Canned Heat & John Lee Hooker

World Today

1971 · United Artists UAD 60157/8 · Hollywood, California

Artist
Canned Heat & John Lee Hooker
Title
World Today
Release
Hooker 'n Heat
Year
1971
Label
United Artists # UAD 60157/8
Format
LP · Album
Language
English
Country
Hollywood, California, USA
Genre
Blues · Blues
Primary theme
Peace, Protest & Anti-War

Annotation

Blues collaboration, between 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), and Blues Rock group Canned Heat, formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, USA. John Lee Hooker released a couple other Vietnam War songs, both in 1969 - the single "I Don't Want to Go to Vietnam" (Bluesway Records # 61023), and the song "I Gotta Go to Vietnam", although this only featured as a bonus track to the 1993 CD reissue of the 1968 album Urban Blues (MCA Records # MCAD-10760). The song "The World Today" (United Artists Records # UAD 60157/8) looked at the so-called 'generation gap' of the times, "it's a brand new world today... old people, they're not hip to the modern days... leave the young kids alone". The song notes conflict across the world, "world is in uproar... they're fightin' all over the world", as well as tension at home, noting an era of demonstrations and protest, "they're fightnin' in every town, on campus... kind of fightin' for their rights".

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

About the artist

John Lee Hooker - born on 22 August 1917 in Clarksdale, Mississippi, USA (he died on 21 June 2001 in Los Altos, California, USA). Canned Heat - formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Themes

Anti-War · Generation Gap · Demonstration · Civil Rights

In collections

Blues songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs