AKA: Chester Burnett
Bio:
Chester Arthur Burnett, better known as Howlin' Wolf, was born in White Station, a small stop along the railroad in the Mississippi hill country, on June 10, 1910.
• He moved to Ruleville, Mississippi, where he met and studied with legendary blues artists Charley Patton and Sonny Boy Williamson II. He learned to sing from listening to records of his favorite artists, such as Jimmy "the Singing Brakeman" Rodgers, the Mississippi Sheiks and Tampa Red.
• His voice was deep and loud and his 6'3" 250 pound frame shook the stage as he performed.
• In 1948, at the age of 38, moved to West Memphis, Arkansas and started a blues band. His band included two harmonica players, James Cotton and Junior Parker, and three guitarists, Willie Johnson, Patt Hare and Matt "Guitar" Murphy. His band performed on the local radio, KWEM, and soon were locally famous.
• In 1951, Sam Phillips, a Memphis record producer, invited Howlin' Wolf to record "Moanin' at Midnight" and "How Many More Years" in a studio. After recording, Phillips leased both songs to Chess Records and both songs hit the top ten of the Billboard R&B charts. Wolf produced more songs and Phillips leased those out also. Eventually, Wolf signed on to Chess Records and moved to Chicago to continue his career. Many of the songs that Wolf sang, such as "Smokestack Lightning" and "Back Door Man" have become blues standards.
• In Chicago, Howlin' Wolf was rivaled in the blues scene by singer Muddy Waters. Although the two traded insults and at one time, Waters even stole a guitarist from Wolf, their competition was friendlier than most fans knew. The competition between them gave each of them the drive to work harder.
• Howlin' Wolf kept singing and performing until his death.