I Gotta Go to Vietnam
1968 · MCA MCAD-10760 · USA
- Artist
- John Lee Hooker
- Title
- I Gotta Go to Vietnam
- Release
- Urban Blues
- Year
- 1968
- Label
- MCA # MCAD-10760
- Format
- LP · Album
- Language
- English
- Country
- USA
- Genre
- Blues · Blues
Annotation
The well-known and influential blues singer/songwriter John Lee Hooker (1917-2001) wrote a couple of Vietnam related tracks. Born in Mississippi, he largely lived and worked in Detroit. Chicago blues grew in the northern US cities in the post-war electric period. Despite mainly using an electric guitar and performing in the cities of the north, Hooker's style more closely resembled the southern rural blues, such as delta, country, and folk blues. In 1969, he released the single "I Don't Want to Go to Vietnam" (Bluesway Records # 61023) - see Servicemen's Perspective section. He recorded the song "I Gotta Go to Vietnam" on 29 May 1969 at the Vault Recording Studios, Los Angeles, California. Not released at the time, it later appeared as a bonus track on the 1993 CD reissue Urban Blues (MCA Records # MCAD-10760) - he released the original LP in 1968: Urban Blues (Bluesway Records # BLS 6012). (1) Hooker took the tradition blues tune "Rollin' & Tumblin" and adapted it for the Vietnam conflict, telling the listener that "Uncle Sam need me", and so he had to "go to Vietnam" - the track did not express patriotism or opposition to this. The narrator also wanted his girl to "be good"…
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Annotation — Blues songs
The well-known and influential blues singer / songwriter John Lee Hooker, known for playing an Electric Blues style of the Delta Blues, born on 22 August 1917 in Clarksdale, Mississippi, USA, he died on 21 June 2001 in Los Altos, California, USA. Although born in Mississippi, he largely lived and worked in Detroit. Chicago blues grew in the northern US cities in the post-war electric period. Despite mainly using an electric guitar and performing in the cities of the north, Hooker's style more closely resembled the southern rural blues, such as delta, country, and folk blues. He recorded a few Vietnam War-related tracks - in 1969, he released the single "I Don't Want to Go to Vietnam" (Bluesway Records # 61023) - see below. He also released the song "The World Today", in collaboration with Canned Heat on the 1971 album Hooker 'n Heat. He recorded the song "I Gotta Go to Vietnam" on 29 May 1969 at the Vault Recording Studios, Los Angeles, California. Not released at the time, it later appeared as a bonus track on the 1993 CD reissue Urban Blues (MCA Records # MCAD-10760) - he released the original LP in 1968: Urban Blues (Bluesway Records # BLS 6012). (1) Hooker took the tradition…
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
About the artist
(Bonus track on 1993 CD reissue)