Earl Hooker

Willie King is actually Billy Gales, a cat originally from Missouri.

He made a name for himself playing drums behind Robert Nighthawk and Earl Hooker in Cairo, Illinois.

He then joined up with saxophonist Raymond Hill in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Before he knew it, Billy Gales was in the Kings of Rhythm.

So I was sort of stuck in a sort of rut for a while, sort of trying to find inspiration of like something to do with Slide.

And that's where like Earl Hooker, a guy from Chicago named Earl Hooker, came into play because Um, I'd heard his name and I'd had his records, but it never like hit me, but it like hit me in my late twenties because he was playing, first of all, he's playing standard tuning and he's playing really clean.

So he's not playing like distorted slide.

Okay.

was

one.

It's Earl Hooker and Nighthawk were, like, the first big ones, which are, like, Chicago guys.

And then Hop is from Texas.

He introduced me to a lot of great music.

I didn't know about Earl Hooker.

I didn't know about Magic Sam.

Even Peter Green, I had never listened to the early Peter Green, you know, and Robert Nighthawk.

But from what I remember... you know, at that time, you know, I felt I played well.

And he was really moved by my playing and that meant the world to me.

I don't know if you can, articulate this but he is definitely one of the great blues guitarists or just great guitarists of our time and to have the opportunity to record with him and to work with him and to tour with him is is an amazing privilege and tell me what you have learned i mean other than him just telling you listen to magic sam listen to you know um earl hooker whoever like Tell me what he has taught you.

Man, Marco, he's taught me a lot.