'Howlin' Wolf' a.k.a. 'The Rockin' Chair Album' was released in 1962 on the Chess Records label. The record is not a studio album recorded in a single block, but a compilation of 12 singles that Wolf recorded between 1957 and 1961.
Willie Dixon took credit for the bulk of the songwriting, played double bass, and produced the sessions. There are contributions from other blues legends including Otis Spann, Buddy Guy, Sam Lay, Jimmy Rogers, and Hubert Sumlin, who delivers that sharp, jagged, and heavily distorted electric guitar riffs that defined Wolf's sound. Then there's Wolf's himself, whose singing, rhythm guitar and harmonica are as always a force of nature.
'The Rockin' Chair Album' is one of is without doubt one of the most influential electric blues albums of all time. It features the definitive bridge between Delta acoustic blues and the high-energy electrified rock explosion of the 1960s; molding the future of rock and roll.
The freeload is 24-bit/192 kHz (180-gram) vinyl rip of the Chess Acoustic Sounds Series, released on Jul 24, 2026.
For the freeload, what's your favorite song recorded by Howlin' Wolf?
I Asked Her for Water (She Gave Me Gasoline)
ReplyDeleteSo many great recordings by Wolf, but if I’m limited to one, it’s forty Four. This is the laptop less pmac
ReplyDeleteHowlin For My Darling ...
ReplyDeleteAll great calls. Red Rooster is hard to ignore, I think. Spoonful?
ReplyDeletePS Got to meet and chat with Hubert Sumlin once; what a gentleman and nice guy. I had my youngest brother in tow--he was about 8 or 9--and Sumlin made a point of talking to him and treating him like an adult; very cool.
DeleteVery cool, indeed!
DeleteMoanin' at Midnight is maybe Wolf's most primal recording. I'm looking forward to the upgrade, Babs. A lot of my Chess records acquired in 1970s were really crappy quality— during the gas crisis, some of the pressings were so thin that they'd be notably warped straight out of their shrinkwrap. They were noisy too; the vinyl apparently wasn't too virginal.
ReplyDeleteYou will love this release, it has wonderful instrument separation, and has been pitch corrected.
Delete300 Pounds Of Joy, because it's the most fun.
ReplyDeleteThe same goes for "Built for Comfort", and I like the horns on both.
DeleteAgreed!
DeleteMine is "Just Like I Treat You" (1961) Wolf of course does a fantastic job of the vocals, but what really makes this track a masterpiece is Henry Gray's piano playing, along with stellar guitar from Hubert Sumlin.
ReplyDeleteHowlin for my baby
ReplyDelete