Howlin’ Wolf 1971

Howlin’ Wolf 1971, hand-illustrated here, age 60, backstage at Hunter College, NYC, September 24, 1971 for the Blues Summit concert with Reverend Gary Davis and John Lee Hooker. Hunter College Assembly Hall.

Chester Arthur Burnett, known professionally as Howlin’ Wolf, was a Chicago blues singer, guitarist, and harmonica player. Originally from Mississippi, he moved to Chicago in adulthood and became successful, forming a professional rivalry with fellow bluesman Muddy Waters. With a booming voice and imposing physical presence, he is one of the best-known Chicago blues artists.
He was named for Chester A. Arthur, the 21st President of the United States. His physique garnered him the nicknames “Big Foot Chester” and “Bull Cow” as a young man: he was 6 feet 3 inches tall and often weighed close to 300 pounds.

In 1930, Burnett met Charley Patton, the most popular bluesman in the Mississippi Delta at the time. The two became acquainted, and soon Patton was teaching him guitar. He played with Patton often in small Delta communities.

In 1951, Ike Turner, who was a freelance talent scout, heard Howlin’ Wolf in West Memphis. Turner brought him to record several songs for Sam Phillips at Memphis Recording Service (later renamed Sun Studio).
Sun Records had not yet been formed, so Phillips licensed his recording to Chess Records. At the urging of Chess, Burnett relocated to Chicago in late 1952.

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.
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 (She Gave Me Gasoline)”.

In the early 1960s, Howlin’ Wolf recorded several songs that became his most famous, despite receiving no radio play: “Wang Dang Doodle”, “Back Door Man”, “Spoonful”, “The Red Rooster” (later known as “Little 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, including Eric Clapton and The Rolling Stones.

Burnett’s health began declining in the late 1960s. He had several heart attacks and suffered bruised kidneys in a car accident in 1970.
In January 1976, Burnett checked into the Veterans Administration Hospital in Hines, Illinois, for kidney surgery. He died of complications from the procedure on January 10, 1976, at the age of 65.

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