Jake Hooker obit

Jake Hooker, A Founder Of 1970s Pop/Rock Group The Arrows, Lorna Luft’s Former Husband, Has Died At The Age Of 61

 

He was not on the list.

Jake Hooker (born Jerry Mamberg, May 3, 1953 – August 4, 2014) died this morning in Malibu, California. He was 61 years old. Hooker was the guitarist for the rock/pop band The  Arrows.     Jake was born in Israel, but his family moved to the United States when he was just a child, settling in New York. Jake later moved to England where he met and married Lorna Luft.

Besides being a respected manager, Jake Hooker was a very successful songwriter having written, “I Love Rock N Roll,” one of the greatest and biggest hits of all time, according to both Billboard and Rolling Stone magazines. The song has been covered by many artists including Joan Jett and Britney Spears creating worldwide sales in excess of 30 million records.

Jake also wrote and produced many hits for various soundtracks, including, Flashdance, Top Gun, Rocky 4, Iron Eagle, Wayne’s World, Charlie’s Angels (The Movie), Ghost World, Story Telling, etc. All told Jakes songs have sold well over a 100 million records or a staggering $1.6 billion in retail sales.

In the late 1970’s Jake was still a performer and had a very successful group in the United Kingdom called “The Arrows”. The band had several hits and was produced by the legendary Mickey Most (The Animals, Herman’s Hermits, and Donovan).

The band also had a successful national, musical variety TV series on Granada television, (ARROWS) that ran for 2 years. Jake’s companies produced records, television shows, movies, videos and were also heavily involved in licensing as well as special live events.

Since 1980 the companies have also been involved in personal management and music consulting. The original reason for forming the companies was primarily for publishing and songwriting, which are still the mainstays of the business.

He retired as a musician in 1978 when The Arrows disbanded. He married actress/singer Lorna Luft on Valentine’s Day 1977, and soon became her manager. They had two children, son Jesse (born in April 1984) and daughter Vanessa ( born in September 1990), and were divorced in 1993. Jake Hooker lived long enough to learn of the birth of his first grandchild.

Lorna Luft released the following statement. “After a weekend of such joy with the birth of our granddaughter Jordan Eloise Richards, I have learned that Jordan’s grandfather, my former husband Jake Hooker, passed away this morning. Jake was an accomplished musician and the father of my children. We are heartbroken. I have no other plans but to grieve with my children and be grateful for the gift that is our precious Jordan, my mother’s first great grandchild. We ask that you respect our privacy during this most difficult time.”

A celebration of the life of Jake Hooker Richard and  memorial service for the late icon will be on Thursday, August 7th 2014, across from the Sunset restaurant on Zuma beach in Malibu California. Service starts around 7pm arrive around 6:30 . Anyone who would like to come celebrate Jake’s amazing life and legacy is welcome to attend.