some success in the R&B charts. His career was also not helped by regular hospital

stays as a result of tuberculosis, a particularly serious episode of which kept him from
recording again until 1959.

Being an instrumentalist, many of his recordings were backing vocalists, including
Bobby Bland, Sonny Boy Williamson II, and Junior Wells, the latter with whom he
enjoyed an R&B hit in 1960 with ‘Little By Little’. Off the back of this success he became
the house guitarist for Chief until 1963, appearing on some 40 albums, including those

of Magic Sam, A. C. Reed, ‘Big Moose’ Walker and Jackie Brenston.

He also recorded a number of instrumentals under his own name for the label,
including the 1960 slow blues ‘Calling All Blues’ - featuring fine slide guitar work,

‘Blues In D Natural’, where he switched between fretted and slide playing, and the