Howlin' Wolf - Shake It For Me

Howlin’ Wolf – if ever there was name that summed up a man’s persona, this was it. When he stands up to play, the guy’s so huge his guitar looks a mandolin. The passion in his eyes. The menace in his voice. His band in this 1964 clip are Chicago’s version of the Nashville A-team. Sunnyland Slim on piano, Willie Dixon on bass, Clifton James on drums and the monstrous guitar sound comes courtesy of his partner in crime, Hubert Sumlin. They say don’t wear white socks with dark trousers and shoes, who’s gonna tell the Wolf that. Sunnyland and Sumlin nearly match the Wolf, but not quite. He’s a freak of nature, from his size 14 feet to his size 28 neck. I love this guy, he’s the ultimate bluesman. If he was good enough for Sam Phillips, then he’s good enough for me. Sam described Howlin’ Wolf as “where the soul of man never dies”. I’d say he was “where the soul of the devil never dies.” This is the type of blues jam that Elvis must have had in mind when he did the sit-down jam on his ’68 Comeback Special. Wonderful, wonderful stuff.