MORE WOLF

In the U.S. it's Black History Month. Per the White House, "This National Black History Month, we celebrate the vast contributions of Black Americans to our country and recognize that Black history is American history and that Black culture, stories, and triumphs are at the core of who we are as a Nation." Hear, hear!   That goes triple for the contribution to the music we listen to. Black Americans are responsible for 90% of what's considered American music. Where to start? I was mulling that over when I was talking to a friend today. He's in his late twenties. I mentioned Howlin' Wolf. He didn't know who he was. We can't have that.

I'm trusting you all know how to search for a Howlin' Wolf bio, so no regurgitating here. One thing I do want to point out. The songs below were all released on Chess Records with the exception of two, recorded by Sam Phillips at Sun. One of the songs, "Mr. Highway Man" is represented twice, one on Chess and one on Sun, so you can hear how much more raw the Sun sides were. Alas, per usual, the superior version was on the smaller label so it's also the lesser heard. I highly recommend starting with his stuff on Sun (entry at Discogs here).

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Listen:
Howlin' Wolf - Smokestack Lightnin' mp3 at Internet Archive Chess
Howlin' Wolf - Evil mp3 at Internet Archive Chess
Howlin' Wolf - Forty Four mp3 at Internet Archive Chess
Howlin' Wolf - Mr. Highway Man mp3 at Internet Archive Chess
Howlin' Wolf - Mr. Highway Man (streaming) at YouTube Sun
Howlin' Wolf - Howlin' Wolf Boogie mp3 at Internet Archive Sun

THE WOLFMAN HOWLS

Racking my brain trying to think of any additional Halloween shit I might have, I got as far as Howlin' Wolf's "Evil". Yeah, you don't have to tell me, it isn't really Halloween related but the title of the song and Wolf's voice is enough to scare away the trick or treaters. "Oh, that's nice, you're the tenth kid I've seen dressed as some pop culture person I've never heard of. I'm fresh out of gummies, here take a Snickers. Hey! It's the fun size goddamnit."  What the hell happened to mummies, Frankenstein, witches and yeah, Wolfman?! Hell, turn out the porch light, listen to Howlin' Wolf and eat all the candy yourself.

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Listen:
Howlin' Wolf - Evil mp3 at Internet Archive
Howlin' Wolf - Moanin' at Midnight mp3 at Internet Archive
Howlin' Wolf - Fourty Four mp3 at Internet Archive
Howlin' Wolf - Gettin' Old and Grey mp3 at Internet Archive

LET THE DAY GO WHERE IT GOES

This song changed my day. I heard it, started thinking about Chess Records and before I knew it the boxed set was out and splayed all over the stacks of mail on the coffee table. Everyone ought to have a stash of Chess. Here's John Lee Hooker's "Walkin' the Boogie", along with Little Walter's "Juke" because that was the next song that I listened to before falling into the Chess abyss.

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Listen:
John Lee Hooker - Walkin' the Boogie (alternate) mp3 at Internet Archive
Little Walter - Juke mp3 at Internet Archive

"MUDDY AND GENEVA" (DOPE COMPOSITION)

Call me dense. I've been listening to Muddy Waters since high school and have known the song "I Can't Be Satisfied" for decades. I did not realize that it was his first record and that it was on the awkwardly named The Aristocrat of Sound label, released in 1948. The song is on all sorts of Chess Records compilations so I'd always assumed that it was a Chess product. Did Chess license the recording? Just like that I slipped into a two day Chess Records rabbit hole. Long story short: Leonard and Phil Chess recorded Muddy Waters for Aristocrat and then bought the label itself and changed the name. They were jazz guys and this was the first blues thing they took a stab at. It quickly sold out. From that we have not only Muddy Waters's prime years, but Howlin' Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry and on and on. An awesome gamble.

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Listen:
Muddy Waters - I Can't Be Satisfied mp3 at Internet Archive 1948
Muddy Waters - You're Gonna Miss Me mp3 at Internet Archive 1949
Muddy Waters - Rollin' and Tumblin' mp3 at Internet Archive 1949
Muddy Waters - Where's My Woman Been? mp3 at Internet Archive 1950

DEFINITELY NOT GOOD-BAD.

Man, I've heard it a million times and it still makes my hair stand on end, Howlin' Wolf's "Evil" is one of the most authentically menacing three minutes ever cut into vinyl. Everything about it, his voice, the tempo and Hubert Sumlin's guitar playing and tone is absolutely cut to the bone perfect. After listening to it, all I needed was an excuse to post it again. I went to see how long it had been since I posted it, bam!! Found my excuse. The link to the Howlin' Wolf documentary had moved. So here's both, "Evil" and a new link to the documentary, plus a couple others.

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Listen:
Howlin' Wolf - Evil mp3 at Internet Archive
Howlin' Wolf - Break of Day mp3 at Internet Archive
Howlin' Wolf - Forty Four mp3 at Internet Archive
Howlin' Wolf - Moanin' at Midnight mp3 at Internet Archive
The documentary:
The Howlin' Wolf Story: The Secret History Of Rock And Roll at YouTube 2003

LOCK DOWN THEATER NIGHT 19

This time of year, at some point in the day, I take a walk and go jump in they ocean. For whatever reason, as I'm wading in, on my way to the depth that I can start swimming, I hum whatever song pops into my head. Sometime it can be disastrous. Tonight it was not, it was Howlin' Wolf's "Spoonful". I don't know where it came from, I haven't heard in ages. Lucky you, you get a mess of Howlin' Wolf because a song was in my head for less than a minute. If you don't know who he is, there's a documentary in eight parts, each about ten minutes. Trust me, Howlin' Wolf is essential stuff.

The Howlin' Wolf Story, Part 1. (Links to Parts 2-8 below)

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Listen:
Howlin' Wolf - Spoonful mp3 at Thiago Freitas
Howlin' Wolf - Killing Floor mp3 at PS Celebrities
Howlin' Wolf - Drive This Highway mp3 at Probe Is Turning-On the People
Howlin' Wolf - Evil mp3 at Tad Richards
Howlin' Wolf - Smokestack Lightning mp3 at BP Comp
Howlin' Wolf - Going Down Slow mp3 at Tumblr
Howlin' Wolf - Little Red Roster mp3 at Feel Good Playlists
Howlin' Wolf - Moanin' at Moonlight mp3 at Tumblr
Howlin' Wolf - Howlin For My Baby mp3 at Tumblr
Howlin' Wolf - Back Door Man mp3 at Tad Richards
Howlin' Wolf - Three Hundred Pounds of Joy mp3 at Tumblr
Video:
The Howlin' Wolf Story Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8 at YouTube

CRAWL

I heard "Wang Dang Doodle" on a blues show the other night. I think it may have been Willie Dixon's version. It just made me want to hear Koko Taylor's version, the one that always make my hair stand on end. Then I remembered the real hair raiser, holy shit, if you haven't heard "Insane Asylum" by Dixon and Taylor, you need to listen to it. It goes beyond blues, actually beyond music, with its doom and gloom pace, the stops and starts punctuated by perfectly minimal drums. When Taylor's vocals come in, and the drums come back in, at about 1:17 it's goosebumps all over the house.

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Listen:
Koko Taylor - Wang Dang Doodle mp3 at Le Mellotron
Wille Dixon and Koko Taylor - Insane Asylum mp3 at Beware of the Blog

NO MO' HOT DOGS

A few months ago, I read Getting Nowhere Fast: The Untold Story of Independent Music in San Diego 1976 - 1986 by Ray Brandes. Primarily about the local music scene, there is an antidote as told by Joel Kmak, a drummer and mainstay of the San Diego scene for decades. He describes a local show that actually predates the particular period, but is a crack up that makes me smile every time I imagine the scenario. One night Howlin' Wolf was playing a club gig, and Bo Diddley, who happened to be playing at another club across town, showed up unannounced and joined Howlin' Wolf onstage. Kmak says "So they're playing and then all of a sudden Howlin' Wolf gets off stage and goes back to the bar and orders a  bunch of hot dogs! He's sitting back at the bar, eating hot dogs and talking to the cute groupies! Meanwhile Bo Diddley's getting pissed because he's up on the stage playing Howlin' Wolf's show!"

It's with that scenario in mind that I went looking again for "The Super Super Blues Band" an album that features Bo Diddley, Howlin Wolf, and Muddy Waters (along with Otis Spann, Hubert Sumlin and Buddy Guy). It's not a compilation, but rather in-studio jams featuring different combinations of the assembled giants. The big reason I wanted to hear again it is because it includes a lot of wisecracks and ribbing that might shed some light on the goat-getting dynamic of the hot dog incident. In other words, I wanted to hear them giving each other shit. There might not be much of it in there, but, hey, I get to listen to Bo Diddley, Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters fuckin' around while I look for it.

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Listen:
The Super Super Blues Band - Spoonful mp3 at Internet Archive
The Super Super Blues Band - Diddley Daddy mp3 at Internet Archive
The Super Super Blues Band - Long Distance Call mp3 at Internet Archive
The whole LP:
The Super Super Blues Band at Internet Archive In the right column, under "Download options" click on "VBR MP3 Files"

DIG THE TWIST-O-FLEX WATCHBAND

There weren't many singers that recorded for Chess, Sun and Stax. Rufus Thomas did, but most people associate him with Stax, and all of those two sided "Do the" songs ("The Breakdown", "(Do the) Push and Pull", "Do the Funky Chicken", "Do the Funky Penguin", "Do the Double Bump"), He did do some comical stuff and seemed to be too aware that he was older, referring to himself as the "World's Oldest Teenager" and "the Clown Prince of Dance". That may sell records but it's not going to get you the long term respect you are deserved. That may slow in coming because as years go by, you hear Rufus Thomas's name mentioned less and less. 

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Listen:
Rufus Thomas - Tiger Man mp3 at Internet Archive Sun Records
Rufus Thomas - Juanita mp3 at Internet Archive Chess Records
Rufus Thomas - (Do the) Push and Pull (Pt 1 & 2) mp3 at Internet Archive Stax Records
Rufus Thomas - Sixty Minute Man mp3 at Internet Archive Stax Records
The Goods:
Rufus Thomas - Anthology 1 at Internet Archive 26 Songs
Rufus Thomas - Anthology 2 at Internet Archive 26 more songs
Visit:
Rufus Thomas at Wikipedia

CUBS WIN SO HERE'S MUDDY ON CHESS

I spent half my night watching the ball game, Cubs win, Cubs win, and so on. The Chicago Cubs. Chicago, home of Chess Records. Chess Records, home of Muddy Waters. And that will do it. The easiest, cheapest, laziest post this week.

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Listen:

Muddy Waters - Mannish Boy mp3 at Internet Archive
Muddy Waters - Rollin' and Tumblin' mp3 at Internet Archive
The compilation:
Muddy Waters - The Anthology II at Internet Archive NOTE: In the right hand column, where it says "Download Options", click on "VBR MP3" for twenty four individual mp3s
Muddy Waters - The Anthology I at This past post

WALTER'S HARP IS BIGGER

The next Stones album is apparently going to be all blues covers. Whatever. I'm not going to bag on them for that. Here's the first song they've released from the imaginatively titled  LP "Blue and Lonesone", a cover of Little Walter's "Just Your Fool". For comparison, for those of you unfamiliar with Little Walter, some of his stuff. Yeah.

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Listen:
The Rolling Stones - Just Your Fool (streaming) at YouTube
Little Walter -  My Babe mp3 at Internet Archive
Little Walter -  Off the Wall mp3 at Internet Archive
Little Walter -  Last Boogie mp3 at Internet Archive
More:
Little Walter -  32 Songs at Internet Archive

IT'S GETTING TANGLED IN HERE

Here we go again. A check of the latest over at Groove Addict netted a Jamo Thomas song I hadn't heard, which isn't surprising because I've only heard a handful of his songs, notably "(I Spy For the) FBI", That one was covered by the Untouchables back in the eighties or nineties, I forget exactly when. All that later psuedo-ska stuff, second or third wave, whatever it is, is a blur to me, with few exceptions. One exception is the Untouchables' "Mandingo", not as much for the song itself (which is above average for a later ska band), but the lyrics. In short, Mandingo is like the badass of the century. Neat.

So, the Jamo Thomas song just posted was "Must I Holler", a release on Chess. He was on all sorts of labels, Chess being just one of them. Most were lesser known labels, at least one of them a Mom and Pop type operation. Here's the topper. Right after the Jamo Thomas post, Groove Addict posted Luther Ingram and the G-Men's version of "(I Spy For the) FBI". Yeesh. Further digging elsewhere popped up an early cut by the Party Brothers that was produced by Jamo Thomas, who may or may not be the singer on the track. You see where this is going. All over the damn place. Solo from here.

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Listen:
Jamo Thomas - Must I Holler mp3 at Groove Addict
The Untouchables - Mandingo (streaming) at YouTube
Luther Ingram and the G-Men - (I Spy For the) FBI at Groove Addict Go there to get it.
The Party Brothers - Let Me Be the One mp3 at Sir Shamblings Note A few audible beeps are heard to discourage reproduction.
Video:
Jamo Thomas - (I Spy For the) FBI at YouTube
The Untouchables - (I Spy For the) FBI at YouTube

MOST BADASS THING YOU'LL HEAR TODAY

I heard these two songs in successive days. Reason enough to get enveloped in the beat. May you do the same.

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Listen:
Bo Diddley - Who Do You Love? mp3 at Rocky-52.net
Bo Diddley - Pretty Thing mp3 at Boogaloo Time
Earlier Bo Diddley posts. Lot's more music, scroll down the page.

CHESS TOO? HOW MANY WERE THERE?

I shouldn't be surprised. Andre Williams recorded for a half million labels, so of course he would have recorded for Chess at some point. Dude got around. Dig "Cadillac Jack". Trademark Williams, a little story that's more monologue with accompaniment than singing. Come to think of it, I don't know if I've ever heard him really sing, really belt one out, hitting notes all over the place. Did he ever really stretch out? This is a good one though. Hit the old links if you want more

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Listen:
Andre Williams - Cadillac Jack mp3 at Groove Addict
Visit:
Older Andre Williams Posts Scroll down this page for more songs and a documentary.

I DON'T CARE. IT'S STILL MAGIC.

I heard Koko Taylor on the radio today. "Wang Dang Doddle", on a jazz station. On a regular old portable radio. Powered by batteries, yo. To say that it was an unexpected surprise is an understatement. I amped out and sang along like a fool. I've heard it a million times and it never gets old. Neither does "Insane Asylum", her downer duet with Willie Dixon. When she comes in, and you had better wait for it, your skin will likely crawl.

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Listen:
Koko Taylor - Wang Dang Doodle mp3 at Clumsy & Shy
Wille Dixon and Koko Taylor - Insane Asylum mp3 at Beware of the Blog

HE STILL WALKS AMONG US.

It probably happens to you every so often. You binge on one favorite artist or another, and try your utmost to put all of the familiarity and your listening experiences behind you and really, really listen to someone you've heard a million times before. You pick it apart and try to figure out what it is that moves you. My binge started a couple weeks ago, and I've walked away from it with a refortified respect for Chuck Berry. Every recording of his I have has been revisited in the fast few weeks, some of it over and over again. His lyrics, his song structures, and his seemingly simple solos, not to mention the piano of his right hand man Johnnie Johnson, all of it. I've come away from it thinking the man is a freak. No one learns this shit, not like this. Gotta be innate. He put words, chords and notes together seamlessly, before there was a template. Dude was the template. Naysayers will point out that most songs are just twelve bar blues progressions, and his songs were formulaic. Okay then, you do it. See how far you get. Hell, hail, hail rock 'n' roll, yeah.

With a pick up band. Sloppy, but dig the solo!

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Listen:
Chuck Berry - Promised Land mp3 at Archive.org
Chuck Berry - Maybellene mp3 at Rocky 52
Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode mp3 at Tune the Proletariat
Chuck Berry - Downbound Train mp3 at Clumsy and Shy
Chuck Berry - Roll Over Beethoven mp3 Thierry's Official Web Site
Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode mp3 at Enmadolu (?)
Chuck Berry - Memphis mp3 at Taking Over the Internet
Chuck Berry - Back In the USA mp3 at Riddell Family (?)
Chuck Berry - It's My Own Business mp3 at the Rising Storm
Chuck Berry - Duece mp3 at The Rising Storm
Instrumental mix (Highly recommended) (Hell, all of this is stuff is highly recommended.):
Chuck Berry - A Berry Rainy Day mp3 at Basement Rug 30 minute mix, go there to get the song list.
Visit:
Chuck Berry Official site

TWELVE BAR BICKERING

If you've ever run across the LP above and passed on it, it's understandable. What's the point when there are still Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and Bo Diddley solo records that you hadn't picked up? Even if you just concentrated on their prime stuff, it would still a challenge. Here's the thing: there's just so much top notch stuff by each one of them, you'll never get to this one. Take a break. It may be relatively late (from 1967) but it's worth hearing just to hear them rib each other. Howlin' Wolf dissing Muddy Waters? Bo butting in? This is good stuff,

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Listen:
The Super, Super Blues Band - Spoonful mp3 at Tumblr (?) Howlin' Wolf, Muddy waters and Bo Diddley, with Otis Spann on piano
The Super, Super Blues Band - Little Red Rooster (streaming) at YouTube
The Super, Super Blues Band - Diddly Daddy (streaming) at YouTube
The Super, Super Blues Band - Goin' Down Slow (streaming) at YouTube

AND MOANING

The other night, while digging around at Boogie Woogie Flu (yet again), I ran into a post with Howlin' Wolf's "Moanin' at Midnight", and, man, was it good to hear it again, particularly in the mood I was in. It's about as compact and filthy sounding as the man gets. If you don't know it, it really is worth hearing. Holy shit, is it. His kind of half humming, half moaning at the beginning, the distortion soaked guitar, and the harp would be enough, but the cardboard sounding drums, and the spooky feeling that this is a man possessed ...it's enough to give you the creeps. particularly because there's nothing fancy about it. At the abrupt end, it sounds as if someone yanked the plug to prevent something bad from happening.

So, here's the song and a few others. If you missed The Howlin' Wolf Story the first time, it's been reposted in six parts at YouTube. Have your morning coffee with the Wolf for the next six days. Swear to God, every band is Blues Hammer compared to him.

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Listen:
Howlin' Wolf - Moaninin' at Midnight mp3 at Boogie Woogie Flu
Howlin' Wolf - Back Door Man mp3 at Snuthing Anything
Howlin' Wolf - Wang Dang Doodle mp3 at Burning Hand
Howlin' Wolf - Evil mp3 at Snuhthing Anything
Howlin' Wolf - I Ain't Superstitious at Ticket to the Blues
Howlin' Wolf & Muddy Waters - Highway 49 mp3 at Ticket to the Blues
Howlin' Wolf - Killing Floor mp3 at White Light Black Light
Howlin' Wolf - Coon on the Moon mp3 at Ticket to the Blues
Watch:
The Howlin' Wolf Story at YouTube Six parts, check the right column.
Visit:
The Unofficial Howlin' Wolf page at Perfect Sound Forever - A whole mess of articles, links, photos, and an extensive discography.

WORKAHOLIC

Just a quick one here. I heard Willie Dixon's "29 Ways" on a Chess Records blues compilation today (bought used, as a stray from a broken up boxed set, thank you very much) and, to be honest, Chess was so deep in classic Chicago blues that I'm not going to even step near that rabbit hole. But Dixon was special, you name 'em, he worked with 'em: Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Otis Rush, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Joe Louis Walker, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Koko Taylor, Little Milton, Lowell Fulson, Memphis Slim, Washboard Sam, Jimmy Rogers, and many, many more. He was a singer, songwriter, arragnger, producer, and session player who was one of the most prolific blues musicians of his era. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to name a more prolific blues man in any era. I had to share "29 Days" because I dig the drums and the pace of it, and just for good measure, there's "Insane Asylum", a duet with Koko Taylor, because, despite hearing it a thousand times, I still get goosebumps when Taylor comes it.

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Listen:
Willie Dixon - 29 Ways mp3 at Drew's Blues
Wille Dixon and Koko Taylor - Insane Asylum mp3 at Beware of the Blog
A few covers:
Howlin' Wolf - Wang Dang Doodle mp3 at Burning Hand
Koko Taylor - Wang Dang Doodle mp3 at Clumsy & Shy
Etta James - I Just Want to Make Love to You mp3 at 8106
Muddy Waters - You Shook Me mp3 at Harmony Talk
Visit:
Willie Dixon at Wikipedia
Big high resolution version of above photo

I TOO AM DIGGING IT

You all know Jackie Brenston's "Rocket 88", right? It was a very early recording done at Sam Phillips studio, then sold to Chess Records, who whipped into a hit in 1951. Phillips, realizing that it was a relatively bonehead move, took his cue and started his own damn label. That worked out for him.

"Rocket 88" was actually recorded by Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm, and Brenston, a member of the band, just happened to sing lead. The Chess brothers decided that Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats had a little more pizzazz, so they exercised the label asshole option, and that's how the record ended up being credited.

"Rocket 88" is a fine song, no doubt about it, but most of you have heard it enough to know that. No matter, the song that got me all worked up is another recorded the same year, "Juiced". I ran into that at Diggin' It!, and although you have to jump through a few hoops to download it, believe me, it's worth it. Just the guitar tone alone is worth it, but that Phillips Studio sound...yeesh! Add to that Brenston's yelp in the intro, and the yelp buckshot unleashed during the seriously tweaked guitar solo, and what you have is a two and a half minute party.

To get that one, once you get to DivShare, just click on the green "Download" button and scratch your head for fifteen seconds. When the button reappears, you're good to go.

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Listen:
Jackie Brenston - Juiced mp3 (via DivShare) at Diggin' It!
Jackie Brenston - Leo the Louse mp3 at Rocky 52
Jackie Brenston - Trouble Up the Road mp3 at Rocky 52
Jackie Brenston - Rocket 88 mp3 at Rocky 52