Hubert Sumlin made his mark with his sharp, innovative and unpredictable guitar work on Howlin’ Wolf’s classics such as Killing Floor, Shake for Me, and Hidden Charms, and became an acclaimed and beloved figure in his senior years when he pursued his own solo career after Wolf’s death. Born on a plantation outside of Greenwood, Mississippi, on Nov. 16, 1931, Sumlin was an adolescent blues partner of James Cotton in Arkansas, where he started following Howlin’ Wolf. After Wolf moved to Chicago, he summoned Hubert to join him, and together they weathered turbulent times as Wolf fired his protégé time after time, only to hire him back. Sumlin even went over to play for Wolf’s main rival, Muddy Waters, at times, but Wolf was like a father to him and he was never out of the fold for too long. His guitar work with Wolf was so legendary among other musicians that even Jimi Hendrix reportedly said: ‘My favorite guitar player is Hubert Sumlin.’ Accolades from the rock world continued to accrue to Sumlin in later years as he shared stages with the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Aerosmith, Santana, and many others. Sumlin died Dec. 4, 2011.
