Dimples (song)
Encyclopedia
Dimples is a song written and recorded by blues singer-songwriter John Lee Hooker
in 1956. Called a "genuine Hooker classic", it is one of his best known songs, with interpretations by several artists.
. Unlike his previous record labels, Vee-Jay saw Hooker as a Jimmy Reed
-style performer and in fact provided him with Reed's backup band for two recording sessions in 1955 and 1956. However, when the recording commenced, it became apparent that Hooker's sense of rhythm and timing was uniquely his. The backing musicians – guitarist Eddie Taylor
, bassist George Washington, and drummer Tom Whitehead – adapted to his style and by the time "Dimples" was recorded they became "adept at anticipating his capricious moves".
"Dimples" is a moderate-tempo blues that "sounds like a twelve-bar blues with a few beats amputated ... imparting a lopsided feeling ... [that] was precisely the 'hook' that gave the song its odd appeal". Hooker has given at least two different accounts about what inspired the lyrics: in one, he claimed to have written the song about a friend's wife and another where the subject is his own girlfriend. Although "Dimples" just "skimmed the lower reaches of the R&B charts and nudged its way into the pop listings ... it's about as close to pop perfection in two minutes and nine seconds as any '50s bluesman ever got".
Eight years after its initial release, "Dimples" was released in the UK in 1964, where it reached number 23 in the pop chart. In 1970, John Lee Hooker recorded "Dimples" with slightly different lyrics as "I Got My Eyes on You" with Canned Heat
for the album Hooker 'n Heat (in 1966, Canned Heat recorded a demo of "Dimples" that was later released on Vintage
). During the sessions for Hooker's Boom Boom and Chill Out albums in 1992 and 1995, two attempts at recording "Dimples" with guest performers were made, but were not released. However, a version with Los Lobos
was recorded and released on Hooker's 1997 Grammy Award-winning album Don't Look Back
.
and appeared on the albums The Animals (UK) and The Animals on Tour
(US).
Smokey Wilson
(88th Street Blues 1983), The Allman Brothers Band
(Dreams released 1989), James Blood Ulmer (Memphis Blood: The Sun Sessions
2001), and Doyle Bramhall
(Fitchburg Street 2003) are among those who later recorded the song.
John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
in 1956. Called a "genuine Hooker classic", it is one of his best known songs, with interpretations by several artists.
Original song
"Dimples" was one of the first songs recorded by John Lee Hooker for Vee-Jay RecordsVee-Jay Records
Vee-Jay Records is a record label founded in the 1950s, specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. It was owned and operated by African Americans.-History:...
. Unlike his previous record labels, Vee-Jay saw Hooker as a Jimmy Reed
Jimmy Reed
Mathis James "Jimmy" Reed was an American blues musician and songwriter, notable for bringing his distinctive style of blues to mainstream audiences. Reed was a major player in the field of electric blues, as opposed to the more acoustic-based sound of many of his contemporaries...
-style performer and in fact provided him with Reed's backup band for two recording sessions in 1955 and 1956. However, when the recording commenced, it became apparent that Hooker's sense of rhythm and timing was uniquely his. The backing musicians – guitarist Eddie Taylor
Eddie Taylor
Eddie Taylor was an American electric blues guitarist and singer.-Biography:Born Edward Taylor in Benoit, Mississippi, United States, as a boy Taylor taught himself to play the guitar. He spent his early years playing at venues around Leland, Mississippi, where he taught his friend Jimmy Reed to...
, bassist George Washington, and drummer Tom Whitehead – adapted to his style and by the time "Dimples" was recorded they became "adept at anticipating his capricious moves".
"Dimples" is a moderate-tempo blues that "sounds like a twelve-bar blues with a few beats amputated ... imparting a lopsided feeling ... [that] was precisely the 'hook' that gave the song its odd appeal". Hooker has given at least two different accounts about what inspired the lyrics: in one, he claimed to have written the song about a friend's wife and another where the subject is his own girlfriend. Although "Dimples" just "skimmed the lower reaches of the R&B charts and nudged its way into the pop listings ... it's about as close to pop perfection in two minutes and nine seconds as any '50s bluesman ever got".
Eight years after its initial release, "Dimples" was released in the UK in 1964, where it reached number 23 in the pop chart. In 1970, John Lee Hooker recorded "Dimples" with slightly different lyrics as "I Got My Eyes on You" with Canned Heat
Canned Heat
Canned Heat is a blues-rock/boogie rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965. The group has been noted for its own interpretations of blues material as well as for efforts to promote the interest in this type of music and its original artists...
for the album Hooker 'n Heat (in 1966, Canned Heat recorded a demo of "Dimples" that was later released on Vintage
Vintage (Canned Heat album)
Vintage was the first album recorded by Canned Heat in 1966, although it did not see actual release until 1970 under Janus Records. Produced by rhythm & blues legend, Johnny Otis, the album featured Muddy Waters/Elmore James' song "Rollin' and Tumblin'" recorded with and without Alan Wilson's...
). During the sessions for Hooker's Boom Boom and Chill Out albums in 1992 and 1995, two attempts at recording "Dimples" with guest performers were made, but were not released. However, a version with Los Lobos
Los Lobos
Los Lobos are a multiple Grammy Award–winning American Chicano rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional Spanish and Mexican music such as cumbia, boleros and norteños.-History:The...
was recorded and released on Hooker's 1997 Grammy Award-winning album Don't Look Back
Don't Look Back (John Lee Hooker album)
Don't Look Back is an album released by Blues singer-songwriter John Lee Hooker in 1997 that was produced by Van Morrison, who also performed duets with Hooker on four of the tracks. The album was the Grammy winner in the Best Traditional Blues Album category in 1998...
.
Other versions
"Dimples" was chosen by The Spencer Davis Group as their May 1964 debut single (b/w "Sittin' and Thinkin'" UK Fontana TF 471), which was later released on I'm a Man (US United Artists UAL 3859). The song was also recorded in 1964 by The AnimalsThe Animals
The Animals were an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne during the early part of the decade, and later relocated to London...
and appeared on the albums The Animals (UK) and The Animals on Tour
The Animals on Tour
The Animals on Tour was the second American studio album by British rock band The Animals. It was released by MGM Records in February 1965 . The album included two previously released singles, "I'm Crying" and "Boom Boom"....
(US).
Smokey Wilson
Smokey Wilson
Smokey Wilson ) is an American West Coast blues guitarist. He has spent most of his career performing West Coast blues and Juke Joint blues in Los Angeles, California. He has recorded at least eleven albums for record labels such as P-Vine Records, Bullseye Blues and Texmuse Records...
(88th Street Blues 1983), The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band is an American rock/blues band once based in Macon, Georgia. The band was formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman and Gregg Allman , who were supported by Dickey Betts , Berry Oakley , Butch Trucks , and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe"...
(Dreams released 1989), James Blood Ulmer (Memphis Blood: The Sun Sessions
Memphis Blood: The Sun Sessions
Memphis Blood: The Sun Sessions is an album by American guitarist James Blood Ulmer recorded in and released on the Hyena label in 2001. The album features Ulmer covering fourteen blues standards recorded at Sun Studio.-Reception:...
2001), and Doyle Bramhall
Doyle Bramhall
Doyle Bramhall was an American singer-songwriter and drummer, closely associated with the music of Austin.-Biography:...
(Fitchburg Street 2003) are among those who later recorded the song.