This is a fun little ditty in the style of John Lee Hooker’s “Boom Boom” and is a great example of something not too challenging that uses the blues call and response to great effect.
I hope you dig it!
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71 replies to "John Lee Hooker Boom Boom Style Lesson"
Great lesson!
But the PDF to tabs doesn’t seem to work??
And where can I find this post on the members site?
Griff…you shot me right down! I have to thank the original Blues Brothers movie for introducing me to JLH. I remember saying to myself during that scene in the movie “who’s that cool older dude jamming like that?” I’ve been a fan ever since. Thanks for the lesson
I collect great rhythm guitar songs. I love playing great rhythm lines. I was a bit surprised by how many one chord blues songs I now have in my collection. I first discovered one chord blues while listening to John Lee Hooker. It’s surprising how great a groove you can lay down working with one chord. I love it! It’s amazing how much satisfaction I get laying down a great rhythm foundation. I owe much to Griff for giving me the tools and the understanding to quickly pick up on what I need to capture these gems.
Here are a few:
Cotton Mouth Man – James Cotton & Joe Bonamassa
Let’s Live It Up – Mississippi Heat
Hit The Road – John Lee Hooker
Blues Power!
This one is great as usual Griff!! Now back to my BGU Course.
Disclaimer: This is not BGU material.
Here is a video from another Youtube guitar instructor and his take on Boom Boom. He has a couple of nice teaching tools in this video. He demonstrates returning to the root notes and 3timing the rhythm and lead riffs. Worth watching.
Supplemental information
From the Youtube page: Some people like to practice their blues rhythm guitar, some people like to practice their blues lead guitar, BUT CHAMPIONS DO BOTH!!! We’re rocking out a version of some classic John Lee Hooker to play some call and response blues guitar!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwGvVXR9qPU
Thank you Griff, as always. This is a great lesson of a great players style.
The call and response is an important part of very much of what the blues is about.
I enjoyed watching you play this for us. Like one of the other commentators above I too noticed you appear to have a new guitar. Great sound; of course it is as much the amp(s) that you use. Obviously we all know how you like your assorted rigs.
Keep up the great work you do Griff.
I HAVE SEVERAL OF HIS CORD SONG BOOKS, SOME PEOPLE NO HE HAD A SECOND GUITAR ON MOST OF HIS RECORDED TRACKS.DOBRO GUITAR PLAYING IN BACK GROUND.HE IS A LEDGE-ON IN THE WORLD OF MUSIC.HE PLAYED SOME OF WHAT YOUR ARE SHOWING WHILE THE SECOND GUITAR DID THE REST.GOOD GUITAR PLAYING GRIFF. YOU MIGHT BECOME A LEGEND IN THE WORLD OF TEACHING HOW TOO.
Hey Griff
Just thought I’d add my 2 cents in after puttering around with this a while. I usually do this just with the power chords. With all the different variations that you are throwing in there it sure is spicing things up, not to mention that it’s really helping me to memorize the notes on the fretboard better. This old man needs all the help he can get.
Thanks Maestro!
Dave in the Adirondacks
ALWAYS REMINDS ME OF THE BLUES BROTHERS MOVIE. L-LEE, SITTING ON THE STREET PLAYING ,BOOM BOOM BOOM! HE DID THE RIFF AND USED AFEW PWER CORDS.
ALWAYS WANTED TO EARN THIS SONG THANKS GRIFF.
Cool guitar Griff.
Yes a lot of fun to play and love that version by Big Head Todd and the Monsters!
Cool lesson! How come Marty Schwarz appears on the You Tube link doing the same lesson???
Griff offers a Jam Track that goes with this lesson check out Ultimate Jams 2 on his site.
Another great cover of “Boom Boom” from Tony Joe White’s 3rd album, “Tony Joe”(1970). Has a great backing groove to it. https://youtu.be/qTvDXhqlhXU
That is too cool Griff. Thanks!!!
Cheers Griff
Love the old electric traditional songs that’s what I like to learn and play 😎😎🎶
Great lesson! I hope there are lots more like this!
Thank you!
Griff , that is a great lesson , and the more I play it , I get into the rhythm and have put in a couple extra licks . A lot of fun to play . Thanks for sending . Mike Z
Hi Griff, I love this riff and always wanted to play it properly since I heard The Rolling Stones play it on ‘Around And Around’ in 1964. Thanks!
Best regards Phill Martin. Keep ’em coming!
Yes. Great lesson. Do tell us what guitar you are playing. I own many of your instruction materials.
A little while ago you mentioned a bass lesson guy but he had only online stuff. I want the print,DVDS,CDs the whole thing. One way of learning reinforces another. Can you recommend a bass teacher who has all this?
Thanks for all you do to help us.
Its great to see a simple piece of music being broken down into its components, and having nice variations in the response licks, and why that works best for in the context of this song, helps so much. The tab by itself is good, the lesson behind it is gold.
Being a big fan of the Boom-Boom, (can I say that?) this so works for me! My thanks !
Whoa, an Anderson! Sweet.
Thanks very much, Griff … love that sound, lots to digest.
Have you been watching “NCIS New Orleans”? I love this tune! Thank you.
Hey Griff, the Animals put this song out In the sixties.
Is that standard tuning?
Love it! Another good lesson. Very clear and well explained. Thanks Griff
What Guitar is Griff playing in this video?
It looks like a Tom Anderson
That was Great!
JLH has a sound that sounds a lot like Santana sound. I would guess that Santana got it from him.
A piece with no bending at last. Enjoyable. Thks
Griff one of my favorite slow blues players is Gary Moore I just wondered what you thought of Him. I really like the courses that I purchased from you I am learning a lot. thanks so much
Griff, Guess I am not the only person inquiring about your Black Pearl Tele style guitar who made it and where can I buy one..what options did you order on it.
Thanks
Tom Anderson…$$$
Thanks so much for all your lessons. This one is going to be a favorite. Your a beautiful giving soul. All the best. Noel Spooner
Very useful lesson. Think I might tuck in over the easter weekend. Love those power chords. The kind of thing you can just sit and riff away for an hour or so. Cheers Griff
I often wonder if it wasn’t for the “British Invasion” of the early 60’s if Griff would be presenting this lesson. In the 50’s, this brand of blues wasn’t played on teenage (white) music stations and only aired on R+B (black) stations. Then those boys over in England picked up on this stuff, put their slant on the blues and white teenagers got introduced to the blues.
Without the early recordings of the Stones, Animals… we may all be playing Surf Music.
Good Lesson.
Um, there was this guy named Elvis Presley…
There was also Pat Boone who for a while covered many older blues songs for white audiences.
Hi,Griff.
That John Lee Hooker lick is EXCELLENT. They use it on NCIS:New Orleans at the beginning.
It’s so good, you tap your foot and it’s only a TV show! Ha-Ha!
Do You Need “Relative Pitch” To Play The Blues?
Do You Need “Relative Pitch” To Play The Blues?
Do You Need “Relative Pitch” To Play The Blues?
Is One Born With This Ability Or Can You Develop It?
My ear is not open to music so I guess I’ll keep on meandering on my guitar for the next 30 years.
Nope… you don’t need it and yes… you can learn it. I did and it’s a standard thing to learn in music school.
What is “Relative pitch” and how do I learn it. Subject for a new video?
Thank you for another great lesson. Interesting to see the I, IV, V and I love those power chords. Very tempting to overdo them and I probably will on occasion.
Thanks for sharing your time and knowledge.
Pat
This comment is a little bit too “inside baseball” for me to understand.
One of the things I find interesting is that I was able to start playing this immediately, having heard you once I didn’t bother to watch the rest of the video. That would not have been possible a few months ago. I think you have done wonders for my guitar playing. I have only been playing for six months and am liking the progress. Bought a Gibson Les Paul in wine red, and a USA fender Strat in deep blue. Love switching those two back and forth as they produce very different sounds. Thanks Griff
Awesome lick Griff THK, i’v A nother teacher use some thing close to this Steve Stine at Guitarzoom thinks it’s Muddy Waters and hes a badass guitar player like you,i hope one day i’ll beable to play like Ya’ll
Great lesson love jl hooker.you show how to play so well.
Thanks great lesion. Love it
Very well done lesson Griff!Thank’s so much, one of my faves also☺
HeyHave you got a new guitar!
I saw John Lee Hooker, once, at the National Guard Armory in Anchorage, Alaska in 1972. The set was made up of camoflauged parachutes which gave the place a swampy feel. His old guitar and Slingerland amp burned the place up and down. It’s still the best concert I’ve ever attended and that’s saying a lot. He was The Best.
Thanks for the variatons Griff.
I like virtually any kind of song, especially in blues, that has call and response as the method that the song is being played. I am a big Carlos Santana fan and he uses this method a lot in his lead solo playing and you can really here it a ton in his song “No One To Depend On”, also in his song “Europa”. This song by John Lee Hooker is one of my favorite blues songs because of this great riff with call and response. Very good lesson.
Thanks Griff,A nice fun riff.
Thanks Griff for showing us this all time John Lee Hooker classic.
And even better we don’t have to be ‘advanced’ to play it well.
Great lesson Thanks
Is that a piece of Palm leaf on the headstock?
Excellent that Griff really enjoyed that this afternoon and got talent say my fingers are sore!
Sorry predictive text, does my headi in, it was meant to say, and got to say, my fingers are sore!
Hey Griff,
At last one of my favourites and it was after purchasing a John Lee Hooker CD about 20 years ago I fell in love with the Blues Guitar and said to myself that one day I will find someone who can teach me to learn How to play Blues Guitar and that day was back in 2013 and it was Griff Hamlin of Blues Guitar Unleashed.
Great lesson… love it and I will learn it soon.
Michael – Sydney- Australia March 2016
Hey Griff,
Great repeat lesson back in March 2016, Now I am more advanced and it seems easier and will certainly learn this great Riff. Thanks for bringing it back up to the surface again..
Michael-Sydney-Australia July 2018.
Cheers Griff
For the lesson
Love the authentic electric blues
Is that a new guitar you got
Great lesson, just watched the John Lee Hooker video last week.
super lesson, love it! Thank you Griff!
Love the riff!
Please consider formatting tabs in”landscape” vs “portrait”. Often printed tabs are too small to see while holding instrument.
Printing in landscape view isn’t necessary, as it is something you can do at your computer.
It can be done that right on your computer with the program that you are using to view the page or with the printer program.
I have to say that I really dig this tune .Its grass roots blues . Have searched for this one on another site not naming names . I have worked on this in some blues form . I will now work on it more now that I have good example. Thanks for this one Griff. :<]
I think I heard that Johnnie Lee and Big Head todd recorded this tune together . Fact is I am going to find if thats the case . This tune blew me away when I first heard it. later
did it they did an, I think it was the last thing Johnnie Lee Hooker did .
Quick and easy, but pure delight to play, and lots of fun to improvise responses. Thanks!
I would love to hear your take on the bit that is done by Big Head Todd & the Monsters version as heard on NCIS:New Orleans. The riff at the end of that short bit at the beginning of the show.
One of my faves…..love the first riff. Tx