Chester Arthur Burnett ( June 10, 1910 – January 10, 1976), better known as Howlin' Wolf, was an influential blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and harmonica player.
Born in White Station near West Point, Mississippi, he was nicknamed "Big Foot" and "Bull Cow" in his early years, and he explained the origin of the name "Howlin' Wolf" thus: "I got that from my grandfather. He used to tell me stories about the wolves in that part of the country." As a youth he listened to Charley Patton, who taught him the rudiments of guitar, as well as to the Mississippi Sheiks, Tommy Johnson and Jimmie Rodgers, whose famous "blue yodel" Burnett integrated into his singing style. His harmonica playing was modelled on that of Rice Miller ( Sonny Boy Williamson).
He farmed during the 1930s, served in the United States Army as a radioman in the Pacific Northwest during World War II, and by 1948 had formed a band which included guitarists Willie Johnson and M. T. Murphy, harmonica-player Junior Parker, a pianist named Destruction, and drummer Willie Steele. He began broadcasting on KWEM in West Memphis, Arkansas, alternating between performing and pitching farm equipment, and auditioned for Sam Phillips' Memphis Recording Service in 1951.
Howlin' Wolf quickly became a local celebrity, and soon began working with a band that included both Willie Johnson and guitarist Pat Hare. His first recordings came in 1951, when he was simultaneously signed to The Bihari Brothers' Modern Records and to Leonard Chess' Chess Records. Chess issued Howlin' Wolf's "How Many More Years" in August 1951; Wolf also recorded sides for Modern, with Ike Turner, in late 1951 and early 1952. Chess eventually won the war over the singer, and Wolf settled in Chicago, Illinois. He began playing with guitarist Hubert Sumlin, whose terse, curlicued solos perfectly complemented Burnett's huge voice and surprisingly subtle phrasing. In the mid-'50s Wolf released "Evil" and "Smokestack Lightnin'," both major R&B hits.
