BMG has announced it has acquired the music interests of iconic American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist John Lee Hooker from his estate. The agreement includes his entire publishing catalog (“Boom Boom”, “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer”, “Boogie Chillen”, among others), co-acquired with BMG’s longstanding partner Fujipacific Music, his entire recorded and performance royalty income, as well as a selection of Hooker’s recorded catalog spanning “Alone, Vol. 1” (1980) through “Black Night Is Falling” (2020), acquired solely by BMG.

In what is a complex musical legacy some rights will still remain with third parties, but BMG will now take a lead role in promoting Hooker’s outstanding catalog.

BMG currently represents or owns rights in many of blues music’s most influential artists, including Son House, Willie Dixon, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Mississippi Fred McDowell, alongside many other luminaries.

The acquisition is the latest in a string of recent deals completed by BMG to acquire rights from musicians, including Mick Fleetwood, Tina Turner, MÖTLEY CRÜE and ZZ TOP.

Jeff Jampol, CEO, JAM, Inc., said: “As the longtime managers of the John Lee Hooker estate, JAM, Inc. was happy to help the estate and BMG conclude this transaction. We are very pleased that an artist-first company like BMG will be the stewards of this great legacy moving forward, and we are grateful to remain in a consulting and management role of the John Lee Hooker legacy, in partnership with BMG, moving forward. This is a rare triple-win for everyone: the Hooker family, BMG, and for the millions of John Lee Hooker fans all across the world. We can’t wait to see — and be a part of — what’s coming next.”

Thomas Scherer, BMG President, Repertoire & Marketing, New York and Los Angeles, said: “BMG is proud to be the definitive home of John Lee Hooker’s music, one of the key inspirations and foundation stones of popular music. BMG will ensure John Lee Hooker’s legacy is honored and respected wherever and whenever John Lee Hooker’s music is used, performed, recorded or sold.”

Known to music fans around the world as the “King of the Boogie,” John Lee Hooker endures as one of the true superstars of the blues genre: the ultimate beholder of cool.

His work is widely recognized for its impact on modern music — his simple, yet deeply effective songs transcend borders and languages around the globe. Each decade of Hooker’s long career brought a new generation of fans and fresh opportunities for the ever-evolving artist.

Among his first recordings was “Boogie Chillen” (1948) which became a Number One hit, selling over a million copies. This success was soon followed by a string of hits, including “I’m In The Mood”, “Crawling Kingsnake” (most famously covered by THE DOORS), and “Hobo Blues”. Over the next 15 years, Hooker maintained a prolific recording schedule, releasing over 100 songs, including the most significant song of his career “Boom Boom”.

One of the most recognizable and memorable blues standards, “Boom Boom” was initially a chart success in both the U.S. and U.K., and over the years has been extensively featured in both films and commercials, while also being covered by numerous artists. The song has been included in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame’s list of “The Songs That Shaped Rock And Roll”, was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall Of Fame’s “Classics Of Blues Recording”, and in 2016, his iconic recording of the 1962 Vee-Jay Records single was inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame.

When the young bohemian artists of the 1960s “discovered” Hooker, among other notable blues originators, he found his career taking on a new direction. Across the Atlantic, emerging British bands were idolizing Hooker’s work. Artists like THE ROLLING STONES, LED ZEPPELIN, THE ANIMALS and THE YARDBIRDS introduced Hooker’s sound to new and eager audiences, whose admiration and influence helped build Hooker up to superstar status.

Throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, Hooker toured the U.S. and Europe steadily. His reputation in the mainstream ballooned in the ensuing years, especially following a cameo in the 1980 film “The Blues Brothers”, wherein he’s seen busking in the street with a rendition of “Boom Boom”.

As Hooker entered his 70s, he suddenly found himself in the most successful era of his career — reinvented yet again at the age of 72, he released the biggest album of his career, “The Healer” (1989). The Grammy Award-winning album paired contemporary artists (Bonnie Raitt, Carlos Santana, LOS LOBOS and George Thorogood, among others) with Hooker on some of his most famous tracks. “The Healer” was released to critical acclaim and sold over one million copies.

By the 1990s, not only was the decade a time of celebration and recognition for the legendary artist, but it was also a highly productive era. He released five studio albums over the next few years, including “Mr. Lucky” (1991), which once again teamed up Hooker with an array of artists; “Boom Boom” (1992), which aimed to introduce new fans to his classic material; the Grammy Award-winning “Chill Out” (1995); and a collaboration with Van Morrison, “Don’t Look Back” (1997), which also garnered two Grammy Awards. Throughout the decade, Hooker’s great body of work and contributions to modern music were being recognized not only by his peers but also by a younger generation, energized as ever, touring and recording up until his passing in 2001.

An inductee into the Blues Hall Of Fame, Hooker was a recipient of a National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the U.S. government’s highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. In 1991, Hooker was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, while in 1997, he was presented with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. A five-time Grammy Award winner, in 2000, shortly before his death, Hooker was recognized with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Photo courtesy of the John Lee Hooker estate

SLIPKNOT has released an official performance video for the single “The Chapeltown Rag”, which is available on all streaming platforms.

The M. Shawn “Clown” Crahan-directed visual frames the visceral experience of the band’s unparalleled live performance. True to form, heavy music’s generational ambassadors in SLIPKNOT set the community ablaze late last year with the launch of a brand new offensive packaged with cryptic fanfare.

Within the span of about a week’s time, the band methodically disseminated veiled messaging from the then unreleased music, fueling speculation that their plan of attack was imminent.

Launching an all-out blitz, “The Chapeltown Rag” surfaced as SLIPKNOT’s first showing of new material since “We Are Not Your Kind” and emphatically punctuated a monumental 2021 — a year that included the band’s triumphant live return following the unprecedented stall in the wake of a historic pandemic.

Thematically, the song utilized the true crime lore of the Yorkshire Ripper and the ensuing mania of the media during the murderous spree to draw parallels to the current social climate of the online era. From Corey Taylor’s tortured howl, “When everything is God online, nothing is” a loaded statement can be deduced about modern day misinformation and the kind of divisiveness that mares the digital age.

The intensity of the track was underscored when SLIPKNOT opted to debut “The Chapeltown Rag” ceremoniously to a capacity audience just days later during the band’s historic showing at Knotfest Los Angeles at Banc of California Stadium. A sight to behold, the collective delivered a relentless rendition of the track in a performance that illuminated the L.A. skyline and further cemented the band as the undisputed champions of heavy culture.

Documenting the vehemence and volatility that has become synonymous with the band’s live experience, the latest SLIPKNOT music video boasts a collection of “Knotfest Roadshow” 2021 live tour footage featuring “The Chapeltown Rag”.

The clip captures the contrasting pageantry and pummel synonymous with SLIPKNOT in the flesh, while framing the significance of live music’s return led by one its most powerful innovators.

Last month, SLIPKNOT announced the 2022 iteration of its infamous “Knotfest Roadshow” tour. The trek will take place over two legs, both headlined by SLIPKNOT. The first leg will feature special guests IN THIS MOMENT and JINJER. The second leg will feature special guests CYPRESS HILL and HO99O9.

The first leg of the 38-date tour, produced by Live Nation, kicks off in Fargo, North Dakota on Wednesday, March 16 and hits a further 17 cities before wrapping up in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on Sunday, April 17. The second leg kicks off on Wednesday, May 18 in University Park, Pennsylvania and hits a further 17 cites before culminating on Sunday, June 18 in Chula Vista, California.

“Knotfest Roadshow” 2022 will be part of Live Nation’s Live Stubs initiative which provides digital collectible NFT ticket stubs to ticket holders. Live Stubs will automatically be included with tickets purchased for the tour. Fans will also be able to view, share, gift, trade, and resell their live stubs on LiveNation.com.

THREE DAYS GRACE has shared “Neurotic (Ft Lukas Rossi)”, the second song off its forthcoming album, “Explosions”, which will be out on May 6 via RCA Records. The new track originated as a collaboration between Neil Sanderson of the band and Lukas Rossi of ROCKSTAR SUPERNOVA for the side project KING CITY. “Neurotic (Ft Lukas Rossi)” finds THREE DAYS GRACE’s lead singer Matt Walst and Rossi dueting on this bludgeoning version teeming with nervous energy.

“We added a THREE DAYS GRACE spin to it,” Matt reveals. “Lukas has a great voice, and we match up pretty well.” “Everything is about tension and release,” adds Neil. “It defines the record.”

THREE DAYS GRACE’s previous single, “So Called Life”, was No. 1 on Mediabase’s Active Rock chart and Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Songs chart. This was the band’s 17th No. 1 song on the Mediabase chart and 16th No. 1 on the Billboard chart, and tied the internationally acclaimed and multi-platinum certified Canadian band with SHINEDOWN for the artist with most #1’s on the Billboard chart. The song’s music video was directed by Jon Vulpine.

THREE DAYS GRACE recently confirmed tour dates throughout April and May of 2022 in cities including Charleston, Cincinnati, and Madison. BLACK VEIL BRIDES, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE, ICE NINE KILLS and LILITH CZAR will support THREE DAYS GRACE on select dates, and the band will support GODSMACK in Tampa, Orlando, Newark, Worcester, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis.

“Explosions” track listing:

01. So Called Life
02. I Am The Weapon
03. Neurotic [ft. Lukas Rossi]
04. Lifetime
05. A Scar Is Born
06. Souvenirs
07. No Tomorrow
08. Redemption
09. Champion
10. Chain Of Abuse
11. Someone To Talk To [ft. APOCALYPTICA]
12. Explosions

THREE DAYS GRACE bassist Brad Walst told Jave Patterson of Two Doods Reviews about “So Called Life”: “It’s a little different. It’s a pretty heavy song and definitely full of emotions and frustrations of everyday life. It was actually the first song we wrote on this record, going back almost pre-pandemic. We started jamming, actually, beside Neil’s [Sanderson, drums] pool and it turned out really angry. [Laughs] I think it’s a great tune. I think the fans are gonna relate to it. And it’s gonna be a fun one live, I know that.”

Asked how much of THREE DAYS GRACE’s upcoming album was inspired by the pandemic, Brad said: “We didn’t really direct the songs towards there, but we’re a pretty honest band and we like to write about our true emotions and what we’re going through. So, naturally, being stuck at home and stuck on Zoom with each other, some pretty emotional songs came out of it. We wrote the first half of the record remotely. We recorded it remotely, which we’d never done. And then we just got back together a couple of months ago and did the rest. But it was interesting, man, and definitely a different vibe. And I think some great songs came out of it.”

Prior to the arrival of “So Called Life”, THREE DAYS GRACE’s most recent release was a cover of Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know”, which came out in July 2020. The official music video for THREE DAYS GRACE’s version of the track was directed by Mike Filsinger.

THREE DAYS GRACE’s other No. 1 singles include “Right Left Wrong”, “Misery Loves My Company”, “Chalk Outline”, “World So Cold”, “Never Too Late”, “Just Like You”, “Animal”, “Pain”, “Home” and “Infra-Red”.

“Right Left Wrong” is featured on “Outsider”, THREE DAYS GRACE’s sixth full-length album and fifth consecutive Top 40-charting LP on the Billboard Top 200.