John Lee Hooker, Arlington Park Race Track, Arlington Heights, IL, 1998

“John Lee Hooker by Paul Natkin. I love this photo so much that it hangs as the centerpiece over my fireplace. John Lee Hooker owns my living room as far as I’m concerned. He was such a brilliant musician, his songs are some of my favorites ever. Look at his divine guitar players fingers… and a lifetime of stories set deep in his face. That body language. Those slick shoes and star socks, his hat sat high. He was a king. This composition is so great. Some backstage trailer situation, wood paneled walls, fold up table and chairs, linoleum floors. Familiar to me as those not so enchanting spaces where us musicians are set to wait endless hours before stage time. Hundreds if not thousands of times. Waiting with anticipation and nerves. Here he is calm and cool. John’s presence makes this bogus trailer a paradise.” -- Alison Mosshart, The Kills

"One of the last photographs of John Lee Hooker taken before his passing. Taken at Arlington Park Race Track, Arlington Heights, IL, June 25, 1998. A photograph from this session appeared on the cover of his biography." -- Paul Natkin