Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

The Rocking Chair Album was called that because the album cover depicted an acoustic guitar leaning against a rocking chair. I was very young when I first experienced the thrill of listening to Chester Arthur Burnett aka Howlin' Wolf.

The very first song that I learned to play was copied meticulously from one of his 45 releases. It was not until years later that I got to see some of his albums and hear some of his greatest work. Such a shortage of exposure to fine blues was just the way of life in suburban England in the late 50's and early 60's.

This album in particular contained some his most memorable work. "Wang Dang Doodle", "Goin' Down Slow", "Spoonful", and "Little Red Rooster", these are all songs which found their way into the repertoires of British bands that had grown to love and relate to Chicago blues.

If you get a chance, give the master a spin on your turntable. You'll hear some fine guitar work from his old sidekick and best friend Hubert Sumlin and of course you'll hear that deep resonating voice from the old friendly giant himself.

Brian: Thanks for this post. I am going to try to find Little Red Rooster and Spoonful by CAB.

This recording has been in my Top 3 Chicago Blues records for many years for numerous reasons. The first reason is that voice!! The guitar work of Hubert Sumlin, Willie Johnson, Jimmy Rogers & Smokey Smothers is text book '50s electric Chicago Blues. Classic songs galore on this recording, too - Shake For Me, Back Door Manand Tell Me just to name a few in addition to the songs Brian mentioned. One of my favorite cuts is Howlin' For My Baby; a greasy groove if there ever was one!

My all time favorite record in his catalogue is Smoke Stack Lightning. That song just reaches out and grabs you. It is blues distilled to its finest essence.

Truth be told, I actully prefer Moanin' In The Moonlight, which in my mind is one that you absoultely must own if you're a Wolf fan. Luckily, I have both the "Rocking Chair" LP and Moanin' In The Moolight on a single disc with the latter half getting the most play.

This is an interesting tidbit:

Howlin' Wolf said the song was inspired by watching trains in the night: "We used to sit out in the country and see the trains go by, watch the sparks come out of the smokestack. That was smoke stack lightning."

Talk about adding depth to his lyrics. Wow, that's an amazing insight to his inspiration.