a the Ian Siegal has eagle-eyed incisive writing skills and a truly authentic
Howlin' Wolf moan
You wouldn't have the Stones without
Howlin' Wolf, you wouldn't have Aretha Franklin without Etta James or Billie Holiday.
HOWLIN'WOLF: Gina Berrett's "Smokestack Lightning" traces
Howlin' Wolf's journey from Mississippi plantations to Chicago, where his take on electric blues helped shake rock 'n' roll.
The Black Prairie Blues Festival, whose name is derived from the fertile black soil and once rolling prairie landscape of the region, began 20 years ago to honor West Point native
Howlin' Wolf (Chester Burnett, 1910-1976) and other blues artists from the area.
Blessed with a voice one part Wilson Pickett and one part
Howlin' Wolf, Washington had the voice to pack a mighty punch and at the sprightly age of 72 when many a singers voice has long since faded, Washington's has retained the power and the roar so essential to the Blues and just gets better with age.
Zero Blues You can hear the authentic stuff in the few remaining "juke joints" like Po Monkeys on a Thursday night in Merigold, or the Reds Club in Clarksdale, home of music icons like Muddy Waters and
Howlin' Wolf, and the modern-era Ike Turner, who teamed up with Tina before "treating her bad," as a blues singer would say.
After that, poor black musicians like Muddy Waters and
Howlin' Wolf took it to Chicago with the great urban migration of America's black population.
In contrast,
Howlin' Wolf's "Rocket Oldsmobile'' rolled along swiftly, "I want everybody to see my rocket go'' Hammond intoned in a gritty voice.
Afterwards I'd sit next to my dad and listen to him and the band talking about Leadbelly and
Howlin' Wolf and old gigs that they played.?
He places it on a vintage Califone turntable, and we hear
Howlin' Wolf's "Rockin' Daddy" in all its tactile glory.
A cover of
Howlin' Wolf's Who's Been Talking?, driven by a riff made famous in the modern era by Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love, was broken down mid-song to expose the faintest of percussion.
Tonight, it's a tribute by such modern players as James Cotton and Bob Margolin to the traditional blues music of Muddy Waters and
Howlin' Wolf.