John Lee Hooker Jr. was born in Detroit “Motor” City with Delta blues-filled blood running through his Motown veins. The son of the great John Lee Hooker, he was exposed the life of the blues from a young age. At only eight years old Jr. performed on Detroit’s WJBK radio and knew from that moment that he wanted to follow the path of his father and become a world-class musician. Touring alongside Sr. throughout his teens, Jr. had already performed in prestigious venues such as Detroit’s Fox Theatre with acclaimed musicians like Jimmy Reed by the time he was 16. In 1972, an eighteen year-old John Jr. was singing vocals alongside his father for the recording of Hooker, Sr.’s album Live at Soledad Prison (ABC Records).

As Jr. Hooker prepares for his third release, All Odds Against Me, he continues to carry blues into the 21st century. The 12-song album, to be released domestically on Jr. Hooker’s own Stepping Stone Records and in Europe on Jazzhaus Records, is his first effort to include only new and original tracks, a contrast to either of his previous solo projects. Additionally, Jr. continues to stretch the envelope, becoming blues’ first animated superhero in a cartoon included on the enhanced disc. The first episode of “Bluesman” introduces Jr. Hooker. as a crime-fighting musician, singing in clubs by night and cleaning up the streets by day. Conceived by Frenchman Laurent Mercier at the Callicore Animation Studios in Paris, the video series has also inspired work to begin on a comic book. Mercier, son of a French jazzman contemporary of Hooker Sr., dreamt up the idea as a way for the two sons to pay tribute to their fathers’ legacies and Jr. immediately embraced the vision. Set to “Blues Ain’t Nothing but a Pimp” from Blues with a Vengeance, the video is the first of three to be released in 2008. John Jr. will be touring in support of All Odds Against Me across the United States, Europe, and Turkey throughout 2008. Joined on the road by Mike Rogers (drums), Brian James Vollriede (keys), George Lacson (bass), and Jeffrey James Horan (guitar), Jr. will be bringing the next generation of blues to the world. From the gravely blues of the Detroit streets to a new era of sound; from the shadow of his father’s accomplishments to standing apart from his namesake; from criminal to crime-fighter; from San Quentin to the red carpet, its no wonder the album is called All Odds Against Me. John Lee Hooker Jr. has built upon his colorful past as he continues to distinguish himself as a contemporary “Bluesman“.