“Tupelo Blues” by John Lee Hooker
Although some analysts timestamp the events upon which “Tupelo Blues” is based as having transpired in the late-1930s, it would appear that what John Lee Hooker is actually singing about an occurrence from about a decade earlier than that. And that would be the Great Flood of Mississippi, which occurred in 1927.
Booker, who would have been somewhere in the region of 10 years old at the time, was born and raised in the state. And as its appellation implies, the Great Flood of Mississippi was a major ecological disaster. This is a fact which the vocalist himself acknowledges in the first verse by stating that “thousands of lives [were] destroyed”.
And to note, about 500 people actually died in the event. So the “thousands” he is referring to would be those whose properties were wrecked by the water. For instance, the flood displaced some 700,000 individuals. And in terms of the monetary cost of the disaster, it equaled somewhere in the region of $1,000,000,000,000 ($1 trillion) when translated into early-21st century money value.
A Witness of the Horrible Flood
Meanwhile, the way John Lee Hooker relates the narrative, though not in the first person, is as someone who witnessed the flood. And initially, the subjects would be the “poor people” who were completely at mercy to its wrath. As such they are asking the “Lord” on high to have pity on them, for in this emergency situation He is the only one who may help them.
The second verse expresses the same exact setting and sentiment. Though in this case the subject is a woman, apparently a single mother, as well as her children.
And then as revealed in the third and final verse, John’s purpose in reliving this tale is most pointedly to attest to the fact that the flood was a very serious event. Or put differently, reading about it now in the newspaper or even in this very post was a whole lot different than actually going through it, as he obviously can personally attest to.
Indeed the song concludes by sort of insinuating that even the thought of something like that happening again has the vocalist shook.
“Tupelo Blues” Facts
Artist(s): John Lee Hooker
Writing: Hooker
Production: Bill Grauer
Release: 1959
Album/EP: “The Country Blues of John Lee Hooker”
What musical genre is “Tupelo Blues”?
Blues.
When did John Lee Hooker release “Tupelo Blues”?
This song was officially released as part of Hooker’s “The Country Blues of John Lee Hooker” album in 1959.
Covers
- Michael L. Castle – May, 2011
- Vicki Huang – January, 2021
- Muddy Virus – Keith – January, 2018
John Lee’s “The Country Blues of John Lee Hooker” Album
John Lee Hooker released the blues genre song, Tupelo Blues, in November 1959. It is the sixth song on his 1959 album, The Country Blues of John Lee Hooker. The album was his third studio album, and it was completely recorded on April 20, 1959, in United Sound Systems, Detroit. Riverside label released the album in November 1959. John Hooker’s producer at the time, Bill Grauer, produced the entire album.
The album contained only blues genre music. It was his fully packaged blues music album. However, from a close listen to the songs on the album, one can notice an infusion of country music with R&B-influenced electric blues.
Some of the tracks on the album are autobiographical, while others are re-recorded of blues standards, all with his achingly personal touch.
Tupelo Blues was a song on the album that John Hooker used to chronicle the incidents that occurred during the 1927 Great flood of Tupelo, Mississippi.
The Great Mississippi Flood of 1972
Mississippi has recorded a number of tragic floods that have destroyed the lives and property of many. One of the most destructive however in US history is the “Great Mississipi Flood of 1927”.
The flood was caused by the constant heavy rains that fell in the central basin of the Mississippi, swelling up its tributaries.
It was later discovered that before the flood, the water pumps set around the banks of the river would flow with no one pumping them. This caused the water level to rise.
Some engineers that worked around the Levee noticed its dysfunctional state. The Levee was set to keep the river flowing in a distinct area. It was however not strong enough, thus could not hold the water back. The water flowed over the banks of the river with high intensity into the dry earth of Mississippi and its neighboring cities.
Around this time in Mississippi, the largest agricultural working labor force was the African American population. They worked on the plantation and lived at the bottom of the river.
Over 200,000 African Americans were displaced from their homes following the flood. A total number of about 637,000 persons living in Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana were hit by the disaster and had to relocate.
