Discs 2 and 3 have 21 and 20 tracks each, andMANY songs you never heard before. A lot of tracks
are alternate takes,and many songs are never played
on the radio-EVER! So there's a wealth of music
that is begging to be loved by you. My favorite song
must be Forty-Four. I'm not really so sure what the
song means,but it lumbers along,and I think
he's singing about carrying a gun,to do some harm.
He wears this gun so long,it made his shoulder
sore. I think that's what he's singing, but I guess the
lyrics don't mean that much for me,I like the
melody and the stomping and the piano,which
takes an active role in this song. It's menacing.
I also like the Wolf's fine fine harmonica playing.
I like the guitar, I like the stomp.I like the drumming.
Nobody plays this song on the radio?!
What's wrong with you? I'm guessing if some opened
minded blues DJ played it, listeners would call and
ask about this song,and love it. If you love this band,
and Howlin' Wolf's music, I urge you to read a book
called Moaning At Midnight-The Life And Times Of Howlin'
Wolf By James Segrest & Mark Hoffman. It's a complete
biography of an amazing guy. It's a fantastic book.
From the Introduction: "He was one of a kind.Nobody I heard
before him or after him had that fantastic delivery-that certain
something in his voice that seemed like a sword that'd
pierce your soul when he'd sing. Wolf was already a great singer
and musician when I first met him. To my mind, he's one of the
greatest ever.We'll never see another like him." -B.B. King
Go ahead and pierce your soul here.
Howlin' Wolf 2
Howlin' Wolf 3
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3 comments:
There's also a good documentary called The Howlin' Wolf Story with some great live footage, mostly from the Newport Folk Festival, it's readily available from Amazon or where ever you buy DVD's, there are some clips up on Youtube. Also on Youtube is the Wolf's Shindig appearance from 1965 w/the Rolling Stones sitting at his feet.
Yes sir Hound.I've got that DVD,and it's a must-have. And there's more CD's floating around from that famous time,as well as disc of the bands going to Europe on tour in the 60's,when the Blues had a upswing in popularity. Yeah,the Stones loved Wolf,and The Stones even gave him tickets to some of their shows,in the 70's,and thanked him when they knew he was at the show. I heard he got a rousing applause that went on for several minutes.
That's rare that those musicians would show their appreciation like that.
Hound,I'm reading a book about Earl Hooker,which I am digging in a major way...it's called Earl Hooker Blues Master By Sebastian Danchin. I urge you to try to find this,it came from The University Press of Mississippi - Jackson.
It's worth tracking down. Earl Hooker is an amazing musician.
The meaning of the lyrics to the song Forty-Four:
"I wore my .44 so long/it made my shoulder sore".
He's singing about a pistol, a .44 caliber revolver is a big, heavy thing that would indeed make your shoulder sore if you wore it all day. See Don Siegal's Dirty Harry for Clint Eastwood's soliloquy on the 44 magnum. In recent years Colt has issued an even larger revolver-- .50 caliber (the Colt Anaconda, the .44 is marketed as the Colt Python).
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