danelectro Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 danelectro, i don't agree with you about the wolf not being the best thing of his own records or band, but i do agree that hubert sumlin is one of THE GREATS. Oh I wasn't saying Wolf isn't great just that Hubert is what made Wolf's stuff special, in the same way Eddie Taylor made Jimmy Reed's stuff special. Neither of those guys would have had the sound, groove or overall music result they did without their guitarists. Hubert was key to HW's sound, without him it wouldn't have been the same. It was a case where the mixture of musical personalities made it what it was. For me proof of that is Hubert also played with Reed and Muddy and he didn't have the same impact. When Hubert defected Wolf was not a happy camper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatbo Posted March 26, 2009 Author Share Posted March 26, 2009 Oh I wasn't saying Wolf isn't great just that Hubert is what made Wolf's stuff special, in the same way Eddie Taylor made Jimmy Reed's stuff special. Neither of those guys would have had the sound, groove or overall music result they did without their guitarists. Hubert was key to HW's sound, without him it wouldn't have been the same. It was a case where the mixture of musical personalities made it what it was. For me proof of that is Hubert also played with Reed and Muddy and he didn't have the same impact. When Hubert defected Wolf was not a happy camper. agreed. although it must be said that hubert didn't come into his own until after 1956, and that wolf had cut many famous sides by then with jody williams on lead guitar including 'evil'(and his memphis tracks cut before the move to chicago with his west memphis band. those songs include 'moaning at midnight' and 'how many more years'). wolf also sent sumlin to a music conservatory to learn to read music. jody williams was a stellar player in his own right, having began in a band with otis spann and several chess sessions prior to wolf. sumlin had a father/son relationship with wolf and it showed in the dynamic onstage and in the studio between the two. anybody interested should seriously check out any sumlin they can get their hands on..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninelives Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 agreed. although it must be said that hubert didn't come into his own until after 1956, and that wolf had cut many famous sides by then with jody williams on lead guitar including 'evil'(and his memphis tracks cut before the move to chicago with his west memphis band. those songs include 'moaning at midnight' and 'how many more years'). wolf also sent sumlin to a music conservatory to learn to read music. jody williams was a stellar player in his own right, having began in a band with otis spann and several chess sessions prior to wolf. sumlin had a father/son relationship with wolf and it showed in the dynamic onstage and in the studio between the two. anybody interested should seriously check out any sumlin they can get their hands on..... Agree about Hubert Sumlin - I have Blues Party which is fantastic and hoping to get some more of his recordings. I'm a big Howlin' Wolf fan. One of my favorite tracks is "Goin Down Slow". Amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatbo Posted March 27, 2009 Author Share Posted March 27, 2009 Agree about Hubert Sumlin - I have Blues Party which is fantastic and hoping to get some more of his recordings. I'm a big Howlin' Wolf fan. One of my favorite tracks is "Goin Down Slow". Amazing. here he plays a couple of songs and in one shows what he played and what jody played.. here is the scene in cadillac records where wolf steals muddy's girl in the studio and muddy offers hubert twice wolf's money to steal him. sittin in the scene is hubert himself! cadillac records what a delight! more hubert in an interview: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninelives Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 here he plays a couple of songs and in one shows what he played and what jody played.. here is the scene in cadillac records where wolf steals muddy's girl in the studio and muddy offers hubert twice wolf's money to steal him. sittin in the scene is hubert himself! cadillac records what a delight! more hubert in an interview: Nice finds! Great to watch him play the guitar - it's so effortless yet powerful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Jam Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 so many sessions on you-tube have been recently spent searching for the howlin' wolf. as i now sit in a time where the blues sound slick, over-produced, tame, and yes, white...it only takes a single howlin' wolf performance to bring the blues back home to mississippi for me (via west memphis and chicago). the wolf-1966 howlin' wolf was born chester burnett on june 10, 1910 in white station, mississippi. not the delta, several counties from it, very close to west point. the trauma borne by chester in his early life pierced a window in his soul, allowing all the rage, passion, pain, and intensity to rumble deep in his chest. the wolf howled his way through jim crow, fish parties and juke joints, he rambled all over the delta, playing with son house, robert johnson, willie brown, both sonny boys (but sharing sisters with sonny boy 2/rice miller) and gripping the most indigenous music in america to his fist, only to let it out onstage on a saturday night, shaking the floorboards in every blues joint with his voice, guitar, harp, and size 16 feet. i'll be back someday west memphis-1948. the town is wide open. beale ain't got nothin' on 8th street. wolf gets himself known on the radio KWM, and proceeds to put together the first great electric blues band: the houserockers. willie johnson, matt 'guitar' murphy, junior parker, willie steele, pat hare and james cotton. if muddy was doing it in chicago, the wolf was doing it and more of it at the same time in west memphis. two recordings burst into the daylight from the dark memphis studio soon to be known as 'sun'. sam phillips regretted losing the wolf to chess more than elvis to rca. 'moaning at midnight' and 'how many more years' were to be the first 2 of many classics to form a canon and you could hear wolf on the radio, watch him drive his two-tone desoto with placard on the side down the street, or head over to watch his band tear it up live on 8th street. hubert sumlin did when he was only 12 and fell through the window. wolf let him sit onstage until he was through and then took him home to his mother and said "don't beats him. this boy got the music in him..." evil chicago-1953. this town is so ripe with great mississippi-born music that it falls from the trees all over the south side. chess records, silvio's, the zanzibar (there were two zanzibars- one on paulina and one on the westside: ashland and 13th) and the 708 club. wolf's new record deal at chess somehow put's him in muddy water's basement. the two greats had never played together but they certainly knew each others music. portrayed as great rivals (and they were very competitive) neither could stand in the other's way. where muddy might let his great band play for 30-45 minutes before he took the stage, the wolf would play a harp with his mouth and a harp with his nose at the same time. you got your money's worth with both bands but wolf always gave extra... killing floor his second great band: called from arkansas-the still young hubert sumlin. jody williams, earl phillips, hosea lee kennard cut heads with the best of them. great records followed: smokestack lightning, evil, little red rooster, spoonful, killing floor, many written for him by willie dixon (and more than a couple stole from him by wille!) the wolf conquered chicago and played blues and folk clubs all through the 50's and 60's. the impact of the man on rock music is undeniable. the rolling stones insisted that he appear on 'shindig' with them, hendrix, zeppelin, clapton and many more covered his work and wolf enjoyed popularity right up until his last show in 1975 at the chicago amphitheater. with heart problems and failing kidneys, wolf had to get out of his sickbed for this show and gave the audience everything they had heard about. after a majestic performance, paramedics were called to revive him. he died two months later. i can't leave without pointing out one of the greatest blues guitar players ever. hubert sumlin was like a son to the wolf and was a stalwart player for many sides and many singers. but wolf an him, they are together special, man. to all of those searching for the real blues, with roots all the way back to the porch in mississippi, learn how to howl..... smokestack lightning backdoorman how many more years Thanks beatbo. The Wolf was a raw bad asswhen he performed. I'm a big fan of the Wolf. Thanks again beatbo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatbo Posted March 28, 2009 Author Share Posted March 28, 2009 howlin' wolf chess 1469 issued jan. 11, 1962 long considered by critics to be one of the greatest blues album ever released, 'howlin' wolf' (aka 'the rocking chair' album, so called because the cover showed a cheap acoustic leaning against an old rocking chair) was the second long-playing issue from the great bluesman. i would also include in this group 'the best of muddy waters', robert johnson-'the complete recordings', magic sam's 'west side sound', 'the best of little walter', and junior wells 'hoodoo man blues'. (your list may vary. please feel free to post any differences of opinion.) track listing: 1. "Shake for Me" 2. "The Red Rooster" 3. "You'll Be Mine" 4. "Who's Been Talkin'" (Howlin' Wolf) 5. "Wang Dang Doodle" 6. "Little Baby" 7. "Spoonful" 8. "Going Down Slow" (St. Louis Jimmy Oden) 9. "Down in the Bottom" 10. "Back Door Man" 11. "Howlin' for My Darling" (Dixon, Howlin' Wolf) 12. "Tell Me" (Howlin' Wolf) all songs-willie dixon, unless otherwise noted. i would be remiss to not add that there was considerable kick about dixon claiming credits when the band or wolf was left to provide the arrangement. and 'the red rooster' was a newer version of charlie patton's 'banty rooster blues', and there are several claims to wolf performing the song back in the 30's. hubert's wife evelyn spoke up once: "a bunch of songs that willie dixon did over, wolf had already did. but willie took the credit for them." "everybody wants willie dixon as the composer, but he was the lyricist," drummer francis clay once said. "he wrote the lyrics, not the music." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- track 1. "shake for me" recorded june, 1961 chess studios howlin' wolf - vocal, johnny jones - piano, hubert sumlin - guitar, willie dixon - bass, sam lay - drums. 'shake for me' is a hard rocker that made for a mean dance number in the clubs. sam lay was the new addition in the studio and in wolfs' live band. born in birmingham alabama in 1935, he started playing blues in chicago with little walter's band. walter was a virtuoso who was also a freespirit. he didn't care about regular bookings or making it to the studio on time or looking after his band. wolf was a distinct contrast. he was the first band in chicago to take out unemployment insurance and social security for his band. hubert sumlin still gets social security today thanks to wolf. sam lay was asked by wolf to join as earl phillips had quit. when little walter played his next gig, he was pissed off because sam showed up with "howlin' wolf band' on his bass drum. track 2. "the red rooster" recorded june 1961 chess studios same session as "shake for me". on this song, wolf played acoustic slide and hubert played electric. sam cooke did a version of this song. i love sam cooke, but..... track 3. "you'll be mine" recorded dec. 1961 chess studios same personnel, except that henry gray played exceptional piano. another fast number with the wolf laying it out. track 4. "who's been talking" recorded june 24, 1957 howlin' wolf - vocals, harmonica, billy duncan - tenor sax, hosea lee kennard - piano, otis smothers, willie johnson - guitars, alfred elkins - bass, earl phillips - drums this song was willie johnsons' last with wolf in the studio, although he would pop up in wolf's live band off and on for a few more years. willie was born in 1923 in lake cormorant, ms and had met wolf in the '30s when he was playing with son house and willie brown. the two often played as a duo and willie was wolf's first guitar player in "the houserockers", his powerful, under recorded west memphis band. it was also the first song wolf recorded at chess's then new studio at 2120 south michigan avenue. track 5. "wang dang doodle" recorded june, 1960 chess studios howlin' wolf - vocal, otis spann - piano, freddie robinson (abu talib) hubert sumlin - guitars, willie dixon - bass, fred belows - drums a legend has it that freddie king played on this session but according to sumlin, it was freddie robinson. this song was recorded at a legendary session that also included "backdoor man" and "spoonful". wolf hated "wang dang doodle". when koko taylor re-recorded it in 1966 it went to no. 4 on the r&b charts. track 6. "little baby" recorded may 1961 chess studios same credits as "red rooster" except for the addition of jimmy rogers on guitar. track 7. "spoonful" recorded june, 1960 chess studios same credits as "wang dang doodle" this song was "based" on charlie patton's cocaine song "a spoonful of blues". from wiki: "Spoonful" has also been recorded by artists such as Etta James (on her 1961 album At Last!), the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Canned Heat, Dion DiMucci, the Allman Joys, Shadows of Knight, Ten Years After, Gov't Mule, The Who, Johnny Diesel (Short Cool Ones), My Midnight Creeps and Blues Creation. The Charley Patton antecedent can be heard on the compilation album The Music Never Stopped: Roots of the Grateful Dead. track 8. "goin' down slow" recorded dec. 1961 chess studios same personnel as "you'll be mine". a sinister sounding blues with wolf growling such lines as: "please write my mama tell her the shape i'm in tell her to pray for me forgive me for my sin...." track 9. "down in the bottom" recorded may 1961 chess studios same personnel as track 6 track 10. "backdoor man" recorded june, 1960 chess studios same personnel as "spoonful" and "wang dang doodle" easily one of the greatest blues songs on an album full of them, i must admit i first encountered the doors version of this song. and as great as that song still rings in my ear, it's wolf's original that i will reach for. the vocal is original and outstanding. the playing (as on the other songs from this session) is superb-as great as a blues band can play. wolf couldn't read so he either sang his version of dixon's lyrics or willie whispered them in his ear while he recorded the vocals. and although the lyrics are dixon's, there is alot of wolf in this song. track 11. "howlin' for my darling" recorded july, 1959 chess studios howlin' wolf - vocal, harmonica, abbe locke - tenor sax, hosea lee kennard - piano, abe smothers, hubert sumlin - guitars, s.p. leary - drums an outstanding track that took a slow blues grind and beat it into submission, giving it a groove that could really jump down and boss you around. one of my faves... track 12. "tell me" recorded june 24, 1957 howlin' wolf - vocals, harmonica, billy duncan - tenor sax, hosea lee kennard - piano, otis smothers, willie johnson - guitars, alfred elkins - bass, earl phillips - drums a strong shuffle/boogie that comes with a killer wolf vocal ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ this album has it all: some of the best tracks wolf ever recorded and some behind the scenes favorites for the full-fledged fan. i would run, not walk to your local juke joint/best buy/online music store (or where ever you normally shoplift) and snap this one up. it is impossible to have a true blues collection without it.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatbo Posted March 28, 2009 Author Share Posted March 28, 2009 more hubert sumlin: http://www.hubertsumlinblues.com/ "come on in my house" live 2007 "sweet home chicago" with clapton, buddy guy, robert cray: crossroads fest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gegenschein Posted March 29, 2009 Share Posted March 29, 2009 Thanks beatbo, great posts. I love Wolf. Ironically I've been looking for Moanin' at Midnight about a month ago - I needed a list of 5 favorite songs which start with M (with live links) for a blog post on LiveJournal and couldn't find it, so I posted this Myspace link - still a streaming file, though without video/pics (2nd song in the embedded player). Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatbo Posted March 29, 2009 Author Share Posted March 29, 2009 Thanks beatbo, great posts. I love Wolf. Ironically I've been looking for Moanin' at Midnight about a month ago - I needed a list of 5 favorite songs which start with M (with live links) for a blog post on LiveJournal and couldn't find it, so I posted this Myspace link - still a streaming file, though without video/pics (2nd song in the embedded player). Cheers! that's quite a page. if you put that up-excellent job, although i would expect no less from you, gegen. if not, leave it to you to find it... it does have the original version of "moanin'", as well (the sam phillips recording). up next: howlin' wolf and the zeppelin.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swede Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 ^^Hey, great post beatbo! I want that album on vinyl!! It's one of the greatest blues albums ever released. When I was really young and just got into the blues, I had difficulties to get into the Wolf's voice. But it grew on me fast and ever since he has been one of my favourite Chicago blues artists. He was one of a kind. And thanks for starting a Howlin' Wolf thread too, he sure deserves it. I would give anything to have been able to see him live! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zino Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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