Howlin’ Wolf cut one of the most awe-inspiring figures in blues history on several levels — in his fearsome physical presence, his roaring howl, his onstage persona and offstage legend, and of course in the lasting legacy of his powerful songs and style. Though often characterized as rough and raw, Wolf had loving and vulnerable sides to his life and his music, some of that attributable to a harsh upbringing and rejection by his mother, who disapproved of his singing “the devil’s music” until her dying day.
Wolf was born Chester Arthur Burnett, possibly on June 10, 1910 (some documents place his birth a year earlier or later). His birthplace was probably somewhere between Aberdeen, Mississippi, the town he always claimed, and West Point, where a statue of Wolf has been placed claiming him as a native son of nearby White Station. Wolf left home for the Delta at 13 and found an inspiring role model in the rough-voiced, hard-living champion of the Delta blues, Charley Patton. After taking lessons from Patton at Will Dockery’s plantation, Wolf began performing on his own as a guitarist, although he would eventually become better known for his harmonica playing. His growling vocals were offset by his signature falsetto moans, influenced by the yodels of Jimmie Rodgers.
Wolf came to prominence in West Memphis, Arkansas, in the late 1940s and early ’50s when he was leading what might be regarded as the first high-energy blues band, which featured the hot-handed and hot-headed guitarists Willie Johnson and Pat Hare (both known as pioneers of electric guitar distortion). He cut his first records in 1951 for the Chess and RPM labels in Memphis and West Memphis, some of them produced by Sam Phillips, who later borrowed a line from an old country gospel song to come up with the unforgettable quote: ‘When I heard Howlin’ Wolf, I said, ‘This is for me. This is where the soul of man never dies.”
The connection with Chess Records led him to move to Chicago in 1954. His legend continued to grow as he recorded and performed in the company of his protégé Hubert Sumlin, producer Willie Dixon, guitarist Jody Williams, and others. His legendary live performances led many blues singers to incorporate elements of Wolf’s singing or stage antics into their own acts, in fact spawning a number of singers who performed under names such as Little Wolf or Howlin’ Wolf Jr. He continued to travel back to Mississippi, Alabama, and Memphis to perform, and in many areas of the South his music exerted a more lasting influence than did that of his main rival, Muddy Waters.
Wolf’s music was also a cornerstone for the white rock bands in America and England who adapted the blues in the 1960s and ’70s. Considering his enormous influence and the number of times his songs have been covered by blues and rock bands, Wolf had surprisingly few records — only five in the U.S. — that ever made the Billboard R&B charts: his two-sided debut single ‘How Many More Years’/’Moanin’ at Midnight,’ ‘Who Will Be Next,’ Smokestack Lightning,’ I Asked for Water,’ and ‘Evil.’ None made the pop charts in the U.S., although ‘Smokestack Lightning,’ first released in 1956, hit the British charts in 1964. Though he appeared on the television show Shindig with the Rolling Stones, who idolized him, and had opportunities for more high-profile exposure in the rock ‘n’ roll world, he often chose to stay close to his roots and perform at small neighborhood blues taverns in Chicago in his later years.
Wolf died at the Hines V.A. Hospital in Hines, Illinois, on Jan. 10, 1976. His biography, Moanin’ at Midnight by James Segrest and Mark Hoffman, was published in 2004. His legacy is celebrated in West Point, Mississippi, at the annual Howlin’ Wolf Memorial Blues Festival and at the Howlin’ Wolf Museum.
Jim O’Neal
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