Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910 – January 10,
1976), known as Howlin' Wolf, was a Chicago blues singer, guitarist, and
harmonica player, originally from Mississippi.
Howlin’ Wolf ranks among the most electrifying performers
in blues history, as well as one of its greatest characters. He was a
ferocious, full-bodied singer whose gruff, rasping vocals embodied the blues at
its most unbridled. A large man who stood more than six feet tall and weighed
nearly 300 pounds, Howlin’ Wolf cut an imposing figure, which he utilized to
maximum effect when performing.
Chester Arthur Burnett, aka “Howlin’ Wolf,” was born in
White Station, just north of West Point, on June 10, 1910. In his early teens
Burnett began performing in the Delta and was later a pioneer in electrifying
the Delta blues. After moving north,
Burnett nonetheless remained a strong
presence on the Mississippi blues scene by returning home often for visits and performances.
Burnett nonetheless remained a strong
presence on the Mississippi blues scene by returning home often for visits and performances.
An imposing figure both physically and artistically,
Chester Arthur Burnett was named after U.S. President Chester Arthur. Burnett’s
grandfather gave him the nickname “Wolf.” He learned to play a one-string
“diddley bow” and harmonica as a child, but his early life was difficult. Cast
out by his mother, Burnett lived in White Station with his great uncle until he
ran away from home at 13 and hitched a train to the Delta.
On the Young and Morrow plantation near Ruleville he had
a warm reunion with his father, who bought him his first guitar in 1928.
Burnett soon fell under the wing of blues pioneer Charley Patton, who taught
him showmanship and songs that Burnett would later record, including “Pony
Blues.” Burnett developed a distinctive style, highlighted by his naturally
raspy voice and howling, a technique he developed by trying to imitate Jimmie
Rodgers’s signature yodels. As “Howlin’ Wolf” he performed in the region with
bluesmen including Johnny Shines, Floyd Jones, Sonny Boy Williamson II, and
Robert Johnson. Every spring he returned from his wide travels to plough his
father‘s farmland.
Wolf’s music reached new audiences in the 1960s, when his
songs were covered by many artists. His own 1956 recording “Smokestack
Lightnin’” even became a hit on the pop music charts in England in 1964.He
served to influence such blues-based rock
musicians as the Rolling Stones and
Eric Clapton. In fact, he recorded a pair of albums - The London Howlin’ Wolf
Sessions and London Revisited - with his British disciples in the early
Seventies.
musicians as the Rolling Stones and
Eric Clapton. In fact, he recorded a pair of albums - The London Howlin’ Wolf
Sessions and London Revisited - with his British disciples in the early
Seventies.
Howlin’ Wolf’s distinctive vocal style and rough-hewn
approach to the blues can also be heard in the work of such diverse artists as
Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band and Led Zeppelin. Slowed down for much of
the Seventies due to serious internal injuries suffered in an automobile
accident,
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. He was
buried in Oakridge Cemetery, outside Chicago.
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Bill Wyman at Howlin’ Wolf's home in Chicago in July 1975
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Howlin’ Wolf was posthumously inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. On September 17, 1994, the U.S. Postal Service issued a commemorative postage stamp depicting Howlin’ Wolf. West Point established a festival in his honour in 1996 and a museum in 2005.
(Edited from Mississippi blues trail.org & rockhall.com)
