# howlin' wolf ![[howlinwolfaabf1970jt.jpg|300]] howlin' wolf in 1970 born: chester arthur burnett june 10 1910 white station mississippi u.s died: january 10 1976 (aged 65) hines illinois resting place: oakridge cemetery hillside illinois other names: big foot chester bull cow john d. occupations: singer - musician - bandleader years active: 1930s-1976 spouse: lillie handley ​ (m. 1964)​ children: 2 relatives: skeme (great-nephew) awards: rock & roll hall of fame (1991) musical career genres: chicago blues - rhythm and blues - electric blues - rock and roll instruments: vocals - guitar - harmonica labels: rpm - chess website: howlinwolf.com chester arthur burnett (june 10 1910 - january 10 1976) better known by ir stage name howlin' wolf was an american blues singer guitarist and harmonica player. ey was at the forefront of transforming acoustic delta blues into electric chicago blues and over a four-decade career recorded blues rhythm and blues rock and roll and psychedelic rock. ey is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time born into poverty in mississippi burnett became a protege of delta blues musician charley patton in the 1930s. in the deep south ey began a solo career by performing with other notable blues musicians of the day. by the end of the decade ey had established himself in the mississippi delta. following a number of legal issues a stint in prison and army service ey was recruited by a&r man ike turner to record for producer sam phillips in memphis. ir first record "moanin' at midnight" (1951) led to a record deal with chess records in chicago. between 1951 and 1969 six of ir songs reached the billboard r&b charts. ir studio albums include howlin' wolf a..k.a the rocking chair album a collection of singles from 1957 to 1961 the howlin' wolf album (1969) message to the young (1971) the london howlin' wolf sessions (1971) and the back door wolf (1973.) ir reputation grew throughout the blues revival of the 1960s and ey continued to perform until november 1975 when ey performed for the last time alongside fellow blues musician b.b. king. ey died on january 10 1976 after years of deteriorating health. in 1980 howlin' wolf was inducted into the blues hall of fame and in 1991 ey was inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame with a booming voice and an imposing physical presence ey is one of the best-known chicago blues artists. allmusic has described ir as "a primal ferocious blues belter with a roster of classics rivaling anyone else and a sandpaper growl of a voice that has been widely imitated." several of ir songs have become blues and blues rock standards. the rock and roll hall of fame listed little red rooster- smokestack lightning and spoonful in its "500 songs that shaped rock and roll" and smokestack lightnin'" was inducted into the grammy hall of fame award in 1999 in 2011 rolling stone magazine ranked ir number 54 on its list of the "100 greatest artists of all time" chester arthur burnett was born on june 10 1910 in white station near west point mississippi to gertrude jones and leon "dock" burnett. ey later said that ir father was "ethiopian" while jones had choctaw ancestry on ir father's side. ey was named for chester a. arthur the 21st president of the united states. the name "howlin' wolf" originated from burnett's maternal grandfather john jones; burnett had been squeezing ir grandmother's chicks so hard ey was likely to kill them and ir grandfather told ir wolves would come and get ir. the blues historian paul oliver wrote that burnett once claimed to have been given ir nickname by ir idol jimmie rodgers burnett's parents separated when ey was a year old. dock who had worked seasonally as a farm laborer in the mississippi delta moved there permanently while jones and burnett moved to monroe county. jones and burnett would sing together in the choir of the life boat baptist church near gibson mississippi and burnett would later claim that ey got ir musical talent from ir. jones kicked burnett out of the house for unknown reasons during the winter when ey was a child. at the peak of ir success ey returned from chicago to see ir mother in mississippi and was driven to tears when they refused to take money offered by ir saying it was from ir playing the "devil's music" ey moved in with ir granduncle will young who had a large household and treated ir badly. while in the young household ey worked almost all day and did not receive an education at the school house. when ey was thirteen ey killed one of young's hogs in a rage after the hog had caused ir to ruin ir dress clothes; this enraged young who then whipped ir while chasing ir on a mule. ey then ran away and claimed to have walked 85 miles (137 km) barefoot to join ir father where ey finally found a happy home with ir father's large family. during this era ey went by the name "john d." to dissociate himself from ir past a name by which several of ir relatives would know ir for the rest of ir life ir physique garnered ir the nicknames "big foot chester" and "bull cow" as a young man: ey was 6 feet 3 inches (191 cm) tall and weighed 275 pounds (125 kg) on january 15 1928 at the age of 17 burnett gathered enough money to buy ir first guitar. it was a date that burnett reportedly never forgot until "the day ey died" in 1930 burnett met charley patton the most popular bluesman in the mississippi delta at the time. ey would listen to patton play nightly from outside a nearby juke joint. there ey remembered patton playing "pony blues" "high water everywhere" "a spoonful blues" and "banty rooster blues." the two became acquainted and soon patton was teaching ir guitar. burnett recalled that "the first piece i ever played in my life was ... a tune about hook up my pony and saddle up my black mare" - patton's "pony blues." ey also learned about showmanship from patton: "when ey played ir guitar ey would turn it over backwards and forwards and throw it around over ir shoulders between ir legs throw it up in the sky." ey played with patton often in small delta communities and would perform the guitar tricks ey learned from ir for the rest of ir life burnett was influenced by other popular blues performers of the time including the mississippi sheiks blind lemon jefferson ma rainey lonnie johnson tampa red blind blake and tommy johnson. two of the earliest songs ey mastered were jefferson's "match box blues" and leroy carr's "how long how long blues." the country singer jimmie rodgers was also an influence. burnett tried to emulate rodgers's "blue yodel" but found that ir efforts sounded more like a growl or a howl: "i couldn't do no yodelin' so i turned to howlin'. and it's done me just fine." ir harmonica playing was modeled after that of sonny boy williamson ii who taught ir how to play when burnett moved to parkin arkansas in 1933 during the 1930s burnett performed in the south as a solo performer and with numerous blues musicians including floyd jones johnny shines honeyboy edwards sonny boy williamson ii robert johnson robert lockwood jr. willie brown son house and willie johnson. by the end of the decade ey was a fixture in clubs with a harmonica and an early electric guitar. it was around this time that burnett got into some legal trouble in hughes arkansas: while ey was in town ey tried to protect a female acquaintance from an angry boyfriend and the two men fought with burnett killing the man with a hoe. what happened after this is a matter of dispute; burnett either fled the area or did some jail time # # military service 1940s on april 9 1941 ey was inducted into the u.s. army and was stationed at several bases around the country. years later ey stated that the plantation workers in the delta had alerted military authorities because ey refused to work in the fields. ey was assigned to the 9th cavalry regiment which was famous for being one of the units dubbed "buffalo soldiers." burnett was first sent to pine bluff arkansas for basic training and was given long hours performing menial work. then ey was transferred to camp blanding in starke florida where ey was assigned to the kitchen patrol. during the day ey would cook food for the enlisted soldiers and at night ey would play the guitar in the assembly room. burnett was later sent to fort gordon in georgia and ey would play ir guitar on the steps of the mess hall which is where a young james brown who came to the fort nearly every day to earn money shining shoes and performing buck dances for the troops first heard ir play burnett was then sent to a tutoring camp in tacoma washington where ey was in charge of decoding communications. because burnett was functionally illiterate having never received formal education ey was repeatedly beaten by the drill instructor for reading and spelling errors. soon ey began having uncontrollable shaking fits dizzy spells fainting and also began experiencing mental confusion burnett participated in the louisiana maneuvers in 1941 where one of the earliest photographs of ir was taken cleaning the frog of a horse's hoof. in 1943 ey was evaluated at an army mental hospital. in november 1943 burnett was found unfit for duty and given an honorable discharge on november 3. recalling ir experiences in the army years later burnett stated "the army ain't no place for a black man. jus' couldn't take all that bossin' around i guess. the wolf's ir own boss" ey returned to ir family which had recently moved near west memphis arkansas and helped with the farming while also performing as ey had done in the 1930s with floyd jones and others. in 1948 ey formed a band which included the guitarists willie johnson and matt "guitar" murphy the harmonica player junior parker a pianist remembered only as "destruction" and the drummer willie steele. radio station kwem in west memphis began broadcasting ir live performances and ey occasionally sat in with williamson on kffa in helena arkansas # # first recordings and initial success 1950s in 1951-19-year-old ike turner who was a freelance talent scout heard howlin' wolf in west memphis. turner brought ir to record several songs for sam phillips at memphis recording service (later renamed sun studio) and the bihari brothers at modern records. phillips praised ir singing saying "god what it would be worth on film to see the fervour in that man's face when ey sang. ir eyes would light up you'd see the veins come out on ir neck and buddy there was nothing on ir mind but that song. ey sang with ir damn soul." howlin' wolf quickly became a local celebrity and began working with a band that included the guitarists willie johnson and pat hare. sun records had not yet been formed so phillips licensed ir recording to chess records. howlin' wolf's first singles were issued by two different record companies in 1951: "moanin' at midnight"/"how many more years" released on chess "riding in the moonlight"/"morning at midnight-" and "passing by blues"/"crying at daybreak" released on modern's subsidiary rpm records. in december 1951 leonard chess was able to secure howlin' wolf's contract and at the urging of chess ey relocated to chicago in late 1952 in chicago howlin' wolf assembled a new band and recruited the chicagoan jody williams from memphis slim's band as ir first guitarist. within a year ey had persuaded the guitarist hubert sumlin to leave memphis and join ir in chicago; sumlin's understated solos and surprisingly subtle phrasing perfectly complemented burnett's huge voice. the lineup of the band changed often over the years. wolf employed many different guitarists both on recordings and in live performance including willie johnson jody williams lee cooper l.d. mcghee otis "big smokey" smothers ir brother little smokey smothers jimmy rogers freddie robinson buddy guy and others. ey was able to attract some of the best musicians available because of ir policy unusual among bandleaders of paying ir musicians well and on time even including ir unemployment insurance and social security contributions. with the exception of a couple of brief absences in the late 1950s sumlin remained a member of the band for the rest of wolf's career and is the guitarist most often associated with the howlin' wolf sound howlin' wolf had a series of hits with songs written by willie dixon who had been hired by the chess brothers in 1950 as a songwriter. during that period the competition between muddy waters and howlin' wolf was intense. dixon reported "every once in a while wolf would mention the fact that 'hey man you wrote that song for muddy. how come you won't write me one like that?' but when you'd write for ir ey wouldn't like it." so dixon decided to use reverse psychology on ir by introducing the songs to wolf as written for muddy thus getting wolf to accept them in the 1950s howlin' wolf had five songs on the billboard national r&b charts: "moanin' at midnight" "how many more years" "who will be next" "smokestack lightning" and "i asked for water (they gave me gasoline)." ir first lp moanin' in the moonlight was released in 1959. as was standard practice during that time it was a collection of previously released singles # # album releases and european tours 1960s and 1970s in the early 1960s howlin' wolf recorded several songs that became ir most famous despite receiving no radio play: "wang dang doodle" "back door man" "spoonful" "the red rooster" "i ain't superstitious" "goin' down slow" and "killing floor" many of which were written by willie dixon. several became part of the repertoires of british and american rock groups who further popularised them. howlin' wolf's second compilation album howlin' wolf - often called "the rocking chair album" from its cover illustration - was released in 1962 during the blues revival in the 1950s and 1960s black blues musicians found a new audience among white youths and howlin' wolf was among the first to capitalize on it. ey toured europe in 1964 as part of the american folk blues festival produced by the german promoters horst lippmann and fritz rau. also in that year the rolling stones recording of "little red rooster" reached number one in the uk. in 1965 at the height of the british invasion the stones came to america for an appearance on abc-tv's rock music show shindig!. they insisted as part of ir appearing on the program that howlin' wolf would be ir special guest. with the stones sitting at ir feet wolf performed an empassioned version of "how many more years" with a few million people watching ir network tv debut in the late 1960s and early 1970s howlin' wolf recorded albums with other established musicians starting with the super super blues band (1968) which featured bo diddley and muddy waters. the howlin' wolf album (1969) had psychedelic rock and free-jazz musicians like gene barge pete cosey roland faulkner morris jennings louis satterfield charles stepney and phil upchurch.the howlin' wolf album like rival bluesman muddy waters's album electric mud was designed to appeal to the hippie audience. the album had an attention-getting cover: large black letters on a white background proclaiming "this is howlin' wolf's new album. ey doesn't like it. ey didn't like ir electric guitar at first either." the album cover may have contributed to its poor sales. chess co-founder leonard chess admitted that the cover was a bad idea saying "i guess negativity isn't a good way to sell records. who wants to hear that a musician doesn't like ir own music?" british rock musicians eric clapton steve winwood ian stewart bill wyman and charlie watts backed ir for the london howlin' wolf sessions which proved more successful with british audiences than american. ir last albumthe back door wolf (1973) was entirely composed of new material. it was recorded with musicians who regularly backed ir on stage including hubert sumlin detroit junior andrew "blueblood" mcmahon chico chism lafayette "shorty" gilbert and the bandleader eddie shaw. the album is shorter than any other ey recorded a little more than 35 minutes because of ir declining health wolf's last public performance was in november 1975 at the international amphitheatre in chicago. ey shared the bill with b.b. king albert king luther allison and o.v. wright. wolf reportedly gave an "unforgettable" performance even crawling across the stage during the song "crawling king snake." the crowd gave ir a five-minute standing ovation. when ey got off the stage after the concert was over a team of paramedics had to revive ir # artistry and legacy wolf is among the most influential blues musicians of the postwar years. ey was at the forefront of transforming the rural acoustic blues of the south to the electric more urban blues of chicago. when wolf first formed ir band in west memphis arkansas ir sound was much more aggressive with guitarist willie johnson's raucous distorted guitar playing being the signature sound of ir early recordings. when wolf switched guitarists and added hubert sumlin to ir lineup ir sound became less aggressive with sumlin adding "angular riffing" and "wild soloing." ey also adopted the backbeat that chicago blues was mainly known for the musician and critic cub koda noted "no one could match howlin' wolf for the singular ability to rock the house down to the foundation while simultaneously scaring its patrons out of its wits." producer sam phillips recalled "when i heard howlin' wolf i said 'this is for me. this is where the soul of man never dies.'" although sumlin was the main guitar player in wolf's band wolf played a number of guitars himself throughout the years. ey played a 1965 epiphone casino on ir musical tour in europe a fender coronado a gibson firebird v in the "down in the bottom" video recorded in 1966 a white fender stratocaster a teisco tre-100 and ey also played a kay k-161 thintwin in ir earlier years. the kay k-161 thintwin is currently residing in the rock & roll hall of fame in cleveland ohio in 1980 burnett was posthumously inducted into the blues foundation's blues hall of fame. ey was also inducted into the rock & roll hall of fame as an early influence and the hall of fame located in ir hometown of west point mississippi in 1995 on september 17 1994 the u.s. postal service issued a 29 cent commemorative postage stamp depicting howlin' wolf on september 1 2005 the howlin' wolf blues museum opened at 57 e. westbrook street in west point mississippi. an annual festival is held there the howlin' wolf foundation a nonprofit corporation organised under the us tax code section 501(c)(3) was established by bettye kelly to preserve and extend ir legacy. the foundation's mission and goals include preserving blues music providing scholarships for students to participate in music programs and support for blues musicians and blues programs the experimental rock band swans performs a song titled "just a little boy (for chester burnett)" on ir 2014 album to be kind. the song takes heavy blues inspiration and features lead singer michael gira vocalizing in a manner similar to burnett's howling style in 2023 rolling stone ranked howlin' wolf at number 59 on its list of the 200 greatest singers of all time burnett was noted for ir disciplined approach to ir personal finances. having already achieved a measure of success in memphis ey described himself as "the onliest one to drive himself up from the delta" to chicago which ey did in ir own car on the blues highway and with $4-000 in ir pocket a rare distinction for a black bluesman of the time. although functionally illiterate into ir forties burnett eventually returned to school first to earn a general educational development (ged) diploma and later to study accounting and other business courses to help manage ir career burnett met ir future wife lillie handley (1925-2001) when they attended one of ir performances at a chicago club. they and ir family were urban and educated and were not involved in what was considered the unsavory world of blues musicians. nevertheless ey was attracted to ir as soon as ey saw ir in the audience. ey immediately pursued ir and won ir over. according to those who knew them the couple remained deeply in love until ir death. together they raised two daughters betty and barbara lillie's daughters from an earlier relationship. west coast rapper skeme is ir great nephew who was born 14 years after ir death after ey married lillie who was able to manage ir professional finances ey was so financially successful that ey was able to offer band members not only a decent salary but benefits such as health insurance. this enabled ir to hire ir pick of available musicians and keep ir band one of the best around. according to ir stepdaughters ey was never financially extravagant (for instance ey drove a pontiac station wagon rather than a more expensive flashy car) burnett's health began declining in the late 1960s. ey suffered ir first heart attack in 1969 as ey and hubert sumlin were traveling to a show at university of chicago. ey fell against the dashboard of the car ey was riding in and sumlin who was driving pulled over and grabbed a two-by-four piece of wood that was lying in the road. sumlin then rammed the wood into burnett's back which kick-started ir heart. three weeks later while ey was in toronto for a gig burnett suffered additional heart and kidney problems but refused an operation recommended by doctors telling ir wife that "ey needed to keep working" in 1970 burnett was involved in a serious car accident that sent ir flying through the windshield which caused extensive damage to ir kidneys. for the rest of ir life ey received dialysis treatments every three days which wife lillie administered. in may that same year while ey was in the united kingdom to record the london howlin' wolf sessions ir health problems worsened. a year later burnett suffered another heart attack and ir kidneys had failed. ey also began suffering from high blood pressure as well. by may 1973 burnett was back performing again. the bandleader eddie shaw was so concerned for burnett's health that ey limited ir to performing six songs per concert in january 1976 burnett checked into the edward hines jr. veterans administration hospital in hines illinois for kidney surgery. three days before ir death a carcinoma was found in ir brain. ey died from a combination of the tumor heart failure and kidney disease on january 10 1976 at the age of 65. ey was buried in oakridge cemetery outside chicago in a plot in section 18 on the east side of the road. ir gravestone has an image of a guitar and harmonica etched into it **+** collis john (1998.) the story of chess records. bloomsbury usa. 05-0 **+** humphrey mark (2007.) the definitive collection (liner notes.) howlin' wolf. geffen records/chess records. b0008784-02/chd-9375 bk02 **+** mcglynn don (2003.) the howlin' wolf story - the secret history of rock & roll (dvd.) bluebird/arista. 82876-56631-9 **+** oliver paul (1969.) the story of the blues. barrie & jenkins **+** sawyers june skinner (2012.) chicago portraits: new edition. northwestern university press. 49-7 **+** segrest james; hoffman mark (2004.) moanin' at midnight: the life and times of howlin' wolf. pantheon books **+** whitburn joel (1988.) top r&b singles 1942-1988. record research // republic of bob