Albert King is one
of three blues singers/guitarists, Freddie, BB and Albert, with the surname,
“King.” Of the three, BB King is by far the most famous, but blues purists will
often point to Albert as the best of the trio. King was born in Indianola, Mississippi in
1923 and died in Memphis, Tennessee in 1993.
King made his first
recordings during the early Fifties for the Parrot label, but his career didn’t
get started in earnest until the early Sixties with singles for the King label.
King recorded for the legendary Chess Records, but may have produced his best work,
“Born under a Bad Sign” (1967) for the soul label, Stax.
Other fine albums by
King include, “The Big Blues” (1963), “Live Wire/Blues Power” (1968), “Years
Gone By” (1969) and “King of the Blues Guitar” (1969). King appears on the
superb compilation, “The Complete Stax/Volt Singles” series along with the rest
of the stellar Stax roster of blues and soul stars.
Of all
the Chicago Bluesman who recorded for Chess Records in the Fifties and Sixties,
Howlin’ Wolf may have produced the most affecting music. Howlin Wolf was a 300-pound
powerhouse of a man who was known to wield his size and mean streak when he deemed
it necessary. This intimidating image coupled with a ferocious, otherworldly
voice is what earned him the name, “Howlin’ Wolf.”
He was
born Chester Arthur Burnett in West Point, Mississippi, in 1910. He was born as
one of the poorest of the Southern poor, son of a Mississippi sharecropper, who
in his early adult life seemed destined for a life of sharecropping himself. In
1930, Burnett met the Mississippi Delta blues singer Charley Patton, and Patton
instructed Burnett on guitar for a time. In addition to Patton, Burnett admired
and drew influence from Jimmie Rodgers, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Ma Rainey,
Lonnie Johnson, and Blind Blake. What would become Howlin’ Wolf’s famous howl,
started as the singer’s attempt to replicate the yodeling of country singer,
Rodgers.
During
the Thirties, Burnett traveled through The South often in the company of other
blues singers. When he was 30-years-old in 1940, he was drafted into the US
Army. He stayed in the army for three years before being discharged in 1943,
without having seen action. After his discharge, he returned home for a time to
help with farming. He formed a band with guitarists Willie Johnson and Matt
“Guitar” Murphy and began performing on the West Memphis, Arkansas, radio
station, KWEM. Burnett’s performances on the station brought him to the attention
of Sam Phillips of The Memphis Recording Service (later called Sun Records),
the same man who would discover Elvis Presley years later.
In 1951,
Burnett, now dubbed, “Howlin’ Wolf,” recorded the singles, “Moanin after
Midnight” and “How Many More Years” for Chess records, and he relocated to
Chicago. Wolf convinced the brilliant blues guitarist, Hubert Sumlin, to join
his band in Chicago, and with Sumlin on board, Wolf would enter his classic
period with terrific singles such as “Smokestack Lightning,” “Little Red
Rooster,” “Wang Dang Doodle,” “300 Pounds of Joy,” and “Killing Floor.”
In 1962,
Howlin’ Wolf recorded his famous self-titled, “rocking chair” album, “Howlin’
Wolf,” a seminal and brilliant recording of Chicago blues. The album was
recorded for Chess and included his tight band led by guitarist Sumlin.
Other
brilliant Howlin’ Wolf albums include “The London Howlin’ Wolf Sessions” (1971)
and “Ridin’ in the Moonlight” (1982), and the compilations “Moanin’ in the
Moonlight” (1959), “The Real Folk Blues” (1965), “Chester Burnett AKA Howlin’
Wolf’” (1972), “Change My Way” (1975), “His Greatest Sides Vol. 1” (1984), “The
Chess Box” (1991), “His Best” (1997), and “The Geniune Article” (1997).
