The Real Folk Blues (John Lee Hooker album)

The Real Folk Blues is an album by blues musician John Lee Hooker that was recorded in Chicago in 1966 and released by the Chess label. Additional tracks from the sessions were released as More Real Folk Blues: The Missing Album in 1991.

The Real Folk Blues
Studio album by John Lee Hooker
Released	1966 (1966)
Recorded	Chicago, May 1966
Genre	Blues
Length	33:37
Label	Chess
Producer	Ralph Bass
John Lee Hooker chronology
It Serve You Right to Suffer (1966) The Real Folk Blues (1966) Live at Cafe Au Go Go (1967)

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[2]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings	[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[4]
Select	[5]

AllMusic reviewer Stephen Cook stated: "Listeners wanting to find a comprehensive collection of Hooker's work may not find it here, but they certainly won't be disappointed once the needle hits the grooves on this solid 1966 Chess release by the blues master. Featuring nine Hooker originals, the set is a fetching mix of raucously fun up-tempo cuts and starkly slow classics."^[1]

Track listing

All compositions credited to John Lee Hooker

1. "Let's Go Out Tonight" – 7:05
2. "Peace Lovin' Man" – 3:48
3. "Stella Mae" – 2:59
4. "I Put My Trust in You" – 5:15
5. "I'm in the Mood" – 2:41
6. "You Know, I Know" – 3:46
7. "I'll Never Trust Your Love Again" – 3:20
8. "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" – 2:58
9. "The Waterfront" – 5:25

Personnel

• John Lee Hooker – guitar, vocals
• Lafayette Leake – piano, organ
• Eddie Burns – guitar (tracks 1–8)
• Other unidentified musicians – bass, tambourine
• S.P. Leary or possibly Fred Below – drums

References

1. Cook, Stephen. John Lee Hooker : The Real Folk Blues – Review at AllMusic. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
2. Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
3. Russell, Tony; Smith, Chris (2006). The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin. p. 271. ISBN 978-0-140-51384-4.
4. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 326, 328.
5. Prendergast, Mark (October 1990). "The Right Time". Select. No. 4. p. 132.