Born in 1929 in Clarksdale, Mississippi, Earl Hooker moved to Chicago and, by his teens, began to make himself known as a fledging guitarist on the Chicago blues scene. An association with established guitarist Robert Nighthawk led to an interest in slide playing. Hooker spent much of the '50s and early '60s playing around on the local scene, and recording for smaller labels. He toured Europe in 1965 with singer Joe Hinton, even performing on the British hit music program "Ready, Steady, Go," although success continued to elude him up until his untimely death from tuberculosis at age 40 in 1970. He is now considered to be one of the most important blues guitarists of the postwar era.