The veteran blues singer John Lee Hooker has died in his sleep at the age of 83.
His foot stomping and gravel voice electrified audiences and inspired several generations of musicians.
According to his agent Mr Mike Kappus, he died at his San Francisco home of natural causes with friends and family near.
During a music career spanning more than six decades he recorded more than 100 albums. Some of his better-known songs include Boogie Chillun, Boom Boomand I'm In The Mood.
Throughout it all, Hooker's music remained unchanged. His rich and sonorous voice, full of ancient hurt, and his brooding and savage style remained hypnotic but unpredictable.
His one-chord boogie compositions and rhythmic guitar work were a distinctive sound that influenced rock 'n' rollers as well as rhythm and blues musicians.
Born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, in 1917 Hooker was one of 11 children born to a Baptist minister and tenant farmer who discouraged his son's musical bent.
His stepfather taught him to play guitar. By the time Hooker was a teenager, he was performing at local fish fries, dances and other occasions.
Hooker hit the road to perform by the age of 14. He worked odd jobs by day and played small bars at night in Memphis, Tennessee, then Cincinnati and finally Detroit in 1943, where he recorded his first hit, Boogie Chillun, in 1948.
PA