The 500 - #238 - Howlin' Wolf - Howlin' Wolf

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #238
Album Title: Howlin' Wolf
Artist: Howlin' Wolf
Genre: Chicago Blues
Recorded: Multiple studios

Released: January, 1962
My age at release: Not born
How familiar was I with it before this week: A little

Is it on the 2020 list? No, but a different Howlin' Wolf record is
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Little Red Rooster

In 1988, I went through a blues phase. I purchased Eric Clapton's Crossroads Box Set after becoming a fan of his third band, Cream (more on that story when we get to albums #205, #114 and #102). The boxset contained four compact discs, the first of which covered Clapton's time with Cream as well as his first band, The Yardbirds (#355 and #350) and John Mayall And The Bluesbreakers (#195), his second. All three bands wrote their own material, but also performed songs written by early blues artists, including Willie Dixon, Robert Johnson, John Lee Hooker and Sonny Thompson.

Boxset cover for Eric Clapton's Crossroads.

Discovering those songs sent me down an audio rabbit hole and I began enthusiastically purchasing blues records and CDs. There was also a store called The Software Warehouse which rented CDs for a small fee. Consequently, I started recording my “favourite discoveries" on cassette  tape to play in my car, a 1987 Ford Mustang that I spent too much money on. (Tip of the hat to my Dad for co-signing the loan).

The 1987 Ford Mustang LX.

In the summer of 1988, I drove the “Stang” from London, Ontario, to Calgary, Alberta, to meet my future wife's father for the first time. I only stopped once, a one-hour nap beside a cornfield in Rugby, North Dakota -- the geographical centre of North America.

A stone monument in Rugby, ND, marking the geographical 
centre of North America.

That 32-hour journey was fueled by cigarettes, coffee, Jolt Cola (a cola beverage super-charged with caffeine,) and plenty of blues cassettes, including The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions, a 1971 record featuring blues legend Howlin' Wolf (born Chester Arthur Burnett) playing with contemporary artists who had been inspired by him. Among them were Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, and Rolling Stone members Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman. It was my introduction to the American singer and guitarist.

The self-titled record on The 500 list is a compilation of songs recorded by Howlin' Wolf between 1960 and 1962. Often called The Rocking Chair Album, it features 12 blues standards, all written by another blues legend, Willie Dixon. Deemed the third greatest guitar album of all time by Mojo magazine in 2004, it has been described as "an outrageous set of sex songs".

Howlin' Wolf (circa 1965)

The second track, Little Red Rooster, was released as a single in 1964 and became the first, and only, blues song to hit #1 on the U.K. singles chart. The song has been recorded by dozens of artists on The 500 list, including Muddy Waters, The Rolling Stones, Sam Cooke and The Jesus and Mary Chain. In 2007 the song was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's archive as one of the 500 songs that shaped the genre of rock.

The album was also a massive influence on the British rock band Led Zeppelin, with five records on The 500. Lyrics from the songs Back Door Man and Shake For Me were used on Zeppelin's hit song Whole Lotta Love from their second, self-titled record (#79 on The 500).

Single Release for Whole Lotta Love from Led Zeppelin

Howlin' Wolf died in 1976 at the age of 65, after battling health issues for years. He was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980. A  29-cent stamp was issued in his memory by the U.S. Postal Service in 1994. Earlier, in 1991, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame added him to their roster. His influence can be heard today in releases by contemporary performers such as The Black Keys, Marcus King, Gary Clark Jr., and the guest on the accompanying episode of The 500 Podcast, Joe Bonamassa.

It has been a fun week or so as I revisited many of those songs that accompanied me across the continent in 1988, including that first disc from Clapton's Crossroads collection. It was a trip to remember.