Howlin' Wolf

Howlin' Wolf's deep, purring growl echoes from the banks of the Mississippi Delta straight to the heart of Chicago Blues and into the roots of early rock'n' roll. A huge man with an even bigger, gravelly voice, Charles Arthur Burnett was disowned by his mother when she discovered him playing the "devil's music", but he was taken under the wing of legendary bluesman Charley Patton, who taught him guitar and harmonica. Learning his trade at the local juke joints, Wolf played alongside Robert Johnson, Son House and Sonny Boy Williamson, before joining the army during WW2 and being discovered by Sam Phillips in 1951. He became one of Chess Records' biggest stars during the 1950s with the classic hits Little Red Rooster and Smokestack Lightning, before being rediscovered in the 1960s and heavily influencing acts like The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix. An incredible showman with one of music's most distinctive voices, Wolf was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 and despite his death from kidney disease in 1976, he remains a charismatic icon of the blues and old time Americana.