Jay Hooks (born November 12, 1967) is an American Texas blues and electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. After gaining national exposure playing in

Lavelle White Lillia Lavell "Lavelle" White (born July 3, 1929) is an American Texas blues and soul blues singer and songwriter. After performing most of her adult lifetime, White released three albums, the first of which was issued in 1994, when she was aged ...

's backing ensemble, Hooks has released three albums to date, appeared on German television and undertaken various tours, including one in Europe.

Life and career

Hooks was born in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, Texas, United States. He found early musical inspiration from the recordings of fellow Texans Albert Collins,

Billy Gibbons William Frederick Gibbons (born December 16, 1949) is an American musician who is the guitarist and lead singer of the rock band ZZ Top. He began his career in the band the Moving Sidewalks, which recorded a full-length album entitled, ''Flas ...

and

Stevie Ray Vaughan Stephen Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Although his mainstream career spanned only seven years, ...

. In the late 1980s, Hooks played in the bars of Houston, before being asked to play in

's backing band. He played on her national tours in 1996, before forming his own band and going solo the following year. In 1997, Hooks recorded his debut album, ''Hooked Up'', at SugarHill Recording Studios in Houston.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

noted that ''Hooked Up'' contained "a collection of gritty, rock-tinged electric blues numbers that didn't stray far outside the conventions that his aforementioned guitar heroes had brought into an international spotlight." The exposure the recording gave Hooks led to a European record executive, Ed van Zyl, offering Hooks a recording contract with the Dutch-based record label

Provogue Records Provogue Records is a European record label and part of the Mascot Label Group. Founded by Jan Van Der Linden in the early 1990s, the label specializes in Rock music, rock and blues. Its catalog includes Gary Moore, Joe Bonamassa, Beth Hart, Eric ...

. The resulting self-titled album was made under the tutelage of record producer

Ben Elliott Ben Elliott (c. 1952 – April 5, 2020) was an American record producer, audio engineer and co-owner of Showplace Studios in Dover, New Jersey, United States. He had been the chief engineer at Showplace since its opening in 1991. Over the year ...

. ''Jay Hooks'' was recorded by the trio of Hooks (guitars, vocals), Marie Del Prete (bass) and Joe Frenchwood (drums). It was released in late 2000. His Texas rock sound was well received by the critics. At the time Hooks was quoted as saying "... I just plug it in and turn it all up, that's what I do..." In 2001, Hooks toured across Europe. Jerry Gaskill played the drums on Hooks next release, the ''Red Line'' album (2002), which was also released by Provogue. ''Red Line'' mostly contained songs written by Hooks, apart from his cover of

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

's track, "

Freedom Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...

". In 2003, Hooks played live on the German television show, ''

Rockpalast ''Rockpalast'' (''Rock Palace'') is a German music television show that broadcasts live on German television station Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). ''Rockpalast'' started in 1974 and continues to this day. Hundreds of rock, heavy metal and jazz ...

''. Hooks performed at the Continental Club in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

early in 2015. In April that year, he appeared at the House of Blues in Houston.

Discography

References

External links

Live video (2015)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hooks, Jay 1959 births Living people American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues singers American male singers Blues rock musicians Electric blues musicians Texas blues musicians Musicians from Houston Singers from Texas Songwriters from Texas Guitarists from Texas 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians American male songwriters Provogue Records artists

Life and career

Discography

See also

References

External links