Don't Look Back (John Lee Hooker song)

"Don't Look Back"
Single by John Lee Hooker
A-side	"Send Me Your Pillow"
B-side	"Don't Look Back"
Released	1964
Genre	R&B, Blues
Label	Vee Jay Records
Songwriter(s)	John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker singles chronology
"I'm Leaving" (1963) "Don't Look Back" (1964) "Big Legs, Tight Skirt" (1965)

"Don't Look Back" is a song written by blues singer-songwriter John Lee Hooker, and released as a single in 1964.^[1] As a duet, Hooker later performed the song with the Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was a Grammy Award winner in Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals in 1998 from the album, Don't Look Back.^[2][3][4]

Song history

This song had a long history with Hooker and Morrison over the years. It was covered by Van Morrison's band Them on their debut album, The Angry Young Them in 1965.^[5] The album's sleeve had a comment on the song which read: "John Lee Hooker hailed as one of the greatest R&B singers in the world wrote 'Don't Look Back'....Perhaps it isn't so extraordinary that this soulful ballad sounds uncannily like a Morrison original as the two men have a lot in common." Them's version was also included in songs hand-picked by Morrison on his second greatest hit album, The Best of Van Morrison Volume Two.^[6] A live performance in 1979 was also one of the songs featured on Van Morrison's video Van Morrison in Ireland in 1981.^[7]

Cover versions

The Australian group The Black Sorrows covered the song for their debut studio album, Sonola (1984).^[8]

References

1. "John Lee Hooker - Send Me Your Pillow". 45cat.com. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
2. "John Lee Hooker: The Modern Recordings". Rubbercityreview.com. 28 December 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
3. "JOHN LEE HOOKER – DON'T LOOK BACK". Swisscharts.com. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
4. Marshall, Matt (7 June 2012). "John Lee Hooker "Cook With The Hook: Live 1974″ on DVD June 19". Americanbluesscene.com. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
5. "The Angry Young Them - Them | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
6. "The Best of Van Morrison, Vol. 2 - Van Morrison | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
7. John Lee Hooker – The World´s Greatest Blues Singer Hooker discography, Rhythm-and-blues.info, retrieved November 22, 2016
8. "Sonola - The Black Sorrows | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 May 2021.