John Lee Hooker’s first hit single, 1948’s “Boogie Chillen’,” is a song about a young man’s love for boogie-woogie. Papa came to his defense as he told mama, “it's in him, and it got to come out.” That same line could very well apply to Hooker and the blues, which came out in a career that spanned more than 30 labels, 50 years, and 100 albums. Shout Factory presents his first career retrospective in a four-CD box set.

Hooker had a perfect upbringing to play the blues. He was born near Clarkdale, Mississippi in 1917, and his father was a Baptist preacher and a sharecropper. After his parents separated, his mother married blues singer William Moore, who introduced him to the guitar. Moore is referenced on “Teachin’ The Blues,” a song that finds Hooker providing his autobiography and guitar instruction.

This collection is filled with the familiar panorama of the blues, an array dealing with life’s troubles, money and women, sex and death. Some songs are pleadings made to a lover, a rival, or the Lord to ease those burdens, albeit in different ways. When Hooker sings the blues, they are authentic regardless if he truly lived them or if they are a performance. When The Beatles sing “Money (That's What I Want),” it doesn’t have the same power as when Hooker sings the same song, titled as “I Need Some Money.” The Beatles want it, but you believe Hooker’s survival depends on it.

Because the pay was so poor for a black musician, Hooker went round to different studios looking for work. He recorded under different names so as to not to break his recording contract. This set features three tracks by Texas Slim, two by John Lee Booker, and one by Johnny Williams. The work is definitely that of Hooker, but the audio quality is not up to the standards of the other material.

A good many tracks are created just from the three-part combination of Hooker’s voice, his electric guitar, and the tapping of his foot to keep the beat. There is something irresistible and charming in the simplicity of his music. Yet he shows the versatility of his skills on “Huckle Up Baby.”