I want to play music when I want, write a song if I want or watch a baseball game if I want.

No matter what you got, the blues is there

I like dropping into a small club and playing with some people, trying to help them get a start.

My style is all to myself.

I don't do nothing I don't want to do.

I been doing the same things as in my younger days, when I was coming up, and now here I am, an old man, up there in the charts. And I say, well, what happened? Have they just thought up the real John Lee Hooker, is that it? And I think, well, I won't tell nobody else! I can't help but wonder what happened.

I don't like no fancy chords. Just the boogie. The drive. The feeling. A lot of people play fancy but they don't have no style. It's a deep feeling-you just can't stop listening to that sad blues sound. My sound.