Ellis Hooks (born 1974) is an American soul blues and electric blues singer and songwriter, who has released six albums to date. The Allmusic journalist, Thom Jurek, noted that Hooks " touches upon Wilson Pickett,

Sam Cooke Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred ...

, and Otis Redding, but feels like one of the gritty New York streets Hooks has busked upon."

Biography

Hooks was born in

Bay Minette, Alabama Bay Minette is a city in and the county seat of Baldwin County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 8,044. History In the first days of Baldwin County, the town of McIntosh Bluff (now in Mobile County ...

, United States, to a Cherokee mother and an African American father, who was a Baptist raised

sharecropper Sharecropping is a legal arrangement with regard to agricultural land in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping has a long history and there are a wide range ...

. He was the thirteenth of sixteen children. By the age of fourteen, Hooks had heard secular music on the radio and left his strict upbringing. Subsequently

hitchhiking Hitchhiking (also known as thumbing, autostop or hitching) is a means of transportation that is gained by asking individuals, usually strangers, for a ride in their car or other vehicle. The ride is usually, but not always, free. Nomads hav ...

across the United States, Hooks also travelled around Europe, residing in Paris and Amsterdam, before relocating to New York in his mid-twenties. After

busking Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pr ...

on the streets of the city, by accident he met the record producer, Jon Tiven, who produced Hooks debut album, ''Undeniable''. Hooks secured headline status at the BBC's World Music Festival in 2003, and opened for Terence Trent D'Arby. Hooks also performed with Carla Thomas at the Montreux Jazz Festival. His 2003 album, ''Up Your Mind'', was nominated for a

Blues Music Award The Blues Music Awards, formerly known as the W. C. Handy Awards (or "The Handys"), are awards presented by the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization set up to foster blues heritage. The awards were originally named in honor of W. C. Handy, " ...

. ''Uncomplicated'' (2004) was noted by one reviewer as "somehow both connects with the past while pointing ahead to the future". ''The Hand of God'' (2005) was recorded in New York City and Nashville, Tennessee, and had five of its tracks mixed by Dan Penn. His next recording, ''Godson of Soul'', was also produced by Jon Tiven, and included contributions from

Steve Cropper Steven Lee Cropper (born October 21, 1941), sometimes known as "The Colonel", is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, which backed artists such as Ot ...

and

Wayne Jackson Wayne Jackson may refer to: *Wayne Jackson (brigadier), List of Australian generals and brigadiers, senior Australian army officer *Wayne Jackson (footballer) (born 1944), Australian football player and former CEO of the Australian Football League ...

. Hooks' next release was ''Another Saturday Morning'', issued in July 2007.

Festival work

In May 2004, Hooks performed at Memphis in May. Hooks appeared at the Kitchener Blues Festival in August 2014.

Other recordings

In 2003, Hooks recorded his cover version of "

Bulbs In botany, a bulb is structurally a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs durin ...

" for the Van Morrison tribute album, '' Vanthology: A Tribute to Van Morrison''. In addition, Hooks recorded as a backing vocalist on Frank Black's 2005 album, '' Honeycomb.'' He performed similar duties in helping Little Milton record his album ''Think of Me'' in 2005. In 2006, Hooks backing vocals were part of Frank Black's release, '' Fast Man Raider Man''. Hooks' co-composed song "40 Days" was recorded by Howard Tate on his 2008 album, ''Blue Day''; whilst Deborah Coleman had earlier recorded Hooks' co-penned song, "Undeniable", for her ''What About Love?'' (2004) release.

Discography

Studio albums

References

External links

Zane Records : Ellis Hooks discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hooks, Ellis 1974 births Living people American soul singers American blues singers People from Bay Minette, Alabama Electric blues musicians Soul-blues musicians Songwriters from Alabama 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers American male songwriters