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Howlin' Wolf (1910-1976)

300 Pounds of Joy

Howlin' Wolf was born Chester Arthur Burnett on June 10, 1910 in White Station, between West Point and Aberdeen, Mississippi. Howlin' Wolf's parents lived on a plantation where they worked. At age 18, his father bought Howlin' Wolf his first guitar. Howlin' Wolf was taught to play the guitar by bluesman Charlie Patton. In 1933 Howlin' Wolf's family moved to Arkansas. There he met Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller) who became his brother-in-law and taught Howlin' Wolf to play the harmonica. During the 1930s, Howlin' Wolf worked on farms and toured as a blues singer thru Mississippi and Arkansas. In the mid-1930s, Howlin' Wolf worked for a short time together wither blues legends Robert Johnson, Robert Lockwood, Jr., Willie Brown, and Tommy Johnson. During World War II, Howlin' Wolf served in the U.S. Army. After the war, Howlin' Wolf run for some years a farm in Penton, Mississippi. In 1948 he formed his first band. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Howlin' Wolf worked with guitarists Willie Johnson, Matt Murphy, and Pat Hare, with pianists Ike Turner and Albert Williams, harmonica players Junior Parker and James Cotton, and drummer Willie Steele. Howlin' Wolf had a weekly show at KWEM in West Memphis, Arkansas. Since that time, he used, inspired by a song of Funny Papa Smith, Howlin' Wolf as stage name. In these days, Howlin' Wolf also made his first recordings for Modern, Sun and Chess. In 1952, Howlin' Wolf moved to Chicago, Illinois and made many successful recordings exclusively for Chess until 1973. In Chicago, the excellent guitarist Hubert Sumlin became a member of Howlin' Wolf's band. Many of Howlin' Wolf's songs became classics. During the 1970s, Howlin' Wolf had increasing health problems. Howlin' Wolf died on January 10, 1976, at the Hines Veterans Administration Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. Howlin' Wolf is estimated as one of the most important artists in blues history.

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